Local track teams are off and running in various meets as they prepare for stiff Bay League competition.
Athletes from Redondo and Mira Costa are taking part in a variety of competitions in preparation for the Redondo Nike Track Festival. The Distance Carnival will take place Friday, Mar. 8 followed by the Track Festival on Saturday.
Redondo is coming off competition at the Long Beach Poly TrackRabbits Invitational last Saturday.
“The meet was a step up in competition as the Redondo track teams move through the early part of the season,” coach Bob Leetch said. “We had several standout performances from both the boys and girls teams. These early meets are meant to be rust busters as we move into the thick of the season. The CIF has shifted the 2019 forward to February 16th. But both boys and girls squads are posting very solid marks considering this is very early in the year.”
In girls competition, Mahkaia Lee won the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 10 inches and also contributed to solid performances on the 4×200 and 4×400 relays and Sprint Medley.
Peyton Heiden, Montgomery Allison and Isabella Landry combined to lead both the 4×800 relay and Distance Medley teams to wins. Redondo teams placed 1st and 2nd with the A and B teams in those events.
Heiden, Allison and Landry joined Molly Hastings in the 4×800 with a time of 9:39.78, that moved Redondo to the No. 1 time in the state. Eve Divinity joined the girls in the Distance Medley to post the time of 12:50.73, which has the Sea Hawk girls at No. 3 in the state. St. Francis of Sacramento leads the state at 12:38.54.
On the boys side, Redondo had two winning teams.
“Ben Tait, Patrick Henry and Christoph Waligorski combined with Ariel Rodriguez to win the 4×800 relay in convincing fashion with a time of 8:09.13, the No. 4 time in the state. Loyola leads the state with 7:52.94,” Leetch said. “Tait, Henry and Waligorski doubled back with Christopher Burns an hour later to win the Distance Medley Relay with a time of 10:44.34, for the No. 2 time in the State. Great Oak HS lead the state at 10:41.64.”
The Sea Hawks travel to Los Alamitos for the Griffin Relays and a Friday night showdown with many of the top schools in the state.
Mira Costa is also prepping for the Redondo Nike Track Festival, coming off a fine performance at the Palos Verdes Distance Day event on Saturday.
The Mustang’s Distance Medley Relay team of Dalia Frias, Lucy Konsmo, Brooke Inouye and Lucy Atkinson took first with a time of 13:05.76.
Two girls also set personal records with 3rd-place finishes with the freshman Frias in the 1600 (5:21.97) and sophomore Julia Vasquez in the 3200 (12:29.41).
Junior Alex Fiorito placed 2nd in the boys 3200 while setting a personal record (10:10.25). He was just ahead of teammate sophomore Cormac Carew (10:13.95).
Senior Cy Chittenden placed 3rd in the 1600 with a time of 4:30.75.
Mira Costa hosts a tri-meet with West and Santa Monica today. Following the Nike Festival, Mira Costa will host the Mustang Relays on Saturday, Mar. 16.
