PALO CEDRO - What a difference a week makes. Cool, breezy and damp at the EAL track & field championships at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico but sunny and 30-35F degrees warmer as qualifiers from last week reassemble at the Foothill High School track in Palo Cedro for the Northern Section Division 1 Championships. Adding to the challenge of the heat were ag smells wafting across the venue with some regularity.

While the same six teams were present here as for the league championship, the event fields for both varsity and frosh/soph were whittled down to eight except for distance events in which twelve were allowed. Moving forward event winners from each of the four divisional meets automatically qualify to compete at the section finals held at West Valley High School in a week's time. The rest of the section field is filled based on the best marks athletes put up at these qualifying meets. Like the divisional meets, the section fields are also limited to 8 for all track events except the three distance races (800m, 1600m, 3200m) where the field size will expand to 12. Field events will also be eight plus any ties. This was the last meet of the season for those competing in the frosh/soph division, and for varsity athletes that fail to advance to the section meet.

Foothill won both varsity divisional team titles, besting the Vikings 162-157 in the girls' competition and 168-144 in the boys. The Cougars boys had 8 individual event winners in addition to claiming both relays. Runner-up Pleasant Valley boys only had four individual wins, two by Jackson Hein (800 & 1600) with Parker Williams (200) and Van Chambers (shot) garnering the other two. Foothill girls only won four events in their close victory over the Vikings. Superior depth was what got the Cougars over the line in denying Pleasant Valley who had five individual wins (three by Kayla Johnson, who won all the jumps) in addition to a victory in the long relay.

The much warmer conditions made for an improvement in performance at the meet, particularly for sprinters (including hurdlers) and many field events. Until this meet, no girls in the section had jumped over 17 feet, two did today with Kayla Johnson 17-04 1/2 and Foothill's Kasey Williams a mere half inch back. Johnson also popped a 35-00 1/2 triple jump (a 2 foot improvement on her previous best) to take over the section lead in the event. Prior to this meet, only Pleasant Valley girls had run under 51 seconds in the 400 relay, three did so in this meet alone and all were under the previous best time.

Other multiple winners at the meet were Foothill's Sydney Jones taking both hurdle events. Shasta sophomore Talyn Hanly took both the 400m and 800m, the later in a section leading time. Teammate Elizabeth Merrill won both longer distance races (1600/3200). Jaedyn Lynn won the 100m and also was a member of their winning short relay team.

Multiple winners among the boys, in addition to Jackson Hein, were Foothill athletes Caden Rowe (both hurdles) and Chris Hall (long & triple jumps). And like last week both were of their winning relay teams. Chico's only winner was Charlie Brennan (3200). Shasta had one winner among the boys with Trent Kingston taking the discus.

BOYS

100m: Foothill's Alonzo Borchert runs his fastest time of the year (10.94) in winning the Division title over teammate Ryan McNally (11.04) and PV's Parker Williams (11.06). Despite his PR run, Borchert loses his section lead to WV's Ian Reynolds who ran 10.89 in winning the Division II Championships Thursday.

200m: Parker Williams (22.62) comes up just .01 from tying his lifetime best in winning the 200m over teammate Carter Gregerson (22.92) and Foothill freshman Mason Calvert (22.93).

400m: Another aggressive run by Foothill's Logan Borg (51.03) as his time almost matches his winning performance at the EAL championships. Jacob Wagner (52.47) and Brandon Berens (53.73) take second and third. Last week's runner-up Jackson Hein scratches to concentrate on the 800m & 1600m.

800m: A tight race between the top two 800m runners in the section fails to develop as Borg nor anyone else challenges Hein for the lead during the opening lap run in a pedestrian 62 seconds. The PV sophomore closes out the race with a brisk closing circuit of 57 seconds to end up the only runner under 2 minutes with his 1:59.84. Chico's Carter Murphy closes well to finish second (2:02.14) with Enterprise's Aden Lechaman third (2:04.18). Section leader Borg finishes a distant fifth but still manages to advance to the section finals as the last time qualifier.

