South Placer Track and Field roundup: Whitney High and Rocklin High both perform well at Arcadia Invitational

There are only a couple of track and field league meets and invitationals left before league and Sac-Joaquin Section championships take place in May. With teams returning to action following spring break, here is an update on how area squads have recently performed. Sierra Foothill League The Whitney Wildcats competed at the Arcadia Invitational on April 8 to April 9 in Southern California where they had multiple second-place performances, including junior Katie Kopec, who ran a 10:30 in the 3,200-meter race, capturing a personal record. Her sophomore sister, Ava, also got a personal record with a time of 11 minutes flat. The sprint medley relay team of Emily Beasley, Ashanti Elie, Jasmine Beasley and Isabella Leach placed second out of eight teams. Elie also finished second in the high jump at five feet, 10 inches, which is the same height that won her the event in the last Sierra Foothill League meet on April 6. Juliana Roberson was second in the triple jump and John Dailey finished fifth out of 41 runners in the 400-meter race, capturing a personal record at 48.85 seconds. Whitney High will compete at the Sacramento Meet of Champions at American River College on Saturday. Rocklin High also competed at Arcadia with senior MacGregor TeSelle finishing first in the 200-meter race with a personal record at 21.54 seconds. Sophomore Giselle Kirchner came fifth in the 100-meter hurdles. The Thunder also competed at the Stanford Invitational on April 1 and April 2 where TeSelle finished third in the 100-meter race and Kirchner competed in the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles races, finishing second and third, respectively. Kyran Bell came in second in the triple jump while Elias Mullican was fourth. Owen Arreguy won the pole vault event at 14 feet, 1.25 inches. The Thunder will also be at the Sacramento Meet of Champions on Saturday. In Del Oro High's last league meet against Oak Ridge High and Whitney High on April 6, the Golden Eagles had a number of solid performances, such as from Peter Strohm, who came in second in the 300-meter hurdles and won the 100-meter hurdles with a new personal record at 15.99 seconds. "When it comes to my 300-meter, I'm working on my starts," Strohm said. "We've changed my blocks about three times but now I'm just trying to trust my gut and go with the original settings. I would love to get into the 41-second territory for the 300-meter race this season." Also on the boys' side was Mitchell Wittenburg, placing third in the 400-meter race and Thomas Graham II, who was second in the 100-meter race and first with a new personal record of 22.79 seconds in the 200-meter race. On the girls' side, Isabella Zaro was second in both the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles races. Avery Macktinger was second in the pole vault while Paloma Baumert came in third in the 100-meter race with a new personal record of 12.87 seconds. Granite Bay High lost a league dual to Folsom before spring break on April 7 but had a number of individuals perform well, including Grace Murphy-Cook, who came in second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races, getting a personal record in both events. Morgan McKenna was first in the 800-meter race while Luzie Vierck won in the triple jump. On the boys' side, Sidney Hong tied for second at 11.52 seconds in the 100-meter race while Robert Ward won the 3,200-meter race at 10:43. Senior Brayden Ashby won the shot put with a new personal record of 44 feet, 3.5 inches. At the Arcadia Invitational, Abigail Peterson got a season record in the 400-meter race while the 4x1600-meter relay team, consisting of Grace McGuckin, Emily Allison, Lizzy Hansen and Grace Baxter, finished eighth. Capital Valley Conference Woodcreek High competed at the German Fernandez Distance Carnival at Riverbank High School on April 15 where the 4x800-meter relay team of Jacob Bowie, David Winston, Asher Laverty and Andrew Mangiapane finished second at 9:03. The girls' 4x800-meter relay team consisting of Alanna Laverty, Emilee Rosenbaum, Olivia Zanni and Arianna McCall finished first at 11:19. Laverty finished second in the 800-meter race while McCall and Rosenbaum were right behind in fourth and fifth, respectively. In the Timberwolves' last league meet on March 30, senior Isaiah Earls won both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles events and was second in the 400-meter race with a personal record at 52.24 seconds. Carson Rowlette won the 1,600-meter race while Jacob Honey won the 3200-meter event. Bailey Walker was first in the pole vault while Trent Herbert was second in the shot put. Maya VanLaningham was first in the high jump. In Roseville's last league meet on March 30, Tigers sophomore Joel Bradley came first in the 100-meter and 200-meter races, along with the long jump. Angelo Nunez was first in the 800-meter race with a new personal record at 2:06. Kanyon Smith set new personal records in both the shot put and discus throws, finishing second in both events. Brianna Peterson and Amelia Fritz were second and third, respectively, in the 800-meter race while Peterson was also second in the 1,600-meter race. Foothill Valley League In their last league meet against Placer High on April 7, the Oakmont High varsity girls won 74-53 while the boys lost. For the girls, Rita Di Schiavi was first in the 100-meter race and the long jump while Amelia Bella won both the 200-meter and 400-meter races. Peyton Fisher won the 800-meter race while Taylor Schell got a new personal record in the 100-meter hurdles at 17.37 seconds. Both the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams won their events. Eleanor Champlin-Wilson won the discus throw with a new personal record of 103 feet, seven inches. Breanne Bair was first in the triple jump. On the boys' side, Lanz Marteja won both the 100-meter and 200-meter races, capturing a new personal record of 23.65 seconds in the 200-meter event. Greg Dimapilis was first in the long jump while Lawsen Fuller won both the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles races, including a personal record of 41.21 seconds in the 300-meter event. "Hurdles is as much a sprint as it is technique," Fuller said. "I may have won the race, but in form, I came third. You don't win a race during the race; you win it by working hard every day." The Vikings will have their final league dual on Wednesday against Ponderosa. West Park High competed against Lincoln High and Rio Linda High in a double dual meet on April 6 prior to spring break where the Panthers won nine varsity events. Markus Cheema won both the 100-meter and 200-meter races while Jayden Wells came in first with a new personal record of 2:10 in the 800-meter race. Judah Jackson won both the high jump and the triple jump while Carson Gemmell came in second in the discus throw with a new personal record of 117 feet. On the girls' side, freshman Aniya Martin won the long jump by nearly two feet and also placed first in the 100-meter and 200-meter races. Western Sierra Collegiate Academy The Wolves competed at the Pacific Grove Rotary Invitational on April 2 where Ethan Ivens came in second in the 400-meter race and third in the long jump. Isaac Kelly picked up a personal record of 11:23 while winning the 3,200-meter race. Graham Martin came in third in the triple jump while Ruchika Sekar was fourth in the 100-meter race.