COTTONWOOD - Selina Schillig crossed the finish line, watched the video board shine her name as the winner and couldn't help but smile in utter disbelief. The senior from Oroville High made her trip to the CIF state championships official as she captured the 300-meter hurdles title during the Northern Section Track and Field Championships Friday at West Valley High. Schillig crossed the finish line in 48.09 seconds, battling through the cool, steady rain that held up throughout the entire meet.

"I've been running since freshman year. It's been a dream of mine to go to state," Schillig said. "Going on the line today - I wanted this and I knew I would get it. When I actually crossed, I didn't expect that. I'm so happy." Schillig said she had been dealing with a back problem during the season but she was able to put that aside and power through the 300 hurdles. "This year has been difficult for me. I've had a back issue, going to the chiropractor twice a week," Schillig said. "To be able to come here today was really excting for me. This is a dream true. I'm excited." Schillig and the other section title winners on Friday will compete in the state meet June 1-2 at Buchanan High in Clovis. "It means a lot. I'm going to remember this moment forever," Schillig said.

Also part of Friday's array of area winners was Chico High sophomore Hailey Fune. Fune took the 100 hurdles title in 15.58, besting her performance from last year where she finished second. Schillig took second in 16.17. "I feel really honored to represent Chico High going to state," Fune said with her glasses obstructed with water droplets. "I'm excited I have another two more opportunities to go to state after this." Fune also took second in the triple jump with a leap of 35 feet, 11.5 inches. Durham High's Lindsey Bryant placed third in the high jump at 5-1 and the 1,600 relay team of Karena Bryant, Naiya Kowalkowski, Jenna Parker and Rielly Brannan was third in 4:15.22 Pleasant Valley's Miracle Traylor took second at 20-6 3/4 in the mixed ambulatory shot put and took second in the 100 ambulatory dash in 20.22.

Las Plumas High senior Brian Hastings had been present at the section finals long before he got to high school. He'd attend the meet in middle school with his father, LP track coach Bob Hastings. Hastings, the defending 1,600 champion, did it again. He won the race by nearly six seconds in 4:24.83. "I've been a bundle of nerves this week. I get jittery this week every year but being the defending champion, with that on the line, you never know what can happen," Hastings said. "It's raining and cold so you can't expect to run really fast today." Runner-up Bretten Farrell stayed on the back of Hastings' heels until the final lap where Hastings took off, building a lead over the final 600 meters. After winning the race, Hastings proudly posed for a photo next to the video board displaying his name as the winner. It'll be his second time heading to the state championships and Hastings' goal is to make it to the finals. "If I get to the final, I think I can potentially get in the top 10," Hastings said. Finishing out with one more section medal was just how Hastings wanted to end his senior year. "Being so involved with Northern Section track and field at a young age makes winning a section title that much more gratifying," Hastings said.

The Pleasant Valley High boys 400 relay team also earned a spot in the state meet. The Vikings team of Caleb Cooley, Max Pollock, Dalton Walker and Dante Jackson bested Foothill in 43.46 seconds. Jackson, the sophomore anchor for the relay team, also won the 200 in 22.49 and took second in the 100 at 11.33. His goal for the section meet was to do better than his older brother, Donovan, who graduated last year. "It's great because I'm doing something my brother didn't. I'm going to two races and he had zero," Jackson said. "It's a friendly rivalry, but I'm winning it."

Chico High junior Charlie Giannini led virtually the entire way of the 3,200m event, using a 4:40 closing 1600m to gap runnerup Avery Grady of Enterprise, to win in 9:35.08. Teammate Jaxon LeDuc six second PR (9:54.01) gives the Panthers three sub 10 minute 3200m runners on the season. Fellow Panther Christian Valles also won the triple jump with a leap of 43 feet and took third in the long jump at 20-7 1/2. Willows High junior Logan Blair captured the title in the 100, winning in 11.17. Las Plumas junior Nick Small won the pole vault title at 13-3 after battling Trinity High's Brian Harper in a sudden death 'vault off' round between the two. "It's been a lot of hard work so it's good it paid off," Small said.

In a result that mirrored the two previous times these teams have met, the Paradise High 1,600 relay team featuring Jared Mackay, Gabriel Price, Jacob Weldon and Patrick Roehling was edged just before the finish line by Foothill to close out the evening's competition. The Cougar's winning time was 3:26.73 with the Bobcats finishing in 3:27.14. West Valley took third in 3:29.20. Pleasant Valley's Addison Jarolin won the mixed ambulatory shot put with a heave of 33-3.



