Turlock and Pitman High's varsity track and field teams will be sending 17 athletes to compete at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 Master's meet after a good turnout at the Section trials and finals last week.
With a large number of athletes competing at Elk Grove on Friday for the finale, Turlock and Pitman had to battle out with the Sections best athletes and still saw some sparks.
Turlock's most notable performance came from the 4x1 relay team on the girls’ side that stamped their ticket to Master's after placing ninth in the final with a time of 49.48.
The team that consisted of Jocelyn Harris, Julia Handy, Ade Fredeen and Jessica Bettencourt continued their quest to break the previous school record.
“The little team that could,” said Turlock head coach JoAnn Davison of her team that qualified for Master's. “The squad posted a season best and was good enough to grab a top 10 CIF D-1 ranking in the berth at next week’s Master’s meet.”
Pitman's relay team had a 12th place finish with a time of 49.85.
“There are high hopes for these kids to go on and do well,” said Pitman head coach Thad Moren.
Pitman qualified 12 while Turlock qualified five for the Master’s.
The four teammates in Pitman's relay team consisted of Kiana Clay, Cerah Moren, Grace Willming and Brianna Smith, all of whom will be moving on.
Pitman's Isaiah Marable clinched a spot in the 400 meter race with a fourth place finish after getting a time of 49.82. Marable finished in 11th place in the 200 meter race.
Kiana Clay took 8th place in the 400 meter race after finishing with a time of 57.73.
“We had some kids really compete and battle for us and that is great to see them do well,” said Moren.
Also, the Pitman 4x4 girls relay team, that includes Clay, Smith, Moren and Emily Vander Weide qualified for the Master's after topping out with a time of 4:06.97, good enough for 11th place.
Cerah Moren qualified for four events, including the discus and the 200 meter race.
“Hopefully these kids get that opportunity to go to state,” said Moren. “We got three seniors competing and headed back for grad ceremony.”
Those seniors are Clay, Smith and Cristian Cooley who also qualified for the boys’ discus after placing 11th.
Turlock also qualified Katie Green, who finished in the top 10 in the girls’ discus.
“Though they didn't qualify, David Bosquez and Maria Varela both ran season bests in their two mile races,” said Davison. “And Ade Fredeen had a banner day, running her season best in the 300 hurdle race.”
Fredeen ran her 300 hurdle race with a time of 47.22.
Handy anchored with a time of 58 seconds which helped the girls 4x4 relay team earn a 13th spot and their season best time of 4:08.
The Master's Meet will take place at Elk Grove High at 2 p.m. Thursday.
