Pitman High’s girls continued their streak of dominance on the track Tuesday afternoon as they sealed their sixth consecutive Central California Conference championship as the third CCC Center Meet of the season. It’s the Lady Pride’s eight championship in the last ten years.
Pitman’s girls earned the title with 206.5 team points with second place Buhach Colony High notching 127 team points and Turlock High finishing in third place with 117 team points.
“We just have a really good group of girls that have been around for a while,” Pitman head coach Thad Moren said. “They work hard in practice, they go out and they perform in their events, and if one girl has an off day there’s always another girl who steps up.”
As it has all season, Pitman enjoyed success from a wide range of its female athletes, freshman to senior. Kianna Clay, Syndey Holmes, Claire Littlefield, Lauren Cariaso, Lindsey Phillips, and Allie Austin were among the Pride’s upperclassmen who finished top-two in a variety of events while Cerah Moren and Madi Todd represented for the freshman class.
“We get a lot of incoming freshman who are ready to go and compete at the high school level, especially the girls,” Coach Moren said of his girls’ talent level. “Turlock Junior High, they did a really good job preparing the girls. They have a really good track program there with coach Hollister and coach Feucht.”
Littlefield, Clay, Moren, and Todd joined for the first time all season in the 4x400m relay in which they took first place with a time of 49.37, good enough for a fifth place section ranking.
“They’ve been at 50 seconds for a while, and we’ve had a different mix of girls, but I think we’ve found the right team,” Coach Moren said.
Littlefield also placed first in the triple jump while Clay took second in both the 100m and 200m and Moren placed second in the 100m hurdles.
Other impressive performances from Pitman’s girls included Phillips’ first place pole vault, Austin’s second place pole vault, and Holmes’ third place pole vault. Holmes also placed second in the 300m hurdles and long jump.
As for the Lady Bulldogs, Jocelyne Montes earned a first place finish in the 400m while also leading the team of Erin Knopp-Sargoni, Emily Romo, and Raveena Samra to a third place finish in the 4x400m relay. Cierra Booz also had a standout day with a first place finish in the long jump, a second place finish in the high jump, and a third place finish in the triple jump while Makenzie Salyer and Cassandra Derdivanis earned respective second place finishes in the 3200m and 800m.
With the CCC Center Meets now over, all focus is on the upcoming CCC Championships where the top four finishers from each event will earn qualification for Divisionals.
But the ladies of Pitman and Turlock aren’t the only track athletes vying for a spot in the postseason. The boys are itching to extend their season, too.
For Pitman, Aaron Mayfield, Isaac Gonzalez, Grant Tallent, Aaron Lusher, and D’Andre Griffin look to be top prospects. The Pride are also hoping for a top four finish from Chance Hagar in the pole vault after several weeks of injury.
Turlock’s top prospects on the boys’ side include Adrian Rodriguez, Bryan Montes, and Justin Serpa.
The CCC Championships will be held at 9 a.m. May 17 at Joe Debely Stadium.
