Madison’s Amirah Shaheed shines at divisional track meet
A look at how Division 1, 2 and 3 track and field athletes fared on Saturdays
One of the reasons for the San Diego Section making the division championships more competitive this season was the belief that with only the top two in each event automatically advancing, no one would try to just cruise through.
Based on Saturday’s results, it worked.
Take the Division 3 championships at Valley Center, where the smallest-enrollment schools battled for the section total of 18 berths in the section championships at Mt. Carmel next Saturday.
All Madison’s Amirah Shaheed did was not only improve on her state-best in the 200-meter dash from 23.73 seconds to 23.52, she tossed in a new state leader for 100-meters, clocking a time of 11.51—superior to the 11.54 run by Temecula Chaparral’s Keelan Wright at Mt. SAC.
Both times were wind-legal — under the maximum of 2.0 meters per second.
La Jolla sophomore Chiara Dailey certainly didn’t back off as she qualified in three events—placing first in the 800 at 2:13.49, the 1600 at 4:55.69 and the 3200 at 10:58.79. Although those were well off her personal bests, they were quality performances.
Michigan-bound teammate Peyton Smith cruised to a 54.57 in the 400 which, although well off her state-best 53.56, is still faster than anyone else in the section.
Division 2
San Diego High’s Anisa Bowen-Fontenot is not only closing in on the school record in the 100-meter hurdles, she’s edging near the section standard.
The junior collected a 13.70 — bettering her own state-leading 13.76 — which is behind only the 13.61 by Cathedral Catholic’s Aaliyah McCormick in 2022 and 13.67 by fellow Caver Charlize James’ 13.67 winning the state in 2022.
Bowen-Fontenot came back to win the 300-meter hurdles in a season-best 42.36.
As expected, sophomore Brandon Arrington of Mt. Miguel swept the sprints in 10.41 and 20.64 seconds with the 200-meter mark improving his 20.76 coming into the meet at University City High School.
The 100 would have surpassed his 10.43 but the wind was barely over the allowable at 2.1.
El Capitan’s Jonathan Tseko-Biffle rode a 2.5 mps breeze to a 13.88 in the 110-highs and scored an impressive victory in the 300 hurdles at 37.67, topping section leader Vincent Atilano of Cathedral Catholic in the longer race.
Division 1
Helix’s Shon Martin collected an impressive triple, although his 13.98 to finish first in the 110-hurdles was aided by a 2.6 mps wind. Martin rolled to a 38.14 in the 300 hurdles and finished off his day by capturing the long jump in 22-2 at Del Norte High School.
San Marcos’ Jace Nix, one of the fastest runners in the state a year ago, showed he’s coming on by sweeping the 100 in 10.68 and the 200 in 21.71. Both were wind-aided.
On the girls’ front, the Herbst sisters from Carlsbad made their presence known as state-leader Morgan won the 300 hurdles in 41.91 seconds and Makenna captured the 800 in 2:12.80.
As expected, Eastlake sophomore Jaelyn Williams won the 1600 at 4:45.00 before doubling back in the 3200 to post a 10:21.40, winning by 22 seconds. Both of those times were the fastest of the day from all three divisions.
Del Norte’s Paige Echsner improved her season-best in the pole vault by three inches, winning at 13-feet, 3 inches — the No. 2 mark in the state.
(Automatic Section Qualifiers)
Division 1
at Del Norte
BOYS
TEAM: 1. Helix 79, 2. Rancho Bernardo 62 ½, 3. San Marcos 56 ½, 4. Del Norte 50, 5. Carlsbad 47 ½.
100—(wind: 2.6) Nix (SM) 10.68, Sanders (MiM) 10.78; 200—(wind: 2.8) Nix (SM) 21.71, Gray (Hx) 21.83; 400—Fredrickson (ECam) 49.22, Corbett (OR) 49.56; 800—Evans (Cbad) 1:52.84, Cordero (Oly) 1:54.45; 1600—Pippel (CynCr) 4:19.18, Senn (SC) 4:19.57, Rickert (TP) 4:19.57; 3200—Welton (WV) 9:22.49, Reyes (ECam) 9:25.02.
110H—(wind: 2.6) Martin (Hx) 13.98, Reese (RB) 14.22; 300H—Martin (Hx) 38.14, Spurgiesz (DN) 38.82; 4x100R—Rancho Bernardo 41.97, San Marcos 42.09; 4x400R— Carlsbad 3:21.83, Helix 3:21.85; 4x800R—Carlsbad 8:00.04, Westview 8:02.11.
