Sequoias men, Modesto women take NorCal track and field crowns; Head to 3C2A State Championships at San Mateo
SAN MATEO - The College of the Sequoias men and the Modesto JC women’s lead Northern California track and field teams into the 3C2A state championships at College of San Mateo on May 16-17 after taking titles at the region championships hosted by Butte College in Oroville.
Sequoias totaled 106.5 points to take the men’s championship, ahead of Modesto (97) and American River (92) among 22 scoring teams. The Modesto women won handily with 152 points, ahead of Clovis (81) and De Anza (74).
MODESTO WOMEN BRING GOOD SPEED & JUMPING
Modesto’s Shaylan Roy-Williams paces the women’s 100 at 11.38 seconds and won the NorCal race in 11.47, ahead of teammate Kylie Nunes -- who ran the state’s second fastest time of the season, 11.67, in the prelims.
The NorCal women’s 200 finals produced the top time of the year, with Nyarah Anderson-Brown of Chabot winning in 24.05, just ahead of Roy-Williams (24.08).
Roy-Williams also won the long jump (18 feet, 1 3/4 inches), tallying 28 individual points. She keyed Pirates’ victories in both relays, which posted then state-leading times of 46.48 in the 4 x 100 and 3:51.62 in the 4 x 400.
Modesto also brings the NorCal pole vault champion, Claire Pierce (12-1 1/2) to the state finals. She ranks third on the state season list.
Rhiannon Walker of Covis was a triple distance race winner and leads the state in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (10:53.43) and the 10,000 meters (37:48.94). She took the 5,000 meters, where she ranks No. 2 at 17:16.74. Genevieve Tamondong of Clovis took the NorCal 800 meters in 2:18.00.
Breaking things up a bit was College of San Mateo freshman Ericka Dorn, winning the 1,500 meters in 4:41.40, where she is ranked No. 3 in the state. Dorn was also second in the 800 meters (2:19,79) and is ranked No. 2 in the state with a best of 2:16.27.
Host San Mateo also has the shot put state leader, Jane Taufa (43-9 3/4), the NorCal champion. Sol Bitners of Sacramento CC had the state’s longest discus throw, 148-6, to win gold, as did javelin pacesetter Giselle Rodriguez of Butte, at 151-8. Genesis Mailangi of De Anza College had the state’s third long hammer throw, 162-4, to take that gold.
In the jumps, Ashlyn Reed of Sequoias won the triple jump (37-11 1/2) and ranks No. 2 for the season at 38-0. Hayley Johnson of San Jose CC took high jump gold at 5-3 (and has a best of 5-3 3/4).
Ashonti Brown of San Joaquin Delta won both hurdle races and leads the state with her times of 13.64 for the 100 meter hurdles and 1:01.42 in the 400 hurdles. Modesto sprinter Nunes took another silver medal in the 100 hurdles and ranks No. 2 in the state at 13.87.
SEQUOIAS HAS TRIO OF MEN’S CHAMPS
Sequoias brings a trio of NorCal individual men’s champions to the state finals at San Mateo. The Giants took both stick races -- with Rome Johnson in the 110 hurdles (14.79), ranking third in the state, and Reece Melvin in the 400 hurdles (53.23). His 53.10 in the prelims ranked No. 2 on the state list. Julian Valdivia won the NorCal 1,500 meters (3:59.76).
In the field, the Giants are led by pole vault runner-up Shane Bagley (15-5), the state pacesetter, with a best of 17-1 3/4. The Giants have finalists in at least eight other events, including both relays. Pole vault gold medalist was Dylan Gschmeidler of American River College at 15-11.
Chabot College has the state leader in both sprints in sophomore Robert Stitts -- at 10.28 in the 100 meters (his NorCal winning time) and 20.87. He won the NorCal 200 in 21.20. Stitts anchored the Gladiators winning 4 x 100 team (40.84), which tops the state list.
Stitts was the runner-up in the 2024 state 200 in 20.84 at Saddleback College.
Chabot also had the NorCal 800 winner, in Amartya Poovaiah (1:54.57).
Modesto posted the state’s fastest 4 x 400 relay time in winning the meet concluding event in 3:13.03 at NorCals. The Pirates’ 4 x 100 quartet also qualified for the state finals. Modesto’s sprint efforts are led by freshman Jeffrey Missouri, runner-up in both the 100 meters (10.38) and 200 (21.31) at NorCals. He ranks second in the state in the 100 (with his NorCal time) and co-third in the 200 (21.30 best).
Modesto has the state’s top two decathletes in Blake Gross (6,500 points) and Brock Gross (6,412). They will kickoff the two-day state finals competition on Friday morning at 9:30 with the decathlon 100 meter races. Brock Gross is also a state finalist in the 110 hurdles and Blake Gross in the 400 hurdles, both placing fourth at NorCals.
San Joaquin Delta freshman thrower Jake Todden took three Northern California gold medals, scoring 30 points. He won the shot put (57-11 1/4) and the hammer throw (189-9), with state leading performances; also took the discus throw at 158-11 (ranking No. 3 in the state). Frederick Southworth of Butte won the javelin throw (165-10).
College of San Mateo freshman Alydan Bague was similarly impressive in the jumping spevents, scoring 28 points. He won the triple jump (46-11 1/4), where he leads the state at 48-2 3/4, the high jump (6-6 3/4) to rank No. 2 in the state, and took the silver medal in the long jump (22-9 1/4). He ranks second in the state in the long jump at 23-2 3/4 this year. State leader Dante Mixon of San Joaquin Delta won that event at 23-3 1/4.
State host CSM also has a top sophomore sprinter in Ryan Keyhan, who placed third in the NorCal 100 (10.51) and 200 (21.31). He anchored the Bulldogs to second in the 4 x 100 relay (41.00), which ranks No. 3 on the state list.
STATE FINALS SCHEDULE: Fri, 9:30 a.m.; Sat. 9 a.m. (noontime ceremonies)
State finals competition at CSM begins on Friday, May 16, at 9:30 a.m. with the decathlon 100 meters and the hammer throws. Three other field events are scheduled opening day -- the triple jumps, pole vaults, and javelin throws. The women’s heptathlon starts at 10 a.m. with the 100 meter hurdles.
Only first day running finals are the 10,000 meter races, starting at 4 p.m.
--Saturday competition begins at 9 a.m. with the second day of decathlon competition, the 110 meter hurdles, followed by the heptathlon long jump at 10 a.m. The women’s and men’s long jumps kickoff field event finals at 11 a.m. on adjacent runways.
Saturday’s opening ceremony is at 12:05 p.m., followed by the full schedule of remaining track and field events – concluding with the 4 x 400 meter relays at 5:20 p.m.
(Fred Baer, College of San Mateo Athletics)