Ceres High’s Jayden Garcia, Brooke Kiser, Camila Rubio, Sharryah Cabellos and Genevieve Villasenor, and Central Valley’s Karla Sarabia, Andrea Tejeda, Airieana Martinez, Sophia Alvarez and Kassandra Torres represented their respective schools at the Sac-Joaquin Section Girls Track and Field Division finals/Masters trials this past weekend.
Garcia, Kiser, Rubio, Cabellos, Villasenor, Sarabia, Tejeda, Martinez, Alvarez and Torres had their seasons and/or careers end on May 16 at Sacramento City College.
“Nobody advanced,” Bulldogs’ head coach Paul Smith said. “The effort was there. It’s elite competition.”
“It wasn’t the results we wanted,” Hawks’ leader Luis Calderon said. “They gave it all they got.”
Garcia, a junior, medaled in both of her individual events.
She placed fourth in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.89 seconds (15.89) and 300 hurdles (48.25) against Division-IV competition.
“We’re super proud of Jayden,” Smith said. “She worked hard to get this far. I believe she’ll qualify for Masters finals next year.”
Garcia set a personal record in the 100 hurdles on Saturday.
She ranks third in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the 100 hurdles in program history.
“She was excited,” Smith said. “She had a goal of breaking 16 seconds in the 100 hurdles and did it.”
Ceres High’s 4x100 relay team of Kiser (Sr.), Rubio (So.), Cabellos (So.) and Villasenor (Sr.) did not place.
“They got disqualified for running out of the zone,” Smith said. “There was a lot behind it dealing with seniors on trips and not getting the reps they needed at practice.”
Sarabia (Sr.) placed seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 31 feet, 91/4 inches.
She ranks second all-time in the event in program history behind Jasveen Brar (class of 2010).
“I’m very proud of Karla,” Calderon said. “She had a successful season. She cemented herself as one of the top triple jumpers in school history.”
A newcomer to the triple jump, Sarabia reached record heights this spring.
“Karla is a hard worker,” Calderon said. “She’s very determined. She’s passionate about the sport. This was her first year doing jumps. She’s a fast learner. I credit Karla and coach (Xavier) Banta. He gave Karla all the tools and resources she needed to improve her jumping skills.”
Central Valley’s 4x100 relay team of Tejeda (Jr.), Martinez (Sr.), Alvarez (Sr.) and Torres (Jr.) placed seventh with a time of 52.85 seconds.
“To be considered one of the top 10 teams in Division-IV is awesome,” Calderon said. “They worked very hard for it. They believed in themselves. They pushed each other. They motivated each other. It was a very fun team to watch.”
The Bulldogs and Hawks finished 17th and 24th, respectively, in the team standings.
Ceres High and Central Valley totaled 10 and four points.
Oakmont (95), Lathrop (81) and Casa Roble (70) took first, second and third, respectively.
“We are already recruiting athletes to come out for next season to address our need and depth in many events,” Smith said.
“We need more athletes, period,” he added. “We have so many ladies splitting time in other sports and clubs, we struggle to field all events consistently.”
