Whitney and Rocklin athletes win section titles at SJS Masters meet

Multiple high school track and field athletes from the South Placer area competed at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters meet at Davis Senior High School this past weekend with hopes of performing well and qualifying for the State Championships. The top three finishers in each event qualified with others hitting at-large standards. Here is a look at how everyone performed. Sierra Foothill League Rocklin High and Whitney High both had competitors who won section championships, including Rocklin Thunder senior Devin Pereira. The California State University at Chico commit won the 3,200-meter race with a time of 9:08, narrowly beating out Dax Daley from Oakdale High. Pereira has had a great season that also included winning the league championship in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races and will now prepare for state at Buchanan High School in Clovis. "Going into it, the goal was to get top three to qualify for state but I felt great throughout the race and knew I had it in me to get the win and it was just a crazy feeling crossing the finish line in first," Pereira said. "I knew that if the race either went out slow and came down to a kick that I would have a shot at winning and if it went out hard that I would have the strength to get the win and that is because of the great coaching I've had and the work I put in this offseason." Pereira wasn't the only Thunder athlete to qualify for state as junior Gigi Kirchner placed third in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with personal records in both races. Grace Sloan qualified for state with a third-place finish in the triple jump at 37 feet, six inches. Sloan also competed in the long jump and earned a new personal best of 17 feet, 4.5 inches. Other Rocklin High athletes that made finals included Kyle Hall, Justin Rawe, Jack Kimmel, Destin Armstrong, Allie Harman and Katelyn Sewell. The Whitney Wildcats had various athletes win section championships last Friday and Saturday, including senior and Oregon State University commit Katie Kopec, who placed first in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. Kopec finished the 1,600 meters at 4:56 and ran the 3,200 meters in 10:44. Kopec will race in the 3,200 meters at state in her final race of her high school career. Wildcats junior Juliana Roberson won the triple jump at 38 feet, 2.5 inches while senior Ashanti Elie won the high jump at five feet, seven inches. Roberson also came in third in the long jump to qualify for state. The 4x800-meter girls' relay team of Isabel Soto, Grace Scott, Addison Ewers and Ava Kopec won with a time of 9:26. Xavier Bruce II qualified for state in the 100 meters with a third-place finish in 10.65 seconds. John Dailey came in third in the 400 meters at 48.52 seconds, his best performance of the season. Bruce II and Dailey were also on the 4x100-meter relay team with Isaiah Bickham and Stevan Cuevas that placed eighth. Senior Callum Turner finished fourth at 4:15 in the 1,600 meters and was two-hundredths of a second behind third-place. Other Whitney High athletes who competed in Masters finals included Mateo Delgadillo, Nick Herrmann, Michael Payan, Isaiah Brown, Jackson Floyd, Tolaoluwa Spencer, Sammy Schuler, Annie Carlson, Sophie Hutchinson and Nina Souto. The 4x100-meter girls' relay team of Souto, Elie, Jasmine Beasley and Phoenix Beasley came in fourth. Granite Bay High also had various athletes make it to the finals at Masters, including sophomore Jack Marek who came in fifth in the pole vault with a new personal best of 14 feet, six inches. Junior Tyler McLean came in eighth in the long jump while Andrew Van was 20th. Emily Allison came in fourth in the 3,200 meters at 11 minutes and was six seconds behind a qualifying spot for state. Carly Foster placed ninth in the event. Sophomore Grace Baxter came in ninth in the 1,600 meters. Paige Wilcox was sixth in the pole vault while freshman Lauren Hempstead placed 15th. The Grizzlies also had various relay teams, including the 4x800-meter girls' relay of Allison, Baxter, Lizzy Hansen and Kylie Nasca, who placed third at 9:31. The 4x400-meter team of Nasca, Halle Wilson, Taylor Jeffrey and Hafsah Mahmood came in fifth. On the boys' side, the 4x400-meter relay team of Van, Carter Jackson, Carson Perry-Smith and Benjamin Asche placed fifth while the 4x800-meter team of Asche, Devan Wilson, Charles Beater and Moses Cho came in sixth. The Del Oro Golden Eagles had four athletes make it to the finals at Masters, including senior Paloma Baumert,who earned a new personal record of 11 feet, six inches in the pole vault and came in fourth. Sophomore Cade Campos placed sixth in the 200 meters at 22.57 seconds while junior Jack Sindt was 14th in the 1,600 meters. Lexi Kool came in ninth in the 800 meters at 2:22. Capital Valley Conference Woodcreek High made it to the finals in 10 events, including the boys' 4x800-meter relay where David Winston, Asher Laverty, Tyler Henderson and Anthony Cunha placed third at 8:08. Winston also came in 10th in the 1,600 meters. Junior Statler Swanson came in sixth in the triple jump at 44 feet, seven inches, a new personal best, and was 15th in the long jump. Senior Trent Herbert was 21st in the shot put. On the girls' side, the 4x800-meter relay team of Alanna Laverty, Angela Gladysh, Charlotte Henderson and Arianna McCall came in 14th out of 25 teams. Laverty placed 10th in the 800 meters while Gladysh was 18th in the 1,600 meters. Senior Hannah Luster was eighth in the long jump and Liberty Zamudio came in 21st in the triple jump. The Roseville Tigers made it to Masters in five events with junior Joel Bradley leading the way with a fourth-place finish in the long jump at 22 feet, one inch. Alexander Vigil placed 25th in the 3,200 meters while Kyley Hunter was 14th in the shot put at 34 feet, 7.5 inches. Sophomore Sophia Hoppes competed in the high jump but didn't record a score. The 4x800-meter girls' relay team of Melissa Peterson, Juliana Meadows-Yaw, Kailani Pham and Aubrey Dyke came in 23rd. Foothill Valley League West Park High and Oakmont High each had three athletes who made it to the finals at Masters. For the West Park Panthers, sophomore Aniya Martin came in eighth in the 100 meters and placed sixth in the long jump at 17 feet, 3.25 inches. Sophomore Jayden Caruthers came in 10th in the triple jump with a new personal record of 42 feet, 9.75 inches. Obie Davila-Garcia competed in the pole vault but was unable to record a score. For the Oakmont Vikings, freshman Devyn Chambers placed ninth in the long jump at 16 feet, 7.75 inches. Senior Eleanor-Champlin-Wilson came in 17th in the discus while Dimitri Dulger-Sheikin was unable to record a score in the pole vault. Western Sierra Collegiate Academy The Wolves had one athlete make it to Masters, junior Graham Martin, who came in 15th in the prelims for the 800 meters with a time of 2:01.