COTTONWOOD - The bruised and downtrodden can still become champions. That much was obvious in Cottonwood on Friday night. West Valley High hosted the Northern Section track and field championships, on a night when meet and school records fell, once-injured athletes stormed back to become champions and celebrations were aplenty. That was true of the night's first race, when the Foothill High girls 4x100-meter relay team shocked top-seeded Red Bluff and won with a time of 49.29 seconds. Not only did it earn them a trip to the CIF State Championships, but it was a meet & stadium record. And it was the simple things that got the Cougars the win. "We were praying for good handoffs, and that definitely happened," Foothill anchor Hailey Jackson said. "All-in-all, that's what helps your team the most. "I think it's our positive attitudes. We came in humble, like we started off kind of the underdogs." Real good underdogs as they still possessed the season's best mark after being trounced by Red Bluff the week before at the Division 1 Championships.

And, to close out the night two-and-a-half hours later, the Red Bluff boys 4x400 team broke a school record with a time of 3:23.67 - edging Pleasant Valley to avenge last year's section championship heartbreak. Red Bluff anchor Michael Stone held off PV's Brad Cox on the final straightaway, collapsing with exhaustion afterward as the Spartans went crazy. "I could hear all my teammates telling me, 'He's right behind you, he's right behind you,'" Stone said. "I could hear his footsteps."

Directly before that, the Red Bluff girls 4x400 team got redemption for its 4x100 loss, setting a school record, a meet record and the second-best time in section history at 3:58.42. Lily Brose, a member of that team, also won the 100-meter dash for the second straight year, in 12.48 seconds. Brose has recovered from two torn ACLs in her knee, both sustained playing basketball, and now has three individual track and field section titles to her name. She'll head to the Naval Academy in the fall, where she'll continue her track career for an NCAA Division I program. "Whatever happened today, whether I won or lost, I knew I wouldn't have any regrets," Brose said. "I was going to leave it on the track." Brose beat Foothill's Jackson by less than a hundredth of a second, a sign of how hotly contested the race was, she said. "Hailey's gotten so much better this year, really hats off for her for how well she's come in this year prepared," said Brose, who celebrated her 18th birthday Friday, "that could've gone to either one of us."

But the sprinter Brose wasn't the only athlete coming back from hardship. West Valley's Hannah Dorman, last year's 3,200-meter champion, returned to defend her title with a time of 11:08.59, after missing most of cross country season with a stress fracture in her shin. She worked through wearing a boot and using crutches, to cross training, swimming and riding a stationary bike all the way back to the track. "I don't even know how I can explain how happy I am. I never thought I'd be able to come back at all," Dorman said, crying. "I was really upset about that. I'm really happy that I made it to state again." Dorman's teammate on the boys side, Nick Putman, was the only local double winner for the track events. His 14.62 PR in the 110 hurdles gave him an easy win, and he did it again with a 39.36 in the 300 hurdles. "It's definitely worth it," Putman said. "Everything you put in is what you're going to get out."

LOCAL WINNERS
GIRLS
800: West Valley's Alexa Flagg won in 2:18.57, holding off teammate Jenna Hinkle (2:19.48) and Pleasant Valley's Keely Johnson (2:23.16).
1,600: The Eagles' Jenna Storms won her first section championship, with a 5:12.79 time. She edged Shasta's Hannah Davis' 5:16.52 and Redding Christian freshman Belle Moran's 5:18.78, separating herself on the final lap. She only had one way to describe what it felt like to be a Northern Section champion. "It hurt," Storms said. "You've got to have that mental push. Your body wants to stop, but your mind says, 'You have to keep going, now.'"

