Seniors Reis Smith, Tre Karriem and Alex Vas Dinis donned Ceres High School boys track and field uniforms for the final time while competing at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships last month.
Bulldog teammates Joseluis Arreola, Nathaniel Macias, David Rodriguez-Ochoa, Cashton Almeida and Sergio Torres all gained valuable experience.
The CIF State Meet qualifying event was staged May 23-24 at Folsom High School.
“All of the kids did the best they could,” head coach Brett Johnson said. “I’m proud of the way they performed.”
Ceres High’s 4x100 relay team of Smith, Arreola, Macias and Karriem placed 21st with a time of 43.80 seconds.
“It was a fun race to watch,” Johnson said. “They ran the fourth-fastest time in school history. I can’t complain.”
Slowed by a hamstring injury, Karriem missed a week of practice.
“The first time they practiced full speed together was at Folsom,” Johnson said.
“They still went out there and ran their best,” he added.
Smith, Arreola, Macias and Karriem made history this season.
They set meet and school records while teaming up to finish in first place at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on May 3 at CUSD Stadium.
They posted a time of 43.34 seconds in the event.
Smith, Arreola, Macias and Karriem took first (43.42) at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV Championships.
“They ran to their full potential,” Johnson said. “They worked hard. They encouraged each other and held each other accountable. They got along.”
Vas Dinis placed 17th in the shot put (46-01/2).
“I really didn’t see a lot of nerves,” Johnson said. “He went out there and competed. His first throw was his best of the day. It was a solid mark.”
Vas Dinis was a four-year member of Ceres High’s boys track and field program.
He took third in the shot put (47-71/4) and fourth in the discus (137-01/2) at Divisionals this spring.
He placed first in the discus (140-3) and second in the shot put (46-2) at the WAC Championships.
“Alex worked hard to get where he’s at,” Johnson said.
Rodriguez-Ochoa, a junior, placed 19th in the 110 hurdles (15.75).
“It was exciting for David to get that experience and see what else is out there,” Johnson said.
“It’s not like he ran a horrible race,” he added. “He ran hard. He just clipped the first hurdle and it slowed him down.”
Rodriguez-Ochoa enjoyed a breakout season with the Bulldogs this year.
He took second in the 110 hurdles (15.27) at Divisionals.
He swept the 110 hurdles (15.43) and 300 hurdles (41.52) at the conference finals.
Rodriguez-Ochoa trimmed four seconds off his previous-best times in both events.
“He’s a hard-worker,” Johnson said. “He’s a goal-setter.”
Rodriguez-Ochoa has developed into one of Ceres High’s greatest hurdlers.
He’s benefitted from training with Jaiden Boss, who suffered a season-ending hamstring injury during the WAC regular season.
Boss and Rodriguez-Ochoa rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 110 hurdles in program history.
“When David got his chance to shine, he stepped up,” Johnson said.
Almeida, a sophomore, placed 21st in the 400 (50.86).
“It was exciting for him to make it to Masters,” Johnson said. “There was no intimidation. He ran his second-best time of the season.”
Almeida took first in the 400 (50.68), second in the 200 (22.98) and fourth in the high jump (5-8) at the league championships.
He set personal records in the 400 and 200.
He placed fourth in the 400 at Divisionals (51.51).
“He had an amazing season,” Johnson said.
Torres, a junior, placed 24th in the 800 (2:01.87).
“He competed his heart out,” Johnson said.
Torres took fourth at Divisionals (2:00.57) and third at the WAC finals (2:02.91).
“He worked so hard,” Johnson said. “We were hoping he’d break the two-minute mark. He got so close. He just missed it.”
