Nineteen local athletes competed in the Division I CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Track and Field trials this week at Elk Grove High, with Turlock sending seven athletes across five events and Pitman with 12.
When it was all said and done, Pitman will be sending all 12 on to the Masters trials on Thursday. Turlock's Cierra Booz will definitely be moving on to the Masters for the triple and long jump events, but it was still undecided by 10 p.m. Friday whether or not the Turlock boys 4x400 relay team made the cut.
"When we came on Wednesday to the meet we nearly didn't have enough cars to carry all the kids, so we thought instead of taking the bus. It just seems like this year we had a lot of kids going to Masters ...it's been a really good year," said Pitman head coach Thad Moren.
"The fact that we had so many participants competing in the Divisional meet, which we haven't had in some time; we are so pleased with the attitude and dedication of our athletes," Turlock head coach Undrae Walker said. "Our mile relay were in a fast heat, so we're hoping that they can squeeze in there."
Turlock already saw one of the more successful seasons they have had in a while sending out 17 kids to the trials alone.
The 'Dogs 4x4 relay team had to deal without their star junior, Ryan Weaver, but Jesus Robledo, Gali Farias, Bryan Montes and Adrian Rodriguez managed to notch a seventh place finish with a time of 3:27.88.
Senior Booz took fifth place in both the triple and long jump events.
"Cierra [Booz] has been consistent all year and it has paid off," Walker said about the future CSU Stanislaus Warrior. "Very excited about her and our track program that kids want to move on and run track at college and, hopefully, we're helping these kids get there."
Junior Justin Serpa struggled and had an 'off day,' without his best performance as he finished in the bottom half of the long and triple jump.
"[Justin] Serpa jumped ok, but not his best performance. He was looking for a big jump after PRing. He put a lot of pressure on himself and just fell short. He should be ready to go next year and we are excited for him as well," added Walker.
For Pitman, the top competitor for the day was Lindsey Phillips who finished in second in the girls pole vault after jumping 10 feet, 9 inches.
Aaron Mayfield continued his hard work on the track, finishing fourth in the 800 meter.
Here are the final results for the remainder of the Pitman athletes moving on to next week:
• Lauren Cariaso, 3rd place in triple jump , 36 feet, 8 inches; 11th in long jump, 16 feet, 8.75 inches
• Kiana Clay, 12th in 200m, 26.18
• Branson Garcia, 11th in high jump, 5-11
• D'andre Griffin, 6th in high jump 6-1; 10th in triple jump, 41-10.5
• Claire Littlefield, 10th in triple jump, 35-0.75
• Jamie Stroup, 9th in high jump, 4-11
• Sydney Holmes, 9th in long jump, 16-10.5
• Isaac Gonzalez, 10th in 3200m, 9:41
• Girls 4x100 (Littlefield, Clay, Moren, Todd) 7th, 49.61
The Masters meet will take place on Thursday and Friday at Elk Grove High School.