BOYS
800: Shasta senior Hunter Jensen took home his first-ever section title, beating out Chico's Jacob Graber, with a 2:00.14. Mount Shasta's Chris Morzenti was third in 2:02.13. "I just gave it all I got and got a gap, and just held it to the finish," Jensen said. "It's kind of surreal. I've worked for this for four years, now that it's here I'm just really excited, really happy and grateful to all those who helped me get here."
110 hurdles: West Valley's Nick Putman wins by a wide margin over his Chico rival, fellow junior, Michael Reynolds.
300 hurdles: Doubling back Putman wins again (39.36) despite fine sub 40 second performances from Panther hurdlers, Reynolds (43.70) & senior teammate Josef Grundy (39.76). 4x100 relay: Red Bluff's team of Dylan Schaible, Austin Torres, Stone and Stephen Hackstaff won a close race at 43.67, edging PV's 43.73 after favorite Chico's baton misque

LOCAL PLACERS
GIRLS
200: Red Bluff's Brose (25.49) and Foothill's Jackson (25.77) finished second and third respectively behind Winters sophomore Sofia Evanoff's second win of the day in 24.98.
400: Winters' Evanoff was victorious for the second year in a row with her stadium record 56.53, followed by Red Bluff's Adrienne Hinkston, the D-I champion, at 58.18 and Enterprise's Patricia Dionicio (1:01.17).
3,200: Shasta's Davis finished second behind Dorman, at 11:13.98.
300 hurdles: Yreka's Jenavieve Turner (44.76) dominates her second hurdle race on the day leaving West Valley's Kristina Freitas (46.24) the runner-up and Shasta's Molly Ross (47.40) in third.
4x100 relay: Red Bluff's 50.17 was second behind Foothill's record-setting 49.29.
4x400 relay: West Valley was runner-up to Red Bluff, at 4:01.54, while Foothill was in third at 4:09.51.

BOYS
100 and 200: Anderson's Jeremiah Emershy (10.95, 22.21) and Mount Shasta's Eli Chapman (11.04, 22.63) came in second and third respectively twice behind Chico's Eli Penick (10.65, 21.80), the Bob Russell male athlete of the meet award winner.
400: Enterprise's Anthony Rodriguez came in second at 50.72, and West Valley's Austin Clark was third at 50.82 behind PV's Cox (50.24).
1,600: Shasta's Blake Zufall (4:32.33) lost out to Chico's Chris Midkiff (4:31.28).
3,200: Zufall was second again at 9:48.10, far behind Etna's John Whelan's 9:27.87.
110 hurdles: Enterprise's Domunique Stewart was third in 15.94.
4x400 relay: West Valley finished third in 3:30.34.







COTTONWOOD - Marcus Simmons wasn't satisfied with competing at state as an alternate a year ago. He was ousted by a quarter-inch on the final attempt in the triple jump of last spring's section championship meet, but got the nod to compete against the state's best when the winner decided to attend graduation instead. That experience was crucial for Simmons' success this season as he doubled up his chances to win an event title, and came away as the winner in the long jump and triple jump at the Northern Section track and field championships at West Valley High School on Friday.

At last year's state meet, Simmons set a career best in the triple jump. With that confidence, and entering the section championships as the favorite, he wasn't going to leave any chance for a repeat of last year's incident. He set a personal record of 44-feet, 0.25-inches on his first jump of the event. He reached at least 43 feet in the rest of his jumps but he left no doubt in the minds of the other competitors that he wanted the section title.

"I went to state last year but it feels really good knowing my jump actually made it instead of going by default," Simmons said. "I had a lot of fun at the state meet and it was something I wanted to do again so I practiced and worked hard to get back there." Simmons outjumped Butte Valley's John Levesque (42-5.25), Pleasant Valley's Blake Marchant (42-1), Yreka's Kaden Culp (41-3.5) and Chico's John Simenc (41-2.75) for the title, marking his eighth event win out of 10 meets this year. "The competition was a lot harder this year, everyone pushed me to go further," Simmons said. Not really, last year there was three jumpers over 43 feet, this year only one, Simmons.

Earlier in the day, Simmons took first in the long jump, already securing a spot in the state meet next weekend. And like the triple jump, his first attempt of 21-4.5 was enough to hang on for the win. Oroville's Justin York came close with a mark of 21-1 but couldn't catch the Eagles' junior, like he did in the D-I championships a week ago. "At first I had little confidence and wasn't sure I was going to be able to do both (events) but it feels great knowing I have both and I can compete in both events at state." Central Valley's Chris Johnson (20-11.5) took third, Corning's Ivan Alvarado (20-4.5) was fourth and Orland's Kavi Ram (19-11) was fifth.