HJ—Carmona (Fa) 6-8, Gross (TP) 6-6; PV—Weisman (TP) 15-6, Farenc (WV) 15-6, Bernier (Fa) 15-6; LJ—Martin (Hx) 22-2, Wilson (SC) 21-5; TJ—Gouvalaris (TP) 46-0 ½, Daley (ECam) 43-9 ¾; SP—Gash (Hx) 56-4, Gelt (SM) 49-7; DT—Gash (Hx) 161-7, Maciejewski (DN) 154-5.
GIRLS
TEAM: 1. Steele Canyon 101, 2. Del Norte 97 ½, 3. Otay Ranch 81, 4. Helix 64, 5. Rancho Bernardo 52 ½.
100—(wind: 2.5) Barclay (SC) 11.99, Rebugio (DN) 12.17; 200—(wind: 1.8) Barclay (SC) 24.55, Ratermann (WV) 24.93, Burkhardt (SC) 24.93; 400—Burkhardt (SC) 55.89, Gonzalez (TP) 57.53; 800—Ma. Herbst (Cbad) 1:12.30, Buswell (Pow) 2:13.10; 1600—Williams (East) 4:45.00, Buswell (Pow) 4:56.78; 3200—Williams (East) 10:21.40, Aguirre (PH) 10:53.33.
100H—(wind: 0.4) Mack (OR) 14.76, Cook (SC) 14.81; 300H—Mo. Herbst (Cbad) 41.91, Mack (OR) 43.53; 4x100R—Steele Canyon 47.09, Otay Ranch 47.98; 4x400R— Carlsbad 3:52.12, Steele Canyon 3:55.56; 4x800R—Poway 9:37.43, Steele Canyon 9:40.08.
HJ—Schroeder (OR) 5-6, Stein (PH) 5-6; PV—P. Echsner (DN) 13-3, Humer (RB) 12-9; LJ—Hoagland (RB) 18-8, Estes (CynCr) 17-11 ¾; TJ—Guevera (BV) 37-2 ¾, Hoagland (RB) 36-8; SP—Colon Gipson (OR) 40-6 ½, Ford (Hx) 39-2 ¼; DT—Driscoll (CynCr) 143-5, McKinney (DN) 116-1.
Division 2
at University City
BOYS
TEAM: 1. (tie) Mt. Miguel and Sage Creek 61, 3. Cathedral Catholic 48, 4. University City 46 ½, 5. Scripps Ranch 46
100—(wind: 2.1) Arrington (MtM) 10.41, McCotter (CathC) 10.72; 200—(wind: 1.1) Arrington (MtM) 20.64, Slaughter (MC) 21.86; 400—Slaughter (MC) 47.89, Jones (MtM) 48.14; 800—Bowman (Sage) 1:54.90, Cloyd (MtM) 1:58.32; 1600—Bowman (Sage) 4:19.22, O’Toole (Sage) 4:20.29; 3200—Hicks (UC) 9:22.92, O’Toole (Sage) 9:29.44.
110H—(wind: 2.5) Tseko-Biffle (ECap) 13.88, Bryant (Ram) 14.58; 300H—Tseko-Biffle (ECap) 37.67, Atilano (CathC) 38.39; 4x100R—Cathedral Catholic 42.03, Mt. Miguel 42.46; 4x400R—Mt. Miguel 3:19.96, Mt. Carmel 3:21.65; 4x800R—St. Augustine 8:08.22, Point Loma 8:14.13.
HJ—Doctor (Val) 6-4, Hasley (SR) 6-2; PV—Anderson (UC) 16-5, Emerson (Sage) 16-0; LJ—Sheridan (RBV) 22-5 ¼, Shaw (SR) 22-4 ¾; TJ—Julien (MC) 43-8 ½, Wein (PL) 43-5 ¼; SP—Gibbs (Os) 50-4, Nickley (SP) 47-1; DT—Telemaque (Sage) 160-11, Nickley (SP) 156-10.
GIRLS
TEAM: 1. Cathedral Catholic 115 ½, 2. Sage Creek 95, 3. La Costa Canyon 66, 4. Our Lady of Peace 48, 5. Mt. Carmel 34.
100—(Wind: 2.4) Frazier (UC) 11.89, Bowen-Fontenot (SD) 11.99; 200—(wind: 1.9) Frazier (UC) 24.72, Ruskovich (MC) 24.77; 400—Donnelly (LCC) 56.76, Baez (OLP) 57.17; 800—Zimmer (CathC) 2:14.43, Scuba (Sage) 2:14.50; 1600—Scuba (Sage) 4:56.21, Lopizzo (LCC) 4:56.75; 3200—Lopizzo (LCC) 10:47.61, Peters (Sage) 10:53.08.