1600m: An easy win for Jackson Hein (4:23.70) over his older brother Austin (4:37.93) and surprise third place finisher Carson Sasaki of Chico (4:44.07), who despite fading a bit late, held on well enough to get a PR and entry into the section meet. A subpar performance by Carter Murphy, the sections fourth best in the event, will also not keep him from doubling next week.

3200m: Chico's Charlie Brennan, overcoming the effects of a cold earlier in the week, used steady pacing to avoid wilting in the heat before unleashing a 66 second closing lap to win his first divisional title (9:59.43). Teammate Matt Anderson (10:07.76) was second and cross-town rival Mark Velazquez-Patino took third (10:12.90)

110HH: Warm conditions made for a fast race in which all finishers had personal bests. No issue for section leader Caden Rowe in winning (15.32) with Enterprise's Tristan Young second (16.15) and Foothill's Davis Smith third (16.30).

300IH: Another reset of the section's top mark (39.62) for Foothill senior Caden Rowe as he wins by a sizeable margin. Tristan Young (42.46) was a distant second and Foothill's Hudson Edwards third (43.25)

4x100m Relay: A seasonal best by Pleasant Valley makes for a tighter finish but Foothill still wins as Alonzo Borchert holds off a closing leg by Parker Williams.

4x400m Relay: Too many horses in the Foothill stable (3:27.87) for the Vikings (3:30.72) to overcome in a race where both teams run seasonal bests. Enterprise, the only other school fielding a team, finishes a distant third (3:40.69).

Shot Put: PV's Van Chambers (47-08 1/2), peaking at the right time, wins by a foot on a six inch improvement on his personal best, to beat Shasta's Trent Kingston (46-08 3/4) and Chico's Christopher Bramon (46-05 3/4)

Discus: Despite improving on their personal bests, Enterprise's Jason Pillsbury (121-06) and Chico's Christopher Bramon (120-02) fall well short of beating Shasta junior Trent Kingston (145-01).

High Jump: Top three all clear 6-00 with Foothill's Hudson Edwards prevailing based on fewer misses. Pleasant Valley teammates Jacob Martin and Cameron Bussey, despite clearing the winning height, place second and third respectively.

Pole Vault: A Foothill sweep in a mediocre year for the event. Ben Noble clears a lofty 9-06 to win.

Long Jump: Foothill's Chris Hall (21-11 1/2) bests PV's Parker Williams (21-08 1/2) and Red Bluff's Hunter Keeler (21-02 1/2) in a relatively competitive field in which all but one of the competitors betters 20 feet.

Triple Jump: Another win by Chris Hall (41-09 1/4). This time over Enterprise's Jacob Wagner (41-00 1/2) and PV's Anthony Seiler (39-10).

GIRLS

100m: For the second week in a row, Shasta's Jaedyn Lynn (12.83) comes through victorious on a day in which most of the field runs personal bests. A close second is PV's Allie Devine (12.89) with Foothill's Evie Turner (12.99) third.

200m: A satisfying win for Allie Devine (26.79) as she rides a personal best to victory. Kyra Jones (27.13) and Sienna Jones (37.20) also best EAL champ Kajya Mello (also timed in 27.20) who has to settle for fourth and likely denied a place in the section finals.

400m: An impressive victory by the Shasta sophomore Talyn Hanly (59.85) as she gaps the field coming down the home stretch for the win. PV freshman teammates Abbigail Guichard (61.73) and Katelynn Enos (61.76) finish second and third.

800m: The top four PR in a competition that quickly evolved to a two-person race. Talyn Hanly (2:21.48) takes point coming off the first turn and never relinquishes the lead as PV's Holly Alchin (2:23.13) is never able to mount a serious threat despite hanging around the whole race. On her own, PV's Ava Devine runs a strong race to come in third (2:27.50).