Simmons heads to the CIF state track and field championships on May 31 in Clovis with two events to compete in. The experience he gained from last year, he said, is going to play a big part in him achieving his goal to place among the state's best. "I have to stay focused and not get distracted," Simmons said. "I know that that meet is the biggest but I have to act like it's any other meet."

Here are other results from the field events from the section championships:

GIRLS
High Jump: Foothill's Lauren Duval jumped 5-0 for the second time in her career to duel against Central Valley junior Alyssa Land, who was seeded last entering the meet. Land cleared 5-0 on her third try, though, Duval did it on her second, giving Duval the title from tiebreaker to do it in less tries. Duval nearly cleared 5-2 for a personal record but tapped the bar on the way down. "I just wanted to try my hardest," Duval said. "I didn't have any expectations at all, I just wanted to compete and do the best I could and stay focused." West Valley's Hailey McDaniel and Enterprise's Taylor Keener tied for third at 4-10 and Etna's Elida Pelayo (4-8) was fifth.

Shot Put: Gridley sophomore Marisela Cardenas took first with a toss of 40-0.5, beating Lassen's Katheryn Jarrett (37-6.5), Yreka's Katie Brummett (37-2.25) and Red Bluff's Kayla Thayer (35-6).

Triple Jump: Pleasant Valley's Brooke Whitburn, the Bob Russell award winner for most outstanding female athlete of the meet, jumped 37-4.25 to claim first by a wide margin. Shasta freshman Brittany Eboigbodin (32-3.5) was distant second.

Discus: Wheatland's Kiki Sappa (121-11) took first and edged Red Bluff's Kayla Thayer (117-0), who took second. Central Valley's Yessica Lopez (109-2) was fourth.

Long Jump: PV's Whitburn set the stadium and meet record with her initial jump of 18-9.5 to take first. Shasta's Eboigbodin was second (17-0) and Yreka's Jenavieve Turner was third (16-3.5).

Pole Vault: Mount Shasta's Janelle Jaegel captured her first section title with a jump of 9-3 and nearly hit her personal best of 9-9. Yreka's Angela Hensen (9-0) was second, West Valley's Aimee Miramontes and Weed's Elizabeth Ebreahimy both jumped 8-0.

BOYS
Discus: Anderson's Chris Delaney beat his personal best by 12-feet with a throw of 155-7 to beat Quincy's Shawn Hughes (150-1) and Yreka's David Sellens III (148-7), who was favored to win the event. West Valley's Wyatt Woolery (144-0) was fourth.

Pole Vault: Mount Shasta freshman Garrett Bryan made West Valley's Josh Clark earn his first section championship. Clark and Bryan battled up to 13-0 but Clark overtook him with a jump of 13-6 and nearly hit 14-0, which would have tied a personal record of his this season.

High Jump: Foothill's Davis Kepon qualified for the state meet with a jump of 6-5 but Hamilton sophomore Chris Jaeger edged him at 6-6. Kepon hasn't reached his season goal of 6-8 yet but has one more chance at the state meet to get there. "I dropped my other events to focus on this and not be worried about anything so I could be mentally locked on the high jump," Kepon said. "I think that really helps because it's such a mental sport." Red Bluff's Austin Torres (6-2) was third and Dunsmuir's Orion McCree (5-01) was fourth.

Shot Put: Yreka's David Sellens III edged Dunsmuir's Jeff Rhoades with a toss of 49-8.75 for the win. Rhoades was second with his throw of 49-1.25 and was followed by Enterprise's Casey Gunter (47-0.25), West Valley's Colt Roberts (46-8.5) and Enterprise's Skyler Ferguson (45-10.25).




COTTONWOOD - If their senior seasons weren't memorable enough, they will be now for Chico High's Eli Penick and Pleasant Valley's Brooke Whitburn. Two of the area's best took home the Bob Russell awards for outstanding athletes of the meet Friday night at the Northern Section CIF Track and Field Championships at West Valley High extended their breathtaking seasons by breaking meet records in their strongest events.

