Story by Benjamin Regan
Associate Sports Editor
Photo by Erin Lee
Staff Photographer
19 South Pasadena track and field athletes competed at the CIF Southern Section Division Finals at Moorpark High School on Saturday, May 14. Both teams scored fourth place in Division 3, with the boys earning 41 points, and the girls earning 55, making South Pasadena the best public high school in Division 3.
In the girls 4x100m relay, freshman Jacqueline Sides, sophomore Lyla Keller, junior Annalea Pearson, and senior Skye Harris finished in sixth place in their Division 3 heat with a time of 49.17.
Freshman Abigail Errington earned fourth in her girls 1600m heat, finishing with a time of 5:02.35. Senior and Berkeley commit Sydney Morrow was in eighth, running a 5:47.00.
Sophomore Mia Holden and senior Henry Thompson both represented South Pas in the 100/110m and 300m hurdles. Holden earned third in the girls 100m hurdles with a time of 15.14 and placed second in the 300m hurdles running it in 45.37 seconds. Both these times earned her a spot at Masters. Thompson finished fourth in the boys 110m hurdles, completing the event with a time of 15.49. He additionally earned fourth in the 300m hurdles with a time of 40.42.
Keller was the only Tiger in the 100m dash and finished in eighth place with a time of 12.44.
Sophomore Keeran Murray’s time of 1:55.62 in the boys 800m earned him third place. That puts him as the first alternate for the event, and it is likely he may run at Masters. Senior Jason Baek was right behind him, finishing in ninth place with a time of 2:02.11.
In the girls 3200m, Errington finished in fourth place with a time of 11:12.76. Senior and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit Brady Nakamura earned ninth place running 10:10.10.
Senior and Seattle University commit Zoe Tibbo earned eighth in pole vault with a 10-0 mark. Tibbo and Holden continued to represent South Pasadena in the field events, finishing in second and third respectively in the triple jump. Freshman Kezia Gavlak completed the Tiger sweep, earning fourth place.
Senior Niko Lawrence finished fourth in the boys high jump with a height of 6’2, which qualified him for Masters. The Citadel commit Averell Chen earned 11th place in the boys pole vault.
Senior and Berkeley commit Nik Iwankiw continued his dominance in shot put, adding another first place finish to his resume with a 59-10 mark. Iwankiw also earned second in the boys discus throw with an outstanding mark of 172-5. Both these marks put him on the roster to compete on Saturday, May 21.
Senior and UC Santa Barbara commit Noah Leider finished in seventh place with a 49-10 mark made in his fourth and final attempt.
South Pasadena had a successful showing at CIF-SS Finals, and will send Iwankiw, Lawrence, Holden, and Murray to the CIF-SS Masters meet on Saturday, May 21. Anyone who qualifies from there will advance to the CIF State Championships which hosts athletes from all over California at Buchanan High School on Saturday, May 28.