Here are top girls from the NSCIF track and field championships:

GIRLS TRACK EVENTS
100: Alisha McFall, Yreka (12.68), Savannah Bailey, Sutter (12.75), Isabella Alvarez, West Valley (13.12). Close second after short rest

200: Bailey (25.97), McFall (27.10) Alvarez,(27.32). Bailey wins two of three

400: Bailey (59.45), Zoey Bishop, Foothill (61.69), Naiya Kowalkowski, Durham (62.14). First win on day.

800: Lauren Harper, Trinity (2:23.78), Bailey Jones, West Valley (2:26.41), Alicia Murillo, Hamilton City (2:26.71).

1,600: Harper (5:22.65), Jasee Heacock, West Valley (5:25.44), Mia Ashby, Sutter(5:25.55). Harper moves up in distance and is a double winner.

3,200: Hanna Hall, Shasta (11:09.65), Britta Bundy, Chico (11:22.07), Rajvir Duhra, Live Oak (11:56.14). 75 second closing lap insures win for Hall

100 hurdles: Hailey Fune, Chico (15.58), Shillig (16.17), Shasta's Alia Sager (16.82). Fune's only win as she struggles in wet weather.

300 hurdles: Selina Schillig, Oroville (48.09), CORE Butte Elizabeth Wiley (48.72), Chico's Sophie Hanf (49.30).

4x100 relay: Yreka (Sophia Gliatto, Alisha McFall, Lena Fogle, Anya Ireson-Janke), 50.10; Foothill (50.88); Chico (51.40).
Top ranked Yreka improves upon seasonal best.

4x400 relay:West Valley (Blanca Jones, Jasee Heacock, Isabella Alvarez, Bailey Jones), 4:07.69; Foothill (4:12.04), Durham (4:14.22).
Eagles only contending team to improve upon seasonal best

GIRLS FIELD EVENTS
High Jump: Kira Porzio, Foothill, 5-2; Teagan Ford, Etna (5-01): Lindsey Bryant (5-01). Porzio wins for the second time.

Shot Put: Natalie Rogers, West Valley (39-08); Erica Grotegeer, Wheatland (38-07); Abby Meder, Wheatland (35-05 1/2). Rogers defends her title

Triple Jump: Alyssa Burke, Enterprise (36-07); Hailey Fune, Chico (35-11 1/2); Kaitlin Paul, Oroville (34-04). Burke wins event for third time.

Discus: Erica Grotegeer, Wheatland (162-09); Natalie Rogers, West Valley (136-05); Marisah Wehunt, Anderson (119-07). Grotegeer 1st 4 time winner in event.

Long Jump: Lexi Jones, UPrep(16-04 1/4); Kylanna Bluford, Central Valley (15-10 1/2), Burke (15-09 3/4).

Pole Vault: Matteya Ruiz, Foothill (10-06); Rebecca Graham, Las Plumas (10-00).Addie Galantine, Corning (9-06). Ruiz has never lost event at sections






   COTTOWOOD - When the starter's pistol misfired twice during the girls 1,600-meter race Friday at the Northern Section Track and Field Championships, Lauren Harper had seen all she needed. The two do-over starts - caused by the steady and constant rain that blanketed The Pasture at West Valley - gave the Trinity High School junior insight as to what the competition was planning. "The false starts were rough because it messed with your adrenaline," she said, "but it was kind of an advantage because I was able to see who wanted to go out fast." And that allowed Harper, a double winner who had the best time coming into Friday's 1,600, to know her strategy of sticking by the leader's heels until the bell lap was going to work. "The plan was to sit and outkick the leader and that's exactly what I did," said Harper, who won the 3,200 in 5 minutes, 22.65 seconds. "I made my move like I planned on the last lap with 200 meters to go." Harper, who also won the 800 in 2:23.78, said she will not compete in the 1,600 at next week's state meet, choosing to focus on the 800. That meant West Valley's Jasee Heacock earned a trip to state in the 1,600 with a second-place time of 5:25.44. Harper was among a select few double winners, also including on the girls competition, Sutter's Savannah Bailey.

Enterprise's Brock Fischer and Anderson's Jarrett Kingston were the only double winners on the day for the boys. Fischer took gold in the 110 hurdles in 14.96 and the 300 hurdles in 40.04. Kingston took the weight double with a shot put win of 49 feet, 4 inches while needing a final throw of 153-08.5to come away with the win in the discus. "I pictured in my mind what I was going to throw and stepping into the circle and just did it," Kingston said. "I always throw well on my last throw and I said 'I'm going to throw the crap out of this.'" The senior headed to Washington State on a football scholarship did just that, letting it fly down the left side of the grid, uncorking his best throw two rounds after slipping in the throwing circle. The rain, which many long-time track officials said was the worst in two decades (probably 1998, a cooler but not nearly as wet a day) at the Section Championships, plagued many competitors throughout the damp day. "You can't lie about it. It's a problem," Kingston said. "But then everyone has to throw in it."