Penick continued his dominance in the sprint events, winning the 100 meters in 10.65 seconds and then added a personal record of 21.80 in the 200 for good measure. "I just came out of the corner, and got my knees up, knees up - like my dad said," Penick said of his 200. The senior's 100 also time bested the stadium record of 10.80 by Darius Ray in 2008.

Whitburn pulled her record earlier. Her first attempt in the long jump was 18 feet, 9 1/2 inches, taking down both the stadium record of 18-7 1/2, set by Enterprise's Macklin Harris in 1997, and the meet mark (18- 8) set by another Pleasant Valley standout, Jennifer Haws, all the way back in 1987. The Russell award was the second for Whitburn. She also earned it her sophomore season. She was again surprised by the honor despite winning the triple jump Friday at 37-4 1/4, giving her two firsts to go with a fourth-place showing in the 100 (12.71) and a third place in the 400 relay as the Vikings' anchor. "It's a great way to go out your senior season," she said. "I'm really honored. I can't believe it."

Penick was probably even more surprised than Whitburn. He got an early jump on the long way home after winding down after the 200 and missed the award ceremony. The way his and the Panthers' day started, he probably couldn't imagine himself adding even more hardware to what's become a stellar senior season. Chico entered the 400 relay as the favorite with Penick serving as the anchor.

The Panthers looked especially good after Michael Reynolds ran an exceptional opening leg. But the baton fell in the exchange between the second and third legs. "Anything cap happen," Penick said, adding that it motivated him even more to turn in a strong showing in his two latter events. Did he ever, a never facing a serious challenge in either the 100 or 200. Chico's slip-up in the relay allowed Red Bluff to edge Pleasant Valley, 43.67 to 43.73, for the boys' 400 title.

While no exchange issues occurred in the longer relay, the Vikings, who were the defending 1,600 relay champions, still played second fiddle to Red Bluff for the second week in a row despite a season best performance (3:24.89). Viking anchor Bradley Cox's all-out effort fell short as PV couldn't catch the Spartans, who also ran a season best in 3:23.67. Cox said he went out quicker than usual, trying to make up the approximate 10 meter gap. He nearly did but doing so left him gassed and unable to finish with his normal, strong closing kick.

Cox did defend his individual title in the 400 in 50.24, ensuring Whitburn wouldn't be the lone Viking heading south to the state meet. Cox first let Anthony Rodriguez of Enterprise out in front in the 400. "I kind of like running a little behind so I know where I'm at in the race," Cox said. The senior's strategy, or preference, paid off as he ran Rodriguez down over the second half of the race for the win, 50.24 to 50.72.

Penick will also have a teammate joining him at state. Fellow Chico senior Chris Midkiff won the 1,600 in 4:31.28 beating his lone serious challenger, Shasta's Blake Zufall, who finished in 4:32.33, nearly 11 seconds better than the rest of the field.

"I didn't know we were going. so slow," Midkiff said of the 72 second opening lap for a 4:48 pace. The pedestrian pace lasted another lap but promised a furious finish. Midkiff and Zufall were the only two milers up to the task, ramping down the pace seven seconds on the penultimate lap. But it would take much more on the final lap. "It was 60 or 60 something," said Midkiff, a decorated cross country champion who rebuffed several surges by Zufall to come home with the win. Midkiff surprised himself last week with a win in the 800 at the Division I meet.

Instead, Midkiff skipped that race, allowing a teammate to run it and went for the crown in the longer event. He made sure it was a good choice with his effort Friday. As he approached the finish line, he even looked back for Zufall. That's because the two pushed themselves to the finish. "I didn't have to lean over the finish line," Midkiff said. "That last 100 (meters) was everything we had."

The finals' first event winner was Gridley's Marisela Cardenas, though only a sophomore has been the event leader most of the season, won the girls'shot put at 40-0 1/2. Cardenas easily outdistanced the 37-6 1/2 toss from Lassen's Katheryn Jarrett. Another area sophomore, Hamilton's Christopher Jaeger, won the boys' high jump at 6-6, matching his personal best, which was enough to edge Foothill's Davis Kepon, who also qualified for the state meet by hitting the qualifying standard for the event at 6-5.

Gridley's Ed Roach, a longtime coach who is now 75 but still instructing throwers, was selected as the honor coach.