WATSONVILLE—It was make or break time for dozens of athletes at Tuesday’s Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division Girls Track and Field trials at Watsonville High School.
Watsonville senior Mayra Peralta-Celedon definitely made the most of it as she finished with the fastest qualifying time in the 100 and 200-meters in 13.49 and 28.04 seconds, respectively.
Both top marks earned her a spot in Friday’s league finals at Christopher High at 4pm.
Peralta-Celedon said she was both excited and freaked out about competing against 13 other schools within the division. But one glance at the competition and she went straight into her normal routine.
“It was time to get into the moment, it’s time to settle in, calm down and take deep breaths,” she said. “Run my race. Be who I am and just show my talents.”
Pajaro Valley’s Joceline Ortega also earned a spot in the 100 finals with the seventh fastest qualifying time in 13.96.
Other qualifiers in the 200 include North Monterey County High freshman Nadia Angelique Anastacio (28.42), Watsonville junior Edith Rodriguez (28.60) and Ortega (28.84).
Watsonville senior Dominique Cervantes-Samudio (2:28.72), junior Dahlia Barranco (2:34.34), freshman Katelynn Ruiz (2:32.84) and Rodriguez (2:36.87) all qualified for the 800 final.
Barranco (5:38.36), Ruiz (5:38.84) and Ana Ruiz (5:48.83) also qualified for the 1,600 final.
Peralta-Celedon said this year’s girls’ team has come out stronger than ever. She’s especially proud of the distance runners who have set several personal records this season.
“During the track meet we all do our own thing, we have to prepare for our own individual events…then at the end of the day we all come together as a team and see how we did together,” Peralta-Celedon said. “It’s really amazing.”
Fellow senior teammate Dominique Cervantes-Samudio (1:02.47) had the second fastest qualifying time in the 400, followed by Monte Vista Christian junior Caelan Gilliam (1:02.72) and Anastacio (1:03.44).
Ruiz (1:06.06) also snuck into the 400 finals with the eighth and final spot.
Watsonville senior Jasmine Navarro (17.93) and junior Kassandra Hernandez (18.75) along with NMC freshman Haylie Rivers (19.81) qualified for the 100 hurdles.
Watsonville junior Raquel Jacinto (53.79) and Gilliam (49.41) both qualified for the 300 hurdles.
Watsonville senior Lisandra Nambo-Belmonte had the best qualifying throw of 94 feet, 06 inches in the discus.
Pajaro Valley junior Alexa Flores (91-07), NMC freshman Peyton Phillips (80-06) and Watsonville senior Alejandra Chavez-Guzman (76-00) also qualified for the discus final.
Other qualifiers include Pajaro Valley sophomore Jasmine Luengas-Bernabe (69-11) and junior Brianna Hernandez (67-04), and NMC juniors Julia Portillo De La Cruz (68-02.50) and Mabel Martinez-Lopez (67-05.50).
Flores had the second best mark in the shot put with a throw of 28-03, followed by Phillips (27-04) and MVC junior Devenn Keegan (26-04).
Luengas-Bernabe (25-04), Pajaro Valley juniors Annel Andrade (25-02.50) and Natasha Santana (24-09.50), and NMC junior Aurora Guillen (24-09) also qualified for the shot put final.
Watsonville senior Jasmine Navarro (14-05) and sophomore Evangelina Gaona (13-06) along with Ortega (14-05.50) qualified for the long jump final.
Gaona (29-06) and NMC junior Janely Escobar Mendoza (29-04) both qualified for the triple jump final.
