COTTONWOOD - Athletes from forty Northern Section school came to the West Valley High School campus on the outskirts of Cottonwood to compete in the section finals used to determine the state qualifiers for the 17 events contested for both boys and girls. This meet is the culmination of weeks of training that were honed by a series of competitions throughout the spring. Competitors to advance to the state meet out of the Northern Section must either win their event, or failing that, meet an at-large standard that is close to or exceeds the section record in that event. This meet is not scored although the top five finishers in each event were awarded medals. Additionally, the most outstanding performer for the boys and for the girls is given the Bob Russell award based on a point system that considers the number of wins and well as the quality of those wins.
Weather conditions were relatively benign as the mid afternoon start saw temperatures in the mid/upper 80s under sunny skies for the 4x800 relays and the first round of field events with a southerly breeze (a track cross wind) that persisted until sunset but didn't have a significant impact on any track or field events.
In the first boys running event in the evening session the long standing section record in the 4x100m relay was broken by Enterprise. The quartet of Dallas Carter, Aiden McFall, Alijah Bobo and JJ Johnson got the stick around the track in a most efficient fashion to record a time of 42.02 eclipsing the previous record of a hand-timed 42.0 set by Herlong back in 1970 by roughly a tenth of a second. Needless to say, this also broke the section meet record held by Wheatland (42.4h - 1989) and the West Valley stadium record that was just set by Pleasant Valley last year (42.56). This was their third improvement of their seasonal best in the last four weeks.
Two time state 800m medalist Pleasant Valley's Jackson Hein went out in style. A fast start and a strong closing lap allowed the Viking senior to finish with a seasonal best to break the meet and stadium records (he already holds the section record) held by Enterprise's Kenny Frank (1:53.83 - 2002) with his 1:52.63. Las Plumas' Jayden Newkirk, after running a personal best in the 100m that missed the stadium record by .02 second and the meet record by .03 second, returned to run the 200m where he did set a stadium record. Newkirk also qualified in the long jump where his best mark exceeded the at-large standard by a couple of inches. For his efforts he recieved the Bob Russell award for the most outstanding performance by a boy at the section meet as his 100m mark is No. 5 all-time and his 200m mark is no. 3 all-time.
Shasta's Josi Iwvalla PR'ed by over a foot in winning the long jump with a mark of 23-10 3/4 to break the meet record of 23-10 set by Ed Stewart of Oroville in 1988 and the stadium record held by hometown favorite West Valley's Jeff Billing mark of 23-04 set in 2000.
Other impressive but not record performances include Orland's Paulina Martins distance double (5:02/10:56) in which runner-up Taylor Wellersdick from Chico had marks that could win most years (5:05/11:17). In fact her time in the 1600m is the fastest second place time at the section meet. As it was both of Martin's finish times were top ten all-time section marks and thus it was no surprise that she was given the Bob Russell award for the most outstanding performance by a girl.
The Chico girls 4x800m relay team, comprised of Taylor Wellersdick, Mira Sidhu, Sienna Jones and Ava Csutoras, broke the section and meet record for the event with their winning time of 8:42.93. The previous records were a little soft since the event wasn't contested at the championship level until two years ago when the CIF added it to the state meet. Shasta's Naia Kristoffersen winning mark in the triple jump (38-04 1/4) was the fifth time in section meet history that a girl jumped 38 feet or better in claiming the section title. Three of them were by the all-time section leader and section meet record holder Sutter's Heather Contreras. Kristoffersen effort, although a little over 5 inches short of the meet record, was the best mark at the section meet by a sophomore.
The COVID hangover appears to be over as winning marks at this year's section finals were the best since the 2020 pandemic break in 13 of 17 events for the girls and 10 of 17 events for the boys.
Here are a listing of the girls that made the podium at NSCIF track and field championships:
GIRLS TRACK EVENTS
100: Nicole Weaver has the best start but Ahmani Collins gains a small advantage by mid race and is able to hold onto it through the finish. PV's Marinello finishes third, Trinity's Kormeier fourth and Whipple of Yreka fifth. Fastest winning time since 2001 and third freshman winner this century.
200m: Not a happy camper after her runner-up finish in the 100m, Weaver gains the early advantage over the only other sub 26 second runner in the field, the 400m champion, Aliyah Choi and maintains it through the line. Hanly takes third, Kyra Jones fourth, Guido fifth.
400m: Aliyah Choi comes from behind late to beat a very motivated Talyn Hanly by a scant .04 as both notch sub 58 PR's. The race is what you look for when the top ranked 400m runners in the section clash. Weed's Alayja Oliver is a distant third, Sienna Jones fourth and Josslyn Vengley fifth.
800m: Brianna Hayes, the race favorite, is briefly challenged a couple of times before roaring away to a decisive win as she is the only one among her closest rivals to run a personal best. A late charge gets Holly Alchin second as she passes Kropp after pulling away from Hankins and a fading Winstead-Stroing.
