The second Southern Athletic Meet took place at Turlock High on Saturday and for the second time Denair High walked away from Joe Debely Stadium as the most productive team in its field. Delhi High improved greatly from its first league outing, testing the Coyotes with its array of athletes, but in the end a combination of missed opportunities and no shows kept the Hawks from claiming victory.
Denair was once again led by Trey Howze who claimed three first place finishes in the 110m hurdles, 300m hurdles, and high jump in addition to a second place finish in the 800m. Patrick Dudley also had a successful day on the track with a first place 200m finish and two second place finishes in the 100m and long jump. Quentin Allen recorded a second place finish in the 200m and a third place finish in the 100m, Jesus Padilla finished third in the 400m, Vandon Weaver finished second in the 3200m and third in both the 800m and 1600m, and Luis Mendoza finished fourth in the shot put.
Dudley and Allen also joined Connor Sosa and Everett Wagner in the 4 x 100m relay where the group finished second while Padilla joined Luke Tosti, Blake Pombo, and Zach Mills in the 4 x 400m relay where the team finished third.
The Lady Coyotes also joined in on the success as Brigette Burgess claimed first in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Ciera Jantz tied with Burgess for first in the high jump while also recording a second place finish in the 200m and a fourth place finish in the 100m. Samantha Watts added another pair of first place finish to Denair’s tally in the 100m and 300m hurdles before finishing third in the 100m while Theresa Martinez put in a first place finish of her own in the shot put.
Other notable performances included Katie Bailey’s pair of second place finishes in the 800, and 1600m, Cheyenne Rutherford’s third place finish in the high jump, and Samantha McVeigh’s fourth place finish in the 400m.
While a host of Coyotes took first in their respective events, Delhi only claimed four overall first place finishes—three on the boys’ side and one on the girls’.
The team of Fernando Nuno, Erik Tapia, Sergio Espindola, and Hector Jimenez claimed first in the 4 x 400m relay while Dylan Price finished first in the triple jump, and Brian Medel finished first in the shot put. Medel also finished second in the discus while Ryan Saavedra finished fourth in the discus and Joseph Cantu finished second in the shot put. Price also added more accomplishments to his first place finish with a pair of third place jumps in the high jump and long jump.
The 4 x 100m relay team of Cantu, Cosme Soto, Hayden Steger, and Garret Thomas placed third. Thomas finished third in the triple jump, Steger placed fourth in the 100m, Jimenez finished fourth in the 800m, Espindola came in second in the 1600m, Soto finished fourth in both the 1600m and 3200m, and Erik Serrato finished fourth in the 300m hurdles.
Jennifer Garcia emerged as the only first place Lady Hawk in the discus while Sarah Cruz finished second in the long jump, Ana Gonzalez finished third in the 1600m and fourth in the 800m, and Rosemary DaLuz finished third in the 800m and fourth in the 1600m.
Turlock Christian High was also in the mix on Saturday as Nick Steeley and Dante Barron claimed the school's only first place finishes in the long jump and 400m, respectively. Steeley also finished second in the 300m hurdles and third in the 100m hurdles while Barron finished fourth in the long jump. Malik Portillo finished third in the 200m and Jared Zuniga finished third in the 300m hurdles and fourth in the 110m hurdles before the two joined Erick Cervantes and Jose Almanza for a second place finish in the 4 x 400m relay.
Mikayla Yagi and Abi Bawcum were the top placing Lady Eagles with respective fourth place finishes in the 200m and shot put.