100H—(wind: 1.9) Bowen-Fontenot (SD) 13.70, Gates (PL) 15.02; 300H—Bowen-Fontenot (SD) 42.36, Gates (PL) 45.82; 4x100R—Cathedral Catholic 49.14, La Costa Canyon 49.39; 4x400R—Sage Creek 4:01.88, Cathedral Catholic 4:04.34; 4x800R—Cathedral Catholic 9:17.32, Scripps Ranch 9:28.08.
HJ—Snedden (OLP) 5-0, Mulloy (CathC) 4-10; PV—Downing (LCC) 12-6, Snedden (OLP) 11-3; LJ—Jones (Os) 18-1, Frith (LCC) 17-10; TJ—Jones (Os) 38-11, O’Donnell (CathC) 37-1 ½; SP—Williams (CathC) 36-10 ½, Bartlett (WH) 35-10 ½; DT—Frankel (Sage) 134-0, Williams (CathC) 126-9.
Division 3
at Valley Center
BOYS
TEAM: 1. Mission Bay 140, 2. Imperial 76, 3. La Jolla 41 ½, 4. Mater Dei Catholic 33 ½, 5. Liberty Charter 33.
100—(wind: 1.8) Getz (MB) 10.84, Carr (MDC) 10.90; 200—(wind: 0.1) Smoole LJ) 22.18, Schrom (ANA) 22.63; 400—Dorame (Imp) 49.84, Pereyra (Cl) 50.61; 800—Ayan (Coro) 1:58.71, Roos (Coro) 1:58.87; 1600—Bourgeois (FP) 4:29.80, Hale (Class) 4:30.47; 3200—Guzman (Liberty 9:35.90, Craig (Health Sci) 9:46.62.
110H—(wind: 1.7) Reichenberg (MB) 14.59, Taffe (MB) 15.03; 300H—Taffe (MB) 39,34, Lowell (Class) 40.79; 4x100R—Mater Dei 43.56, La Jolla 43.75; 4x400R—La Jolla 3:29.11, Imperial 3:31.37; 4x800R—Liberty 8:21.04, Imperial 8:22.74.
HJ—B. Cheeks (MB) 6-6, A. Cheeks (MB) 6-2; PV—Rynearson (MB) 15-6, Heldman (LJCD) 14-0; LJ—B. Cheeks (MB) 22-9 ¾, Nixon (Imp) 22-0 ¼; TJ—Reichenberg (MB) 47-6 ¾, B. Cheeks (MB) 45-5; SP—Castillo (MB) 47-9 ½, Victor (VC) 46-10 ½; DT—Victor (VC) 155-5, Aguirre (Imp) 154-2.
GIRLS
TEAM: 1. La Jolla 144 ½, 2. Madison 47 ½, 3. Coronado 45, 4. La Jolla Country Day 44, 5. Mater Dei Catholic 43 ½.
100—(wind:0.4) Shaheed (Mad) 11.51, Gilhooly (Coro) 11.81; 200—(wind: 1.9) Shaheed (Mad) 23.52, Gilhooly (Coro) 24.36; 400—Smith (LJ) 54.57, Datuin (MDC) 58.09; 800—Dailey (LJ) 2:13.49, Lipsky (FP) 2:16.22; 1600— Dailey (LJ) 4:55.69, Hickey (Bi) 4:58.43; 3200—Dailey (LJ) 10:58.79, Hickey (Bi) 10:59.33.
100H—(wind: 2.4) Jones (K) 15.95, Marsowicz (MB) 15.99; 300H—Garcia (Holt) 45.81, Pleiza (LJ) 46.28; 4x100R—Coronado 48.33, Madison 48.75; 4x400R—La Jolla 4:6.35, Madison 4:07.15; 4x800R—Christian 10:22.6, Mater Dei 10:24.9.
HJ—Bateman (LJCD) 5-2, Dejong (Maran) 5-0, Webster (CynH) 5-0; PV—Dejong (Maran) 12-3, Rizo (Cl) 10-9; LJ—Bateman (LJCD) 17-10 ¼, Redfern (LJ) 17-8 ¼; TJ—Bateman (LJCD) 37-1 ¼ w, Pleiza (LJ) 35-5; SP—Hubbard (CynH) 34-4, Fornof (VC) 32-7 ½; DT—Nelson (Rock) 114-0, Cruz (MDC) 11-8.
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