1600m: Orland's Paulina Martins led from wire-to-wire to win her first section title yet Chico's Taylor Wellersdick strong closing lap cut the Trojan senior lead by more than half and left her as the only contender in the field to run a PR. U Prep freshman and section cross country champion Rogue Cutler last lap acceleration gets her by Shasta's Merrill to place a distant third. Merrill then holds off a late charge by Lassen's Mckernan as they place fourth & fifth respectively.
3200m: Another wire-to-wire performance by Martins which she put a scare into the twenty-nine-year-old meet record. Wellersdick was again second and Cutler third as all three run PR's. After a relatively quiet track campaign, Cutler leads a trio under the 12 minute mark with her 11:46.67PR 3rd place finish ahead of Merrill and Mckernan.
100hh: Hope's Iris Severne, rebuffs serious challenges by Anica Kormeier and SiSi Marinescu, as the three finished 1-2-3 while all running personal bests. Severne and Kormeier marks were top 10 all-time. Amarianna Sims, in placing fourth, and Caydence Kremer taking fifth, despite losing ground to the top three in the closing 50m of the race, also ran personal bests.
300h: Iris Severne wins her second hurdle race and is pressed all the way to the line by relatively unknown small school talent in Durham's Payton Santos and East Nicolaus' Rylee Gillespie as all three run personal bests. Severne improved her personal best by a quarter second while Santos and Gillespie reset their bests by around two seconds.
4x100 relay: Foothill edges Pleasant Valley and a fast closing Weed to take the section title. All three team dipped under the 50 second mark, likely the first time that has happened at the section meet or any other meet in the section.
4x400 relay: Pleasant Valley jumps to an early lead and is never seriously challenged and comes home with a seasonal best. Chico finds itself in a dog fight with Hope and Red Bluff through the first two legs but strong circuits by Csutoras, Jones secure their runner-up finish. Hope edges Red Bluff for third.
4x800 relay: An easy yet impressive win by Chico as no one in the section has the depth in the 800m like the Panthers do. Even a rusty second leg by Sienna Jones, running her first 800m of the season, does little to derail Chico squad's return to state. Hope takes second while Pleasant Valley, not using any of the top varsity talent, i.e. Alchin, Hankins) is a much more distant third. Chico's time (9:42.93) is a meet & stadium record.
GIRLS FIELD EVENTS
Shot: Faith Ferguson rises to the occasion after she lost her section lead to upstart West Valley freshman Kelsey Morton during the divisional round of championships, she retakes the section lead and wins the event in the process with her near 40 foot toss (39-10 1/4). Anderson's Taylor Ford takes third only an inch off her personal best. Foothill's Kalli Smith, despite being a half foot short of her personal best set the week before, places fourth.
Discus: The top ranked section throwers placed in order with none improving upon their seasonal or lifetime bests. Half a meter separated the champion Evie Turner from her runner-up Faith Ferguson with third ranked Kalli Smith placing third and fourth ranked Summer Probst taking fourth. The top five in this competition are all seniors so the event will be wide open next year.
High jump: A bunch of busy girls in the competition.Jaiden Lynn was also competing in the LJ, Naia Kristoffersen was also entered in the LJ, TJ. Teresa Barlow was also in the LJ, TJ. Lynn wins clearing two heights more than anyone else. The rest of the top five all clear 5' 0 with places determined on the basis of fewer misses giving Barlow second, Kristoffersen third, Anna Bunce fourth with Kylie Mason & Ellis Macfarlane tied for fifth.
Pole Vault: Orland's Addison Bernstein wins her second consecutive section title on the basis of fewer misses this time over West Valley's Keara Woods as both clear 9' 6. Anika Namihas and Emma Hawkins both clear 8' 6 but less misses on the way there give third to the Shasta's Namihas over her Foothill competitor.
Long jump: Lynn, Kristoffersen and Barlow compete in the high jump at the same time as the long jump. Ahami Collins after this competition comes back to run the anchor leg of Weed's 4x100 relay and 100m final, but bails on the 200m final. Nearly four hours later Dessa Whipple would also be a competitor in the 100m final. At any rate, a much better quality of competition here than in the high jump. Same result though as top seeded Shasta's Lynn takes both. This one she narrowly missed breaking the section meet record with her best leap of 18-09. Both Whipple (17-10 1/2) and Collins (17-09 1/2) soar to personal bests in taking second and third.
Triple jump: Top ranked Kristoffersen, coming off her win at the Division I Championships, not only wins again but also breaks her personal best she set the week before and does so running into a light headwind. Barlow, although nearly 3 feet behind, takes second while Chico's Clarenbach another 2 1/2 feet behind in third.
Here are top boys from the NSCIF track and field championships:
BOYS TRACK EVENTS
100m: Las Plumas' Jayden Newkirk needs to use the entire length of race to overcome the deficit he found himself in most of the way. Corning's Davis had the best opening third of the race, McNally owned the middle third as Newkirk moved from close fourth to a strong second but still needed most of final third to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat. Newkirk 10.67, McNally 10.71 and Davis 10.91 all PR while nobody in the rest of the field does.)
