The California Interscholastic Federation State Meet for track and field took place from Buchanan High School in Clovis last weekend with seven local representatives competing for an opportunity at earning a medal.

Turlock qualified athletes to the State meet for the first time in 14 years after they sent their boys 4x1 relay team, while also advancing pole vaulter sensation Silas Fredeen.

Hilmar had Mikela Labno competing, while Pitman’s Whitney Barnes also advanced to the prelims on Friday.

Only Fredeen advanced to Saturday’s finals when the first of two days ended.

Fredeen had already made history when he broke the school record in pole vault back in March 28 during the first CCC Center Meet when he cleared 15-feet even. He broke the record a second time on May 5 during the CCC Championships when he cleared 15’3.

He earned a bid at the CIF State Meet Prelims on Friday before clearing 15’3 once again along with seven others and earned a bid to the finals. He finished in 11th place. 

“Competing at the State meet was a dream come true for me,” said Fredeen. “It has been a big goal of mine since I started pole vaulting and to accomplish that was a great feeling. I definitely think I competed to the best of my ability, although I was hoping for a PR.  Fifteen feet, four inches was definitely an achievable bar for me, but I just got a little impatient and started rushing the technique.”

The junior qualified for State at Master’s after clearing 14’9 and placing fourth. He was the second member of his family to reach State, joining his aunt Maekala Tate (1997). The last THS athlete to medal at state in pole vault was Donald McDaniels, who took fifth in 1955.

“This has definitely prepared me for next season and competing under pressure with a much more competitive atmosphere,” Fredeen added.

The 4x1 relay team broke the school record a total of eight times this year, according to Turlock High head coach Bergann Hernandez. The latest squad that achieved that consisted of Colton Cummings, Bryce Souza, Sam Wilson and Antonio Ruiz.

“I believe our knowledge of our potential and the desire to simply be the best is what drove us to break records and reach the point where we are now,” said Cummings. “Also, always being better than our last performance made us eager to get even faster the next time out.”

The 4x1 team reached State after breaking multiple records and doing well at Master’s.

Turlock’s time of 42.15 clinched a second-place spot at Master’s, trailing just St. Mary’s.  

“Going to State is a great feeling. It makes all the hard workouts worth it,” said Ruiz. “We've had this goal since the beginning of the season and it's an amazing feeling to accomplish a goal so great like State. The success of this year's relay team couldn't have done it without our team and coaches. The support from our team is just so unbeatable.”

On top of competing on Friday, Cummings, Souza and Ruiz also had to deal with graduation on the same day, but that didn’t faze them.

“Reaching State is more than I could have asked for,” said Cummings. “Going into this season, I knew it would be great, but what we’ve achieved is so much more than I could’ve imagined when I first began track and field.”

The relay team fell just short to St. Mary’s, once again, after they clocked in a time of 42.02. St. Mary’s clocked in at 41.99, snatching the ninth and final qualifying spot for Saturday’s finals.

Turlock ended up placing 11th, behind Carson which clocked in at 42.00 in the prelims.

The fastest time clocked in for Turlock during the year in the 4x1 boys relay event was at 41.78 back on May 16 during the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-I Prelims.

“It makes you feel like you can accomplish anything,” said Ruiz. “And our coaches pushed us to compete at our best, and if you had a bad race they pick you right back up to run again even faster. Most importantly, Coach Hernandez believed in us of being able to compete at State and we didn't want to let her down. She implemented workouts to bring the best out of us.”

Hilmar’s Mikela Labno, Pitman’s Whitney Barnes and Turlock High’s 4x1 relay team failed to advance to the finals on Saturday, but it wasn’t done without many positives and outstanding results that had everyone in the area in awe of their achievements

Labno cleared 5-foot-3 in just her second attempt but then fell short at the 5’5” qualifying mark for Saturday’s finals.

“I was very impressed with her poise. If she was nervous she never showed it,” said Hilmar head coach Clement Lebrouche, “especially with all the big-name schools that were all around her. She later admitted she was more nervous at Master’s the week before. We just wanted to clear 5’3” to have a shot at 5’5” which would be her new PR and hopefully make the top 12.”

For Labno the experience was unlike anything else, despite being part of the Yellowjackets girls volleyball Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV Championship team during the fall. Lebrouche said the most difficult aspect is the amount of time waiting between jumps.

“It's a lot of waiting around and hard to keep focused and keep your energy up,” said Lebrouche.  “She cleared 5'3" on her second attempt and had three great shots at 5'5" but it wasn't meant to be that day. She placed 17th overall in state, which is pretty awesome for little Hilmar. All of the girls that cleared 5'5" made it to finals so she knows what she has to do and it's awesome to know she has three more years to do it.”

Labno’s 5’4” clearance in the high jump back on May 25 was tied for the seventh best in the Sac-Joaquin Section for the year.

Barnes ended up her career with Pitman in Friday’s qualifying round after she cleared 37’8.

This placed Barnes in the 24th spot in the prelims.

The Pride product is slated to play collegiate volleyball at San Jose State University.

Barnes reached the State meet in back to back years for the Pride — the first to do so — and is also a three-time Sac-Joaquin Section Division-I girls volleyball champion from 2014-16.

She closed out the season as No. 1 in the Sac-Joaquin Section in girls shot-put after hitting 43’3 back in March 28, during the CCC Center Meet #1.

Barnes also placed third at this year’s Sac-Joaquin Section Master’s Meet.

“I’m just super blessed and thankful that I have given myself the opportunity,” said Barnes. “Couldn’t wait to give it my all for my last high school sporting event. What led me to a successful year is just wanting to make my coaches, team, school and my family proud. Also, I wanted this for myself. I wanted to prove that I can do anything I put my mind to. If I want something, I work really hard to get it.”