Redondo, Costa set for Arcadia, Mt. SAC track and field meets
Redondo senior Isabella Landry set a personal record running in the girls 1600 Invitational race at the Trabuco Hills Invitational track and field meet with a winning time of 5 minutes, 1.9 seconds. Photo courtesy of Bob Leetch
Leading up to two prestigious track and field meets, the boys and girls teams from Mira Costa and Redondo continue to improve, setting personal bests as they prepare for stiff competition in the Bay League finals.
Both schools will send those athletes who qualified to the Arcadia Invitational on Friday and Saturday prior to local dual meets when Redondo hosts North on Wednesday and Mira Costa takes on visiting West on Tuesday, Apr. 16.
The teams are gearing up for the Mt. SAC Relays which will be held at El Camino College on Apr. 19-20.
With the Mt. SAC stadium being remodeled, the highly-competitive Mt. SAC Relays will be held at El Camino College. Bay League finals take place Apr. 23-26.
Redondo senior Mahkaia Lee turned in an impressive performance last weekend at the Trabuco Hills Invitational & Distance Carnival, setting a new school record in the long jump with a 2nd-place finish of 19 feet, 9.5 inches.
“Over the years it has gotten more and more difficult to break a school record.” Redondo coach Bob Leetch said. “This is a good one.”
Lee was one of 11 athletes setting personal bests.
“The Trabuco Hills Invitational is really a high quality meet that our kids look forward to every season,” Redondo coach