Track and Field: Spartans, Tigers head to state championship race

SAN DIEGO- The Central Union High Spartans and Imperial High Tigers brought home team and individual hardware from the CIF San Diego Section Track and Field Finals Saturday, May 20. Competing in Division II the Spartans men’s team came in third place (53.5) while the Tigers picked up a second place (49) team finish in the Division III men’s category.

The biggest individual winners from the competition were Central’s Steven Luker and Imperial’s Adrian Gonzalez, who secured advancement to the California State Competition beginning today, Friday, May 26 in Clovis, California. CIF Finalists were required to finish in the top three across all divisions to qualify for the State competition.

Gonzalez qualified for two events: the Shot Put and the 200-meter wheelchair event. The Tiger headlined DIII with first-place finishes in both events and another first-place in the 100-meter wheelchair event.

Luker qualified for the 100-meter race after finishing in second place in DII. Additionally, Luker picked up a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter race and participated in the Spartans qualifying relay events.

Also competing in Division II were Southwest and Brawley Union high schools. Palo Verde and Holtville high schools competed in DIII alongside the Tigers.

Imperial saw much individual success in the DIII competition with Tiger Alfredo Dorame coming in second place in the 200-meter run and fifth place in the 100-meter race. Teammate Ethan Arreola had two third-place finishes in the Shot Put and Discus field events.

Leading the Tigers in the women’s field events was senior Cheney Gomez, who has remained consistent and a top competitor since the Imperial Valley League Track and Field finals earlier this month. After picking up a first-place finish in the Discus throw event at the IVL finals, Gomez went on to a first-place finish in the CIF SDS DIII Discus prelims and finals. Gomez picked up first place in the Shot Put prelims and finals as well.

The Tigers men’s relay team came in first place in the 4x400 run and third in the 4x800. The Lady Tigers 4x800 relay team came in fifth place with a time of 10 minutes and 44.52 seconds.

Assisting in the third-place team finish, the Spartans had Daniel Zavala come in second place in the 110-meter hurdles, and Israel Rascon saw a second-place finish in Shot Put and third place in Discus events. The Spartans 4x800 men’s relay team came in fourth place while the 4x100 men’s team came in fifth place.

Alana Ortiz was the Spartans’ sole competitor in the women’s category and secured fourth-place finishes in the 300-meter hurdles and high jump events.

The Brawley Wildcats had Archie Olvera pick up fourth place in the 3200-meter run, Daniel Camillo also saw a fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles, and Azaria Martin came in second place in the Shot Put event.

Southwest Eagle Yizereth Cisneros saw a first-place finish in the 100-meter ambulatory and Shot Put events. The Eagles women’s 4x400 relay team came in the fifth-place finish with a time of 4 minutes and 7.83 seconds.

Palo Verde High’s Mathew Robertson had two first-place finishes in the 100 and 200-meter events while the Yellow Jackets’ 4x100 relay team saw a third-place finish. The Holvtille high Vikings had Lillian Strahm come in third place in the 3200-meter race.