Prep track and field: Fast times and celebrations at first Masters meet in 3 years
Neither of them knew what to expect Saturday.
They expected to compete, certainly, but how would they place in their respective races, the biggest of this track and field season with one more meet to conquer.
The trio did just fine, exceeding even their own lofty expectations, and take a bow Tatiana Cornejo, Brandon Moreno and Isiah Earls. Each sparkled in winning CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Masters championships at Davis High School under ideal conditions.
The top three finishers in each Masters race earned a ticket to next weekend’s CIF State Meet in Fresno, where nerves are to be expected just as much as the fierce competition from the waves of talent from Southern California.
A senior at St. Francis, Cornejo won the 1,600 meters in 5 minutes, 2.97 seconds. Carly Foster of Granite Bay was second in 5:06.39 and Leila Swenson of Bella Vista was third in 5:07.02. Cornejo upon finishing the 4-lap race immediately turned to see how her competitors fared, and she high-fived Foster and Swenson because that’s what track grinders do. They appreciate each other.
Moreno is a junior at Jesuit, home of some of the greatest distance runners in state history, so he wasn’t just running against a strong field here. He was competing against the legacy of legends, and he loved every bit of it. Moreno won the 1,600 in 4:12.82, representing his school and his teammate Braden King, whose aim was to win this race and the 3,200, but was not able to compete in either due to a most-unfortunate reason. King suffered a concussion after lunging to the finish line in a down-to-the-wire finish in one of the section distance races the previous week, stumbling to the track.
And there’s Earls, who captured the general vibe and mood at this event. The Woodcreek senior was so ecstatic to win the 110-meter high hurdles in a lifetime-best 14.55 seconds that he couldn’t stop jumping or cheering. And then he hugged up Rickey Green III, a sophomore from Capital Valley Conference rival Inderkum, who placed third. There was a lot of elation at these championships because it’s been a long time coming. COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 season and there was no postseason a year ago for the same reasons.
“We all feel good,” Earls said. “(Friday) I didn’t have a good (qualifying race), and I came out today determined to do better. I had nightmares with how bad that race was. It was a subpar race. I had to shake it off and I did. It feels so good to win.”
As for his joy for Green?
“We’re in the same section, in the same league, and we run into each other a lot,” Earls said. “He’s always smiling, all day. I hope he breaks my best times in the next two years. I’d love that. That’s what track and field is all about.”
Cornejo of St. Francis is headed to Cal Poly to run and to study business administration. She’s just scratching the surface of how good she can be, and her smiles offer a stark contrast to her fierce drive to excel.
“I love running,” she said. “I like that all the work pays off. I used to run as a kid for an outlet. We didn’t the last two seasons, so this is a big moment for all of us.”
Moreno’s time was a lifetime best. He was a student-athlete last academic year at West Campus in the Sacramento City Unified School District and was eager for a shot to show what he could do at such a storied track program in Jesuit, where decades-long coach Walt Lang has mentored many a marvelous Marauder.
“Jesuit has such a huge reputation, and it’s really super cool to do this,” Moreno said. “My goal was to just get to the Masters meet, and here I am. I’ll put this medal on my wall and appreciate it.”
As for King, Jesuit’s top runner all season, Moreno said, “He did motivate me to run hard. I know he wanted to be here.”
Other Masters highlights:
▪ Alison Sahaida of Oak Ridge won the pole vault with a Masters meet record 13-foot, 2-inch effort. The previous mark was 13-01 by Katie Zingheim of Granite Bay in 2011.
▪ Ashanti Elie of Whitney won the high jump at 5-6 and anchored the 4x100 relay to a third-place showing in 48.07.
▪ Riley Chamberlain of Del Oro won the 3,200 in 10 minutes, 20.51 seconds. Her friend and rival Cate Joaquin of St. Francis was second in 10:28.69. Katie Kopec of Whitney third in 10:34.95.
▪ Rocklin sophomore Giselle Kirchner won the 100 hurdles in 14.03 seconds. She was fifth in the 300 hurdles in 44.74. She’ll be doing a lot of winning the next two years.
▪ Kanye Clark of Capital Christian was second by a hair in the boys’ 200 in 21.83, just behind Zion Allen of Manteca (21.82) and just ahead of MacGregor TeSelle of Rocklin (22.01).
▪ John Dailey of Whitney won the 400 in 48.44 and made it look easy.
▪ Yuba City won the boys 400 relay with a season-best 42.43-second effort behind Joaquin Porcayo, Michael Rojo, Dorsey Sanders and Amias Bazemore. Rojo was third in the 100 in 10.89.
▪ Zach Ayers of Davis took the 3200 in 9:04.82 to seal his school’s team title. He impressed without his biggest rival, King of Jesuit, offering a push to the very end as they have the last two seasons.
▪ Bella Vista stormed from behind to take the girls 4-by-400 relay in a season-best 3:56.76 behind Kathleen O’Brien, Uriah Walton, Emily Bluemel and savior anchor Isabelle Rasmussen, who waved the baton with her teammates on the infield, jumping and cheering. Rasmussen earlier was second in the long jump at 16-10.
▪ Rocklin capped the event by winning the boys 4-by-400 in a season-best 3:16.62 behind Isaac Ja, TeSelle, Kyle Hall and impressive anchor Nathan Kent, the football star who does quite well in this sport too.
This story was originally published May 22, 2022 at 6:43 AM.