Sprint to finish for Eagle boys

Bryce Alderton

Whether the teams assembled for the Golden West League track and

field finals at Orange Coast College Thursday knew it or not, they

were racing to beat the rain that eventually came.

Sprinkles began to fall minutes after the final runner crossed the

finish line in the boys 1,600-meter relay, the last event of the day.

What separated Estancia High’s boys team, which entered with a 6-0

record in league dual meets, from its second outright league crown in

two years was the depth of Santa Ana’s sprinters.

The Saints (5-1 in league) used that depth to seal a victory, with

141 points, in the meet and share the league championship with the

Eagles, who earned 111.5 points.

Estancia boys athletes placed first in six events, including two

wins apiece by Ryan Whites, Bryce McKendry and Ernesto Castaneda,

while Santa Ana won two, including the 400 relay.

“Every event we are evenly matched, [the Saints] just have good

sprinters and we don’t have that,” Estancia Coach Dominic Lackey

said. “That is the difference in the meet.”

The Costa Mesa girls placed fourth with 55 points and featured a

pair of victories from junior Jasmin Day, including tying a league

record held by her sister, Sharon Day, with a clearance of 5 feet, 8

inches, in the high jump to defend her title.

Randy Fea won the discus (129-4) and shot put (45-8 1/2 ) to lead

the Mesa boys, who finished sixth with 41 points.

McKendry remained undefeated in the high jump (5-10) and long jump

(21-11, a personal record achieved on his final jump of the event)

this season and finished second in the triple jump (42-3 1/2 ),

despite leaping six inches farther than he expected.

Whites won the 110 high hurdles (17.04) and 300 hurdles (42.36),

though he said he stumbled in both, and placed fourth in the triple

jump (39-7). Castaneda, who also goes by “Tito,” claimed the 1,600

(4:29.18) and 3,200 (9:59.82) and placed third in the 800 (2:04.05).

In the 1,600 Castaneda overtook Santa Ana’s Jesse Ramirez, a state

finalist last year in the event, with about 100 meters left and won

by less than a second.

“I didn’t think I would make it all the way here,” Castaneda said,

crouching over trying to catch his breath after the 1,600.

Castaneda remains undefeated in the 3,200 this season.

Estancia’s Josh Hendrickson placed second in the 300 hurdles

(42.99) while teammate Clayton Mills (19-3 3/4 in the long jump) and

Costa Mesa’s Tony Krikorian (40-8 in the triple jump) each finished

third.

Each first-place finisher from Thursday’s meet automatically

qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division III preliminaries May

14 at Gahr High in Cerritos.

Day claimed the 100 hurdles (18.03) and took second in the 300

hurdles (50.30). Day, who placed eighth in the high jump at last

year’s state meet, cleared 5-6 on her third and final try Thursday.

She then cleared 5-8 on her first try.

Lackey, tallying scores for the high jump, then lifted the bar to

5-9 per Day’s request. She tried three times to clear, but failed.

Day said she was unaware of her sister’s record until Lackey

informed her.

“I thought it was way higher, like 6 feet,” Day said. “I felt good

and wanted to keep jumping.”

Estancia’s Jaye Hellmich cleared 5-0 for the first time and

finished second to Day in the high jump while Mesa’s Tracy Bjelland

took second in the girls 400 (1:01.53) with teammate Kyla Flores

tallying third in the 3,200 (12:23).

Ashton Henderson placed third in the girls discus (81-7 1/2 ) for

Estancia. Costa Mesa’s Asa Hawks took third in the boys 400 (53.21).

Second- and third-place finishers qualified if they met a minimum

standard for their event.