Lodi sends runners; Hawks set records
A handful of local athletes are through to the finals in their respective divisions in Sac-Joaquin Section track and field.
In Division I, which sends its top 12 qualifiers to the section Masters meet next week, athletes who made the championship final — the top eight — are automatically qualified for Masters. Lodi’s qualifiers were Erik Ebert (fifth in the 400 at 49.40 seconds), Paige Sefried (second in the 400 at 58.21 and fifth in the 300 hurdles at 45.56) and the boys 4-by-400 relay team (eighth at 3:27.46), along with Tokay’s Andres Sandoval (first in the 800 at 1:58.98).
Lodi’s Sam Wright (3rd in the pole vault) and Madelynn Ridgeway (11th in the shot put at 34 feet, 7.5 inches) qualified for the Masters, since field events don’t have preliminaries and finals.
“We feel really good about the kids. I think Madelynn Ridgeway stepped up big, and Jackie too,” Lodi coach Greg Wright said. “Erik and Paige, they’re our horses, and they did what they were supposed to do and more. Sam Wright was coming off a hamstring injury, and worked out a lot of issues both mentally and physically. We were going to end his season a week ago, but
now he’s on to Masters.”
A couple more athletes still have a chance after they made the consolation final, of which the top four will advance to Masters. Those include Lodi’s Stuart Fuller (16th in the boys 800 at 2:03.34) and Jackie Westerterp (11th in the 300 hurdles at 47.50). Lodi’s Brooke Aberle finished just outside of the consolation final with an 18th-place finish in the 800 at 2:30.50, as did Tokay’s Kayla Dart, who was 18th in the 400 at 1:02.36.
Other competitors in field events Wednesday were Lodi’s Bryan Quintero (18th in the discus at 125-8), Tokay’s Aidan Green (20th in the triple jump at 40-1), Darrius Hart (22nd in the triple jump at 39-10), Tokay’s Carly Hunter (15th in the high jump at 4-10) and Lodi’s Aubrey Andrews (24th in the high jump at 3-8).
Other field events will take place Friday along with the track finals.
In Division 4 on Tuesday at CSU Stanislaus in Turlock, Liberty Ranch sent a number of athletes into the finals. The meet combined Divisions 4 and 5, sending the top five to the Masters.
For the Hawks’ girls, Malina Schweigert, a junior, made the finals in the 100 with personal-best 13.04, and broke her own school record in the 200 (she set it last week at the Sierra Valley Conference finals) at 27.37. Another school record fell to sophomore Devyn Kelley, who broke her own mark in the 800 at 2:26.28. She also qualified in the 400 at 1:01.65.
The Hawks’ boys also sent a few, with Collin Ullrich winning his 800 heat at 2:03.96, but it was freshman Cristian Martinez who broke another school mark (set by Ullrich) by running 2:01.67 in another heat.
Senior Kamil Jones won his heats in all three of his events — the 110 hurdles at 15.23 (a school record), the 100 at 10.97 and the 300 hurdles at 40.69.
A pair of Elliot athletes also competed, with Michael Orji placing third in his flight of the triple jump at 43-0, and Noah Canepa placing second in his high jump flight at 5-10.