Track qualifies many athletes for league finals

Photo courtesy of Isaac Marziali
Contributing Photographer

Rio Hondo League preliminaries were held at South Pas’ track on Tuesday, May 2, where athletes on all levels competed to earn a spot in Friday’s league finals. Blair, La Cañada, Monrovia, and San Marino all competed against each other and the Tigers, each school sending several to finals. South Pas dominated in several competitions, setting athletes in strong positions to claim a league title. While the number varied by event, the top runners qualified for Friday.

All varsity events took place on the track, save for boys’ shot put. However, only a fraction of the events took place as not all races needed to narrow down the pool of competitors.

The meet started out with the boys and girls’ frosh-soph mile, followed by the boys’ varsity mile. Junior Oliver Chang easily won his heat to secure a spot, while senior Kieran Press-Reynolds took first in his heat after a strong kick in the final leg. The open 400 meters was next, and the Tigers earned five out of seven available lanes in the girls’ varsity heats. Sophomore captain Christina Taylor had the fastest time with an impressive 57.09 second race, and freshman Gianna Beasley followed with a commanding 58.48, taking the top spot in her heat. Junior Riley Segal was next, and close behind was freshman Corey Segal, though they were in separate races. Junior Tiffany Holmes obtained the last spot for Friday. Freshman Alex Reeves automatically qualified by taking first in his heat as well.

South Pas continued to find success in the varsity 100 meter dash as well. Senior Amelia De Young narrowly landed eighth place overall to secure the last lane for finals, and juniors Cayley Whitman and Lauren Guevara qualified as well. Junior captain Jack Renken and freshman Tianhao Wei clinched a debut in finals also. In the 800 meters, Beasley won her heat to continue on in Friday’s meet, and junior Caroline Liu qualified as well. Chang and sophomore Kai Dettman took first in their respective heats, sending them both on. While their times were close, neither had been pushed by the other, which will allow league finals to be the determinate in what will be a close race.

Again, the girls will make up five of the seven available lanes in the 200 meters. Taylor and C. Segal took first in the two heats, giving them automatic qualifications. Guevara and Whitman also captured spots, and De Young yet again managed to sneak into the last open lane. Renken and Reeves will both move on to finals in the 200 meters as well on the boys’ side for South Pas.

RHL league finals will also be hosted at South Pas on Friday, May 5. The Tigers looks to earn several league titles and send many athletes to CIF.

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