State Trials - 06/01/13
Boys
CLOVIS -- Sometimes there is no waiting around for the best performance of the day. Homestead's Joseph Ilaoa had the big breakthrough he was looking for Friday in the state meet trials at Buchanan High, getting off a heave of 187 feet, 6 inches in the boys discus, the first field event of the day, on his first throw. Ilaoa, whose previous best was 178-4, had the second-best mark Friday behind Newport Harbor's Marty Taylor (189-11). His throw broke a school record that dates to 1970. "It couldn't happen to a nicer kid,'' said Homestead throws coach Andy Arness. "He has a great attitude, a great work ethic and a great sense of humor.'' Ilaoa managed to win the discus and take second in the shot put at the Central Coast Section finals despite having suffered a strained index finger three weeks ago throwing the 16-pound shot put. The injury forced him to throw off his middle finger at CCS, thus he managed only 165-9 in the discus. But he got healthy just in time for the state finals. "He had a great week of practice,'' Arness said. "What a great time to PR.'' Ilaoa also qualified for the shot put final with a mark of 56-10 ¼. Serra's Jon Beering also advanced at 57-9 ½. The Bellarmine 4x100 relay team of Taylor Njaka, Aaron Chapman, Nikolai Makarov and Joey Sanfilippo broke the school record it set last week at the CCS finals by running 41.58 to take second behind Castro Valley in its heat. The team thinks there is more room for improvement in Saturday's finals. "I left really early then was able to wait for the handoff,'' said Chapman, who runs the second leg, in reference to the handoff he took from Njaka, the leadoff runner. "Our goal is 41.4, but maybe we can run faster than that in the finals.'' Sanfilippo also qualified in the 100 with a time of 10.66. CCS champion Miguel Vasquez of Andrew Hill qualified for the finals by taking third in his heat of the boys 1,600 in 4:13.46. "I still have a little bit left, just enough to save for tomorrow,'' Vasquez said. He also advanced in the 800, winning his heat in 1:53.33. "My coach wants me to give everything I've got in the 1,600, don't even think about the 800,'' Vasquez said. "My goal is to get under 4:10. We'll see how the 800 plays out.'' Carlmont's Tim Layten advanced to the 800 final with a fourth-place time of 1:53.19 in a fast heat, but CCS champion David Aguilar of Oak Grove did not advance. Yohaness Estifanos of Milpitas, the CCS 3,200 champion, ran 4:15.19 to take fifth in his heat of the 1,600. No trials were contested in the 3,200. Bellarmine's Jaylen Wright advanced by running 14.12 to take second in his heat of the 110 high hurdles behind Berkeley's James Traylor (14.10). Sacred Heart Prep's Nico Robinson was fourth in 14.61 but did not qualify. In the second heat, Prospect's Kamara Biawogi hit the first hurdle hard and did not finish the race. There was concern about an injury, but Biawogi came back to run in the 300 hurdles. However, neither he nor Wright were able to advance in that event. Marc Toney of St. Francis was one of 12 boys pole vault qualifiers to clear 15-5 ¾ and move on to Saturday. St. Francis' Khalid Johnson, the CCS 100 champion, wanted to give it a try in the 100 trials after injuring his hamstring in the CCS 200 final. But when it came time to report, Johnson was not able. "It's not how we hoped his senior year would come to an end,'' St. Francis coach Mike Saso said. "But I think for his health we made the right decision.''Girls
CLOVIS -- The Piedmont Hills girls 4x400 relay team saved the best for last. The team of Timarya Baynard, Bianca Bryant, Ellisa Bryant and Alex Diaz shattered its own CCS record by winning its heat in 3 minutes, 44.47 seconds Friday in the state meet trials at Buchanan High. The previous record, which Piedmont Hills set at the Mt. SAC Relays, was 3:47.91. "We can go beyond that,'' Piedmont Hills coach Chioke Robinson said. "I think we can go 3:41. If you run 3:41,'' he said, turning to the girls on his relay team, "you will be champions.'' Piedmont Hills had the fastest time of the trials, but Robinson isn't kidding himself. The Pirates will be challenged by a host of very fast relay teams from Southern California. Edison of Fresno ran 3:44,75, chasing the Pirates to the finish line. Then there's Wilson of Long Beach (3:46.72), Carson (3:46.88) and Poly of Long Beach (3:47.66). "We can't throw jabs, we've got to go for the knockout,'' Robinson said. "We're going to try to represent the CCS and Northern California.'' Wilcox's Marisa Kwiatkowski qualified second in the girls triple jump with a mark of 39-5 ¼, behind Sasha Wallace of Castro Valley (40-10 ¾). "She's been real consistent,'' Wilcox coach Mike Buncic said. "Now she's got to notch it up (for the finals).'' Kwiatkowski came back to leap a personal-best 19-1 1/4 in the long jump to reach the final in that event as well with the fourth-best mark of the day. Pioneer's Jeanine Noordam (2:12.18) and Bianca Bryant of Piedmont Hills (2:12.25) both advanced in the girls 800. Gunn's Sarah Robinson was clocked in 4:51.44, placing fourth in her heat of the girls 1,600, and qualifying for the final. Robinson will also take part in the 3,200 final. No trials were contested in the 3,200. Danielle Katz of Los Gatos also qualified for the 1,600 final, running 4:54,71, All five qualifiers from the CCS were among the 12 that advanced to Saturday's final. Aptos teammates Nikki Hiltz and Claire Peabody finished 1-2 in the same heat with Robinson. Menlo"s Maddy Price won her heat of the girls 400 in 55.15, just ahead of Ellisa Bryant (55.17), but did not advance in the 200. Defending state champion Taylore Jaques of Presentation, teammate Emma McCarthy, Greta Wagner of Los Gatos and Westmont's Keren Hendel all qualified for Saturday's final in the girls pole vault by clearing 11-10. CCS champion Sabrina Mendoza of Mills got the 12th and final qualifying spot in the girls shot put, throwing 40-1 1/2. Del Mar's Anya Tonga just missed qualifying in the discus. She threw 132-0, which was 13th. The top 12 advanced to the final.