For their double wins, Kingston and Fischer shared the boys Bob Russell Award given to the outstanding athlete of the meet. The girls Bob Russell winner was Sutter's Savannah Bailey, who won the girls 200 (25.97), the 400 (58.33) and was second in the 100 (12.75). For Enterprise's Aly Burke, the triple jump win was a triple treat as the Hornets senior is headed to state for the third time. And because the state meet and graduation don't overlap this year, Burke won't have to face the dilemma of many past winners who were forced to choose the chance to compete with California's best versus graduation. "I was upset because I thought if I won that I'd have to miss state, so I was super excited when (coach Jim) Deaver told me," she said. Burke unleashed her winning jump of 36-07 on her third attempt and didn't know it until she saw her jump coach Anthony Williams. "Last week, he was pushing me in practice and told me visual images of where I needed to be (at each phase)," Burke said. "My first two jumps were good, but I scratched. When I landed that third jump I was hoping I didn't scratch and I turned to look at Anthony and I saw his face and I knew."

Burke also took third in the long jump with a leap of 15-09.75, behind winner Lexi Jones of U-Prep (16-04.25) and Central Valley's Kylanna Bluford (15-10.5). The rain didn't stop U-Prep sophomore Hana Hall from her best mark of the year in the girls 3,200 as she shaved nearly 21 seconds off her qualifying time. Hall, who was shadowed by Chico's Britta Bundy for seven of the race's eight laps, began her kick as the bell sounded for the final lap and by the time she hit the home stretch had a comfortable lead of about 200 yards. She finished in 11:09.65 in the third to last race of the day. And the last race provided perhaps the most thrilling finish of the day as the Foothill boys 1,600 relay team reeled in Paradise in the last 50 meters to claim gold for Isaiah Putnam, Thurman Knowles, Cole Millward and Jayden Gordon (3:26.73). The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead and held that lead through the first three legs, but Gordon - who also won the 400 in 50.08 - tracked down and passed Patrick Roehling as the two approached the tape.

Here are top boys from the NSCIF track and field championships:

BOYS TRACK EVENTS
100: Blair (11.17), Jackson (11.33), Live Oak's Jagger Bains (11.46).

200: PV's Dante Jackson (22.49), Willows' Logan Blair (22.63), Shasta's Kenyon Riley (22.65).

400: Foothill Jayden Gordon (50.11), Biggs' Daniel Velazquez (50.58), Winter's Kohner Butts (50.77). Butts third for the second year in a row.

800: Wheatland's CJ Duncan (1:57.68),Pleasant Valley's Kyle Johnson (1:57.94) Paradise's Gabe Price (1:59.18). Last year's runnerup, this year's winner.

1,600: Las Plumas' Brian Hastings (4:24.83), Chico's Bretten Farrell (4:30.20), UPrep's Justin Matties 4:30.36.

3,200: Chico's Charlie Giannini (9:38.74), Enterprise's Avery Grady (9:45.76), Yreka's Blake Chitwood (9:49.19).

110 hurdles: Enterprise's Brock Fisher (14.96), Foothill's Dylan Northrup (15.36), UPrep's Trevor Branton (15.75).

300 hurdles: Fischer (40.04), Northrup (40.60), UPrep's Miles McMillan (41.94).

4x100 relay:Pleasant Valley (Caleb Cooley, Max Pollock, Dalgton Walker, Dante Jackson), 43.46; Foothill, 44.23, UPrep, 44.67.
Last time PV won event was 20 years ago (1998).

4x400 relay: Foothill (Isaiah Putnam, Cole Millward, Tayler Carey & Jayden Gordon), 3:26.73; Paradise (3:27.14), West Valley (3:29.20).
Third time this season Foothill gets a come from behind vitory over Paradise.

BOYS FIELD EVENTS
Discus: Jarrett Kingston, Anderson (156-08), Payton Fuller, West Valley (147-09); William Swartz, Red Bluff (147-09).

Long Jump: Conner McKenzie, Red Bluff (22-00 1/2); Shawn Scribner, Trinity (21-06 3/4); Valles (20-07 1/2). Best section mark gives McKenzie the win.

Pole Vault: Nick Small, Las Plumas (13-03); Brian Harper, Trinity (13-03); Cole Millward, Foothill (13-00). Small wins in a jumpoff over Harper.

High Jump: Matt Gamble, Foothill (6-02); Tanner Bidwell, Big Valley (6-02); Austin Mishoe, Corning (5-10). Gamble wins due to fewer misses.

Shot Put: Kingston (49-04), Jim Mogen, Shasta (48-01 1/4), Rylie Silva, Central Valley (46-09).

Triple Jump: Christian Valles, Chico (43-00); Brett League, Central Valley (42-02 1/2); Isaiah Putnam, Foothill (42-01 1/2).