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Jordan leads Hawks
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Latrisha Jordan highlighted the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III track and field championships on Thursday at Modesto Junior College.

The Central Valley High School senior placed first in the 300 hurdles in 43.44 seconds, second in the 100 hurdles (14.99) and third in the 400 (59.56).

She also propelled the Hawks' 1,600-meter relay squad to a fifth-place finish (4:12.95).

"Latrisha set the tone for our team," head coach Mike Reynolds said.

Added Jordan: "I love competition so much."

The top six finishers in each event qualified for the Masters Meet.

Latrisha will be joined by Jasveen Brar, Marissa Cabusas and Danni Sandoval on Thursday at Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium.

Central Valley's girls finished in sixth place in the team standings with 28 points at the Division III competition. Placer took first at the 30-team event (72). El Dorado (56), Oakdale (39.50), Modesto Christian (33) and Bret Harte (32) placed second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

"I knew we'd do well, but to have that many kids moving on and that many personal records is a great accomplishment in itself," Reynolds said. "The girls are stoked. The coaches are stoked."

Jordan clocked the 10th-fastest time in the state in the 300 hurdles.

"I don't know how I did so good," she said. "I jumped off the wrong foot on the third-to-last hurdle. My legs were heavy because I just ran the 400 before this. I know I could have done better."

Brar, Cabusas, Jordan and Sandoval bested their previous-best 4x400-relay time by three seconds. Latrisha ran a split of 56.1 seconds, moving Central Valley from eighth to third heading into the final lap.

"That's ridiculous," Reynolds said. "But we've seen it before. That's why we had her at the third spot. It's a confidence builder."

Brar, a sophomore, fifth in the 300 hurdles in a personal-record time of 47.76 seconds and seventh in the 400 (1:02.58).

"I really don't know how I PR'd in the 300 hurdles because I just did the 400," she said. "I was tired."

Adrianna Mendez took 10th in a field of 19 in the 1,600. The freshman completed the race in 5:49.03.

Mendez set a personal record the previous week when she placed third at the VOL championships (5:44).

"I'm happy," Adrianna said. "I didn't expect to do this well."

Senior pole vaulter Junior Reyes failed to clear the opening height of 11-6 in the Division III finals.

"At practice, I was vaulting and I landed on my pole," he said. "My back has been aching. But there's really no excuse. I came out here and gave it my best shot."

Reyes cleared a personal-best 11 feet en route to a third-place finish at the league meet. He started the year at 6-6.

"I never thought I'd make it this far," Reyes said. "I'm excited."

Tony Marques finished in a seven-way tie for 12th place in the Division III high jump trials on Tuesday, May 13 at Modesto JC.

The senior cleared 5-8 on his first attempt, then missed three times at 5-10.

"Everything wasn't as perfect as it was last week at Oakdale," Marques said. "I just came in real nervous."

Tony cleared a personal-best 6 feet on his way to a third-place finish at the league finals.

"I don't know what I could have done differently today except be more prepared," Marques said. "I felt I could have competed with these guys."

Reyes, Joaquin Casas, Jonathan Berrios and Kunal Jamnadas teamed up to place 11th overall in the 4x400 relay in a personal-best 45.54 seconds. They finished fourth in the third heat.

"We're just glad with what we got," Jamnadas said. "That's the best we ran since we got put together. The competition was a big factor. And we've been practicing the exchanges. It paid off today."