Pajaro Valley sophomore Liz Zamora stood on the sideline with anticipation as she watched the second heat of the girls 400-meters race come to a conclusion at the Pacific Coast Athletic League Masters Meet on May 8.
One by one, the runners crossed the finish line with qualifying marks into this weekend’s Central Coast Section Track and Field semifinals.
And for a split second, it almost felt like Zamora’s winning time and personal best of 1 minute, 02.76 seconds in the first heat wouldn’t be good enough to punch her ticket.
“I was hoping I’d get sixth place,” said Zamora, who was beside her family inside Mustangs Stadium at Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville. “We were just looking at the times and that’s when they announced my name, I was so happy.”
Zamora did in fact advance, edging Hollister High senior Zamaya Rivera, who placed seventh in 1:03.24. The top six athletes in each event qualified for the CCS semifinals at Gilroy High School on Saturday at 9am.
The Grizzly standout runner jumped with excitement once the public announcement was blasted through the crackling speakers.
“I came straight to my friends, especially because they’re the ones that inspired me the most and pushed me the most,” Zamora said. “I went to my parents first because they’re always coming to my meets, and I just wanted to do it for them. To make them proud.”
Watsonville High freshman Judah Leota is also CCS bound after he placed fourth overall in the boys 110 hurdles in 17.03 seconds and sixth overall in the pole vault with a leap of 10 feet, 6 inches.
“Judah is just a beast and can probably do any event in track and field,” Watsonville head coach Rob Cornett said. “His improvement astounds all of us but his peak is still far off and we are anxious to find out just how good he can be.”
Senior hurler Lisandro Pentoja will join his Wildcat teammate as he took third overall in both the boys shot put and discus events with throws of 47-5 and 146-5, respectively.
Watsonville senior Luis Marquez also qualified in the discus with a toss of 140-2 1/2, while sophomore Noel Navarro took third in the boys 300 hurdles in 42.55.
“Luis has been improving each time he competes and Lisandro has been a great model for him,” Cornett said. “Noel lowered his best time a couple weeks back and has been working hard on technique to improve.”
On the girls side, Watsonville sophomore Noemi Torres is heading to the CCS semifinals following a qualifying mark of 92-8 in the discus.
“Noemi is also improving, however, she injured her wrist so we are crossing fingers for this Saturday,” Cornett said.
In the boys unified shot put, Christopher Hernandez paired with Leonel Jarquin and Andre Francisco Alanis paired with Alejandro Riquelme each qualified for the CCS semifinals.
“Our team strength has been our field events and hurdlers where I have great coaching and great kids who want to learn and improve,” Cornett said.
Monte Vista Christian sophomore Anna Conca was the top qualifier in two events, winning both the girls 800 and 1600 in 2:24.93 and 5:06.02, respectively.
Teammate sophomore Charley Moggia was fourth overall in the girls 100 hurdles in 17.47, while freshman Bella Myers snuck her way into the CCS semis with a qualifying throw of 29-7 in the girls shot put.
MVC sophomore Eleanor Crane and senior Nylie Joneson each finished with the top mark of 8-6 in the girls pole vault.
The Mustang 4×400 girls relay team — Finley Castro, Karina Fromm, Kylie Fitzpatrick and Conca — took third overall in 4:12.56, while the 4×100 girls team — Myers, Moggia, Crane and Fitzpatrick — placed sixth in 51.36, which was good enough to advance both groups into the CCS semis.
MVC senior Conor Gilliam placed third overall in the boys 800 in 1:56.93, while teammates freshman Owen Beckmen (9:36.16) and senior Gavin Beckmen (9:46.56) took fourth and sixth, respectively, in the boys 3200.
Gavin Beckmen recently received an athletic scholarship to attend Northwest Nazarene University — an NCAA Division II school outside of Boise, Idaho.
MVC head coach Erik Beckmen said the hard work, commitment and teamwork paid off for the 14 track and field athletes who will continue their journey at this weekend’s CCS semifinals.
“The coaching staff and school are extremely proud of all the athletes who advanced to the CCS semifinals and represent our school with excellence, determination and pride,” Erik Beckmen said. “This has been an amazing season and I am very proud of this team.”
St. Francis senior Jacob Jimenez finished tied for the best mark of 5-10 in the boys high jump, while teammate senior Peyton Orradre took sixth in 51.20 to earn the final qualifying spot in the girls 300 hurdles.
Jimenez said he’s been lacking in the high jump this entire season but he felt extremely confident going into last weekend’s Masters Meet. He had a good day at the office with three jumps with no scratches.
“Coming in there wasn’t really much nerves, but just try to keep doing what I do usually, and have fun,” Jimenez said.
Orradre, who also qualified in the triple jump with a top mark of 32-7, was exhausted following her finish in the hurdles.
“This season wasn’t my greatest considering last year, and I’d say I’m a little less excited about it,” she said. “I’m still glad I made it, but compared to everything I did last year, I feel a little underperforming.”
Orradre has at least one more week to close out her final season at St. Francis with some redemption and a bang at the CCS track and field championships.
“I really like the atmosphere of track meets,” she said. “Everyone’s super nice, I’m excited about that.”
