Fifteen Oak Ridge athletes advance to masters

Fifteen Oak Ridge athletes, four girls and 11 boys, qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters track and field championships to be held Saturday at Folsom High. The athletes qualified at the Division 1 championships held at Hughes Stadium on Saturday. Several athletes have a chance to qualify for the CIF state championships if they have a good day. Oak Ridge's Chase Fontana is one of those, as he placed third in both the 100 meters (10.74) and 200 (21.77). His time in the 200 was not only his personal-best, but also a school record at Oak Ridge. Another Oak Ridge athlete with a good opportunity to qualify in two events is Allie Anastacio, who qualified in both the long and triple jumps. Anastacio had an amazing day at divisionals and one she hopes she can duplicate at the masters meet. Anastacio set a personal and school record in winning the triple jump with a leap of 38-2.25. She also took fourth in the long jump with another personal-record of 17-9.25, the third-best mark in Oak Ridge history. Adriana Ingargiola placed third in the 1,600 meters (5:03.98, a seasonal-best time) and also placed fourth in the 3,200 (10:51.57). Her best shot of qualifying for the state meet is in the 3,200. Maya Day could qualify in two events if she has a great day, as she placed fifth in both events at divisionals; running the 800 in 2:17.91 and the 1,600 in 5:06.50. The Oak Ridge boys' 4x100-meter relay team placed third at divisionals with a time of 42.72. This team is made of up Suhnny Bernardi, Matthieu Pelissie, Mason Landrum and Fontana. "We will miss senior Demarco Patterson on the team," Oak Ridge coach Rob Fairley said. "He ran a terrific second leg for us, but he strained his quad at the D1 Trials in the 100 on May 9. There is a slight chance he might be able to compete on Saturday. Sophomore Matthieu Pelissie has stepped up to run the second leg on the team." Four other athletes plus a relay team also qualified for the masters meet. Giuliana Martino placed 10th in the 3,200 meters in 11:16.61, and for the boys Thomas Capelli and Roman Zamora also qualified in the same event, as Capelli placed 10th in 11:16.61 while Zamora ran 11th in 9:33.58. Wesley Ewing also qualified in the 1,600 by placing eighth in 4:22.44. The Oak Ridge boys' 4x800-meter relay team of Ben Gutierrez, Luca Miller, Bailey Van Leemput and Dax Whann placed fourth at divisions in 8:13.99, a seasonal-best record. "Our coaches are extremely proud of the efforts of our athletes throughout the season," Fairley said. "Their hard work certainly paid off for them."