Giannini's record performance makes section championship's return unforgettable
Dixon, Molina, McGregor, PV boy's 4x100, Chico girls 4x400 also statebound

Friday, May 20, 2022
By Tom Cushman
photos by Tom Cushman (TC)

COTTONWOOD - Mario Giannini, Chico High School's runner extraordinaire, set a blistering pace for eight long laps before collapsing into the arms of his father, Scott, after crossing the finish line on the West Valley High School track on Friday. The effort shattered a long-standing meet record for the 3200m previously held by Liberty Christian's Tim Nelson (the section 3200m record holder who would go to become a collegiate All-American while at Wisconsin and post collegiately earn a spot on the 2009 World Championship team).

Chico coach Kevin Girt has been a longtime witness to North State track and field. He was trackside at West Valley High School the night Nelson ran his 3,200m record. 'Mario has the ability like Tim to keep his foot on the gas and knows every mark he wants to hit every 200 meters' Girt said. 'He came through the first four laps exactly where he wanted to be and just held on.'

Giannini's time bested the previous mark by nearly 5 seconds as he stopped the clock at 9:00.59. He was the only track and field athlete to set a new meet record during this year's section championship. Last week at the Division 1 Championships he reset the Chico High school record for the 1600. He first broke the school record in the 3200m in mid-March before resetting it with his effort at the section final. Giannini has signed a letter of intent to run cross country and track for Chico State.

Giannini's effort came near the conclusion of 2022 Northern Section Track and Field Championships, the first championship held since 2019. No team scoring is done at the section meet as the section's top teams (by division) are determined the week before at the division championships. The only purpose of this meet is to determine the individual qualifiers for the state meet. The section's small size ensures that only the winner of each event automatically qualifies for a state meet berth. At large berths are available for a non-winning athlete, but they must meet stringent qualifying standard to do so. None were able to do so at this year's meet.

One unfortunate result, the lengthy break from competition due to the Covid-19 pandemic was to leave the quality of many skill events lacking not only in the section but around the state. These were mostly field events where athletes need the facilities (and coaching) usually only found at their local high school to hone their skills. On the track, the hurdle events were the most impacted by this lack of support.

The distance programs at Chico and Pleasant Valley made this year's section meet special. In addition to Mario Giannini, the Panthers had the Molina twins who dominated the girls 1600m and 3200m this season, and both could of broke school and possibly even the section records if not for a mid-season injury to Della that left sister Iresh plowing ahead on her own. Even still Iresh did get the school 3200m record (10:48.99) and won both of these distance races at the section meet. Dependable teammate, Una Griffith ended her season with three consecutive PRs in the 3200m capped off by her runner-up performance at sections (11:35.87).

Panther Avery Munson Clark backed up his winning performance at last year's NorCal Championships by using patience prevailing in the 800m as he comes through as second lap surges by Foothill's Camren Barnes and Mt Shasta's Drew Hering fail to drop the Chico senior while leaving them vulnerable to a late race surge of his own.

Crosstown rival Pleasant Valley had some fine runners of their own. Renton McGregor was the section leader in the 800m (in addition to being the newly minted school record holder in the 1600m and 3200m) but decided to only run the 1600m at sections despite not knowing if Giannini was going to run the race. It turned out his gamble paid off as Mario focused on the longer race. It proved to be an easy win for the Viking senior as he beat Weed's Ryan Mitchell by nearly eight seconds. Fellow senior Tryon Jardin, who briefly held the school record in the 3200m earlier this spring, was a distant second to Giannini in the 3200m despite running a time that in many years would have won (9:21.20).

The Viking squad was hardly one dimensional as the boys claimed state berths in both relays. The addition of freshman Ava-Marie Csutoras to the Chico 4 X 400 relay turned what had been a tight race between Foothill, Pleasant Valley and the Panthers the two previous weeks into a slightly less tense finish as Chico gapped the Vikings by a full second and Foothill by three.

Las Plumas' Kylie Atteberry was the meet's only triple winner on the day, claiming the section title in the 100m, 200m after eking out a win in the long jump by a mere three quarters of an inch. Paradise's Simon Dixon and Enterprise's Jahari Johnson where the only multiple event winners for the boys. Johnson won the 200m and 400m (& also anchored runner-up finishes by the Hornets in the relays). Dixon prevailed in both weight events.

Meet officials subsequently named Atteberry and Johnson winners of the Bob Russell Award that is annual given to the meet's outstanding girl & boy athletes. Due to a controversy in issuing this award over 20 years ago a point scheme was introduced to give greater weight to quality compared to quantity of performance. Unfortunately, this guideline still seems to undervalue Giannini's singular but vastly superior quality of performance over Johnson's quantity of wins.

