Folsom relay teams lead Bulldogs at divisionals

Folsom High's relay teams shined bright at the Division I championships and look to make a strong bid for qualifying for the state meet Saturday at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters track and field championships held at Folsom High. The girls' 4x100-meter relay team and the boys' 4x400-meter relay team both placed second in the Division I finals and have good chances to qualify for state. The girls' team consists of Grace Abello, Brynlee Hodson, Katie Fling and Jazelle Reed-Johnson. Their time at the Division 1 finals was 48.71, a school record. "This team is led by senior and Sac State commit Brynlee Hodson and anchored by freshman sensation Jazelle Reed-Johnson, has redefined this event at Folsom," Folsom High coach Steve Kinoshita said. "This team has broken the school record multiple times this season and have inserted themselves into potential state berth conversation." Nick Piper, Kenny Veverka, Justus Lockwood and Zane Grabowski run on the 4x400 relay team. The team also placed second in the Division 1 finals with a time of 3:22.64. "The announcer at the Division 1 championships mentioned that this team is greater than the sum of its parts, which is the ultimate compliment," Kinoshita said. "We don't have an open 400 qualifier on the relay, yet together they compete at an elite level, elevating themselves for the benefit of the team and our school. At Masters, should they catch lightning in a bottle, a state berth is possible." Piper and Hodson both have a decent chance to qualify for the state meet in individual events; Piper in the long jump and Hodson in the 300 hurdles. Piper placed fourth in the Division 1 long jump with a leap of 22-0, while Hodson placed third in the 300 hurdles in 45.83. "Nick is our Swiss army knife," Kinoshita said. "He set a personal-record at divisionals to propel himself into the top rankings of the section and another personal-record could potentially propel him to state." Other Folsom High athletes qualifying for masters include Fitz Gaines (fourth place, shot put, 48-7), Grace Abello (sixth, 100 hurdles, 15.54), and James Ing (14th, 3,200 meters, 9:40.56) along with two other relay teams. The boys' 4x100 team of Lockwood, Kayden Hoang, Grabowski and Piper (fourth, 42.82) and the boys 4x800 relay team of Ing, Maddox Yee, Callan Crebar and Noah Elliot-Cisneros (fifth, 8:14.23). Kinoshita is proud of his entire team. "This team shows up and understands how to compete at a high level," Kinoshita said. "Our coaching staff couldn't be more proud of their efforts."