200m: A much easier win for Newkirk as he comes off the turn with the lead and expands upon it down the homestretch. He runs another personal best (21.72) with the effort as does the runner-up Aiden McFall of Enterprise (22.08). Wilkes, after a disappointing fifth in the 100m, comes in third here. PV's Titus Andrus, who false-started out of the 100m at the divisional championships the week before, runs a 22.36 PR to take fourth.
400m: Jackson Chase makes the stagger over his chief rival WV's Isaiah Larceval but he almost pays dearly for this aggressive start as Eagle junior all but closes the gap between them coming down the homestretch in one of the closest (& fastest) 1-2 finishes in section meet history. Well behind, Chico sophomore Kohen Struyf takes third. The top three all run personal bests and all three, barring injury, will be back next year.
800m: Jackson Hein goes out in style leaving no doubt who is going to win the race as he wins by over 7 seconds to set the meet record (1:52.63) in the event. Despite a quick turnaround, WV's Larceval closes well to pull away from both Murphy and Kormeier to take the runner-up position. Down the homestretch Murphy passes Kormeier who is subsequently challenged but ultimately holds off an inspired Brian Patton for fourth.
1600m: Jackson Poburko, ranked second in the section, allows the pace to stay relatively conservative through 800m before blowing the race wide open over the second half of the race. Cleek hangs on the best in taking second, with Austin third, Stabel fourth and the early leader Cuevas fifth and the only one in the top five to run a personal best.
3200m: Top ranked Quentin Clarke takes point early and sets a solid pace that reduces the lead pack to four. Clarke rolls to a faster second 1600 to come away with comfortable win over his teammate McLauglin who has to regroup to hold off a late charge by Austin to take second. Granados places fourth, Denman fifth
110HH: Dallas Carter, the section leader in the event, pulls out another win over league rival, Blake Lema and Matthew Miskin
300h: Carter, the section leader in this event too, had his hands full in his second hurdle race as Lema looks all set to win until hitting the last hurdle and briefly crashing to the ground. Not only did he not get the win, he didn't improve upon in his personal best which he was most likely to do. Chico's Solece, not running the cleanest of races, still comes in third ahead of von Schalscha in fourth and Miskin fifth.
4x100m relay: The boys from Enterprise probably couldn't run a cleaner race. None of the four runners making up the team were exceptionally fast and thus needed three very efficient passes of the baton since nobody was fast even to make up for poor exchange or two. That was accomplished to a tee as they ran a section record time 42.02, breaking the former hand time record by about a tenth of a second. Pleasant Valley placed second, Chico third, Corning fourth and Pierce fifth as all teams in the top five run seasonal bests. Las Plumas was in the hunt for the win but the final exchange being made out of the final zone got the Thunderbirds DQ'ed.
4x400m relay: Enterprise, backs up their win at the divisional level, by claiming the state berth by again beating Pleasant Valley as the Viking's anchor Jackson Hein was left with too much of a gap to make up. Chico was in the hunt and briefly had the lead early in lap 3 but couldn't match the close of the Vikings or Hornets. A strong close by Jackson Chase got Mt Shasta in just before Las Plumas. West Valley finished sixth and was the last team under 3:30. A number only matched once his century (2007) at the section meet.
4x800m relay: Top seed Trinity wins for the third year in a row despite not having their A game as they needed Jackson Poburko anchor leg to secure the win as upstart University Prep proves to be a formidable foe.
BOYS FIELD EVENTS
Shot: Top ranked among eligible throwers Zachary Hart wins by over seven feet. Winter's Ramon Lopez took second, Jeremiah White third, Juan Garibay fourth and Brodie Ogden fifth.
Discus: Lassen's Zachary Hart wins again. This time his margin over second is 5 feet. Yreka's David Lindler comes away second, Adin Benson third, teammate Reegan Dunten fourth and Chico's Luke Schabert fifth.
High jump: A two man battle between Chico's Costantino Thompson and Yreka's Trevan Crane as they match clearances through 6' 5 before Crane can go no higher. Thompson's winning height and Crance runner-up height were personal bests. Third through a tie for sixth was determined on the basis of fewer misses as they all cleared 6' 0.
Pole Vault: Three-time section champion Logan Meredith comes through after facing his most serious challenge of the year from West Valley's David Irwin. Corning's Gavin Dutra was a distant third who edged Foothill's James Messenger on the basis of fewer misses. Kash Joseph was fifth.
Long jump: Another two man affair, this time between Kosi Iwvalla of Enterprise and Las Plumas' Jayden Newkirk. Both would not only jump personal bests but also meet the state's at-large standard with Iwvalla taking the section title. Well back, Justin Munns took third, Christopher Robertson fourth and Alijah Bobo fifth.
Triple jump: Princeton's Christopher Robertson tops the field by nearly a foot to win the hop-skip & jump competition. Thomas Sweet took second, James Sehrt third, Elijah Barnistareanu fourth and Carson Swetland fifth.
