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Local athletes record personal bests at Masters
TUR-Jevon Hogan-200 2
Turlocks Jevon Hogan competes neck and neck during the 200m race at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament held in Elk Grove last Thursday. - photo by JONAMAR JACINTO / The Journal

Turlock, Pitman and Hilmar High each saw its track season come to an end at the SJS Masters tournament in Elk Grove last Thursday. A combined nine athletes from the three schools competed in various events throughout the day, with a majority competing in the girls division.

The Bulldogs had four female representatives: Joy Ndem, Mallory Patino, Cierra Booz, and Katrina Tate. Ndem qualified for the 400m race but suffered from a false start, ending her season abruptly. Patino fared the best out of her peers, finishing ninth in the 300m hurdles and barely missing the finals. Booze finished 17th in the long jump and Tate finished 19th in the triple jump.

“There were some phenomenal athletes out there competing,” Turlock’s girls head coach Mike Brown said. “Patino should be one of the best hurdlers in league next year.”

The Pride’s girls were their sole representatives in Elk Grove as Lauren Cariaso, Kelsee Derr, and Rashel Pritchard competed on both the track and in the field. Cariaso finished 22nd in the triple jump and Pritchard finished 15th in the discus. Derr competed in the 100 m hurdles and the 300m hurdles, where she placed 10th and 11th respectively.

“Overall we finished off the season pretty good,” Pitman’s head coach Thad Moren said. “Next year we’ll start again and continue working hard. We want to do our best to find where kids can be most successful.”

The Yellowjackets only had one athlete at Masters, Morgan McFaddin. Although McFaddin was the only competitor with Hilmar on her uniform she represented her team well in three separate events. She placed 22nd in the long jump and 21st in the 400m race but her best event of the day was the triple jump where she placed 13th.

Turlock’s boys division consisted of Ty Hyer, Jevon Hogan, Niko Lombrana, and Alec Nicolai. The four finished 12th in the 4x100m relay in addition to Hyer’s 20th place finish and Hogan’s 13th place finish in the 200m race.

“They’ve recorded a personal best each time they’ve raced. It’s a good group, with two of them being juniors I’m hoping next year will be even better.” Brown said of his relay team. “They’re a good group of kids and they’re really young so next year should be good.”