1600m: Shasta's Elizabeth Merrill (5:21.74) opens up a early gap on the field and rides it to victory. Only runner-up Foothill's Erin McKinnon (5:28.35) can make significant inroads on the lead in the second half of the race but still comes up well short. Chico senior, but track rookie, Jasmine Guzeldere (5:36.55) makes a nice move on the last lap to claim third.

3200m: Too warm for most of the field to get too far out of their comfort zone. Elizabeth Merrill (11:54.55) again pops a quick opening lap then cruises to the win. Foothill's Erin McKinnon (11:58.93), slowing closing on the race leader the second half of the race uses a strong closing lap to dip under 12 minutes for the first time. PV's Chloe Alchin (12:15.60) holds on the best of the rest to take third.

110HH: Foothill's Sydney Jones (17.49) was an easy winner over Shasta's Bria Tate (18.20) and PV's Grace Montgomery (18.88) despite a race reset due to a false start disqualification of EAL runner-up Chico's Delainey Lowe.

300IH: Sydney Jones (50.24) runs another personal best in winning her second race on the day. Bria Tate (52.73) is again runner-up with PV's Ali Lugo (53.20) taking third.

4x100m Relay: In a hotly contested race that saw Shasta (50.66) build what appeared to be an insurmountable lead through three legs before losing nearly all of it to fast closing Pleasant Valley (50.69) and Foothill (50.71) teams. They are the fastest teams in the section and will lock horns again at section championships in what promises to be a very competitive final.

4x400m Relay: A strong performance by the section's top team as Pleasant Valley (4:12.55) was able to maintain a decent gap over the two other teams in the field, Foothill (4:18.59) and Chico (4:21.15), to the finish despite not running a time particularly close to their seasonal best.

Shot Put: PV's Chloe Smith (33-08 3/4) backs up her win at the EAL championships by taking the title here. This time Foothill's Kalli Smith (32-10) finishes in the runner-up position while PV's Trinity Gomez (31-08 1/2) takes third.

Discus: A monster throw by Evie Turner (129-02) not only gives the Foothill sophomore the win but allows her to take over the section lead in the event. EAL champ Faith Ferguson (113-08) of Shasta finishes second and Kalli Smith (107-08) third.

High Jump: One of three wins (and three PRs) on the day for PV's Kayla Johnson taking the title here on the basis of fewer misses over Shasta's Jaedyn Lynn as both cleared 5-00. Foothill's Theresa Barlow was third (4-10).

Pole Vault: An easy sweep by Foothill as no other divisional school has any vaulters. Abigail Watt 7-00 clearance wins while places 2-4 are decided on the basis of fewer misses as all clear a modest 6-06.

Long Jump: Kayla Johnson edges Foothill's Kasey Williams by half an inch in a competition where both soar pass the 17 feet mark for the first time. PV's Allie Devine (16-03 1/2) also PRs in placing third.

Triple Jump: Completing her trifecta of PRs, Kayla Johnson easily wins her third event of the meet with her 35-00 1/2 effort. Theresa Barlow (33-08 1/2) takes second with teammate Brooke Reagan (32-06 3/4) third.

As this was the final frosh/soph meet of the year, some performances that stand out were PV's Brodie Martin as he backs up his wins in the 100m & triple jump in the cold at the EAL championships by taking both at the much warmer Division meet. Chico's Kenton Girt also ends his season with back to back wins in the 1600m as does PV's Willard Atkins in the 800m. PV's Derek Roberson was back to back winner of the discus but came up one place short in the shot thanks to Foothill's Joe Turner 4 foot PR.

As for the frosh/soph girls, Chico's Payton Holt won both the 100m & 200m races. Chico's Reese Alvistur backed up her win at the EAL with her victory the following week, both times outkicking Foothills Sienna Belong. Belong would win the 3200m both weeks although at the divisional meet as the very warm conditions got the best of Alvistur as she collapsed after leading the race for six laps. Shasta's Issabella Iraheta was a double winner at the divisional meet taking both the 100m and 300m hurdle events, after only prevailing in the longer one at the league championships.