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

GIRLS TRACK EVENTS
100: Kylie Atteberry, Las Plumas (12.66), Abigail Moore, Shasta (12.76), Nicole Weaver, West Valley (13.17).

200: Atteberry (26.93), Kyra Jones, Foothill (26.94), Weaver (27.23).

400: Talyn Hanly, Shasta (60.79), Emma Gaddy, UPrep (61.48), Aralynn Winstead-Stroing, Red Bluff (61.50).

800: Makenze Knowles, Foothill (2:23.33), Elizabeth Merill, Shasta (2:27.32), Paris Esther, Orland (2:27.52).

1,600: Iresh Molina, Chico (5:12.54), Merill (5:17.14), Chloe Alchin, Pleasant Valley (5:32.91).

3,200: Molina (11:12.69), Una Griffith, Chico (11:35.87), Alchin (12:20.26).

100 hurdles: Giselle Rodriguez-Sanchez, Fall River (17.36), Brooklyn Esther, Orland (17.71), Lea Bevilacqua, Trinity (17.77).

300 hurdles: Rodriguez-Sanchez (48.97), Annie Belter, Hamilton City (49.03), Tannah Taff, West Valley (50.14).

4x100 relay: Shasta (50.72), Pleasant Valley (51.20), Chico (51.38)..

4x400 relay: Chico (4:11.77), Pleasant Valley (4:12.78), Foothill (4:14.98).

GIRLS FIELD EVENTS
High Jump: Haley Willison, Yreka (4-10), Jordan McCoy, UPrep (4-10), Jaiden Lynn, Shasta (4-10).

Shot Put: Angela Schykerynec, Orland (37-11.75), McCoy (35-11.50), Angelique Trueblood, Pleasant Valley (32-10.25).

Triple Jump: Emma Schulte, Live Oak (33-04), Anne Marie Galvan, Wheatland (32-08.50), Brooke Reagan, Foothill (32-03).

Discus: Kylie Walsh, UPrep (111-04), Schykerynec (107-05), Cassie Huskey, Lassen (99-08).

Long Jump: Atteberry (16-01.25), Kasey Williams, Foothill (16-00.50), Lea Bevilacqua, Trinity (15-03.75).

Pole Vault: SeaAnna Ross, Orland (9-00), Elise Toste, Corning (8-06), Kylene Mitchell, Weed (8-00).

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

BOYS TRACK EVENTS

100: Anthony McFall, Yreka (11.06), Jordan Beban, Wheatland (11.11), Parker Williams, Pleasant Valley (11.30). .

200: Jahari Johnson, Enterprise (22.56), McFall (23.06), Williams (23.18). .

400: Johnson (50.02), Nicholas Vega, Wheatland (52.29), Alexis Palomares, Pierce (52.44).

800: Avery Munson Clark, Chico (2:00.56), Drew Hering, Mt Shasta (2:01.14), Camren Barnes, Foothill (2:01.65).

1,600: Renton McGregor, Pleasant Valley (4:24.41), Ryan Mitchell, Weed (4:32.00), Benjamin Wun, Chico (4:42.40).

3,200: Mario Giannini, Chico (9:00.59), Tryon Jardin, Pleasant Valley (9:21.20), Mitchell (10:09.26). Meet & stadium record.

110 hurdles: Caden Rowe, Foothill (16.26), Carter Kroschel, Fall River (16.63), Tristan Young, Enterprise (16.64). .

300 hurdles: Moses Bigelow, West Valley (41.91), Zachary Crane (41.93), Addison Snodgrass, Red Bluff (42.62).

4x100 relay:Pleasant Valley (43.54), Enterprise (43.60), West Valley (44.20)..

4x400 relay: Pleasant Valley (3:28.94), Enterprise (3:30.08), West Valley (3:30.90).

BOYS FIELD EVENTS

Discus: Dixon (156-06), Jace Christofferson, Foothill (130-05), Nicholas Brown, Corning (126-02)

Long Jump: Patrick Kremer, UPrep (21-07), Noah Thomas, Pleasant Valley (20-08.50), Wagner (20-08.25).

Pole Vault: Logan Meredith, Orland (14-01), Owen Reynolds, West Valley (12-00), Jaydn Robertson, Las Plumas (11-00).

High Jump: William Oliver, Shasta (6-02), Kremer (6-00), Zachary Crane, Enterprise (5-10).

Shot Put: Simon Dixon, Paradise (58-04), Ethan Holleman, Central Valley (48-00), Wyatt Miles, UPrep (44-08.50).

Triple Jump: Jacob Wagner, Enterprise (42-10), Thomas (41-11.50), Owen Evans, West Valley (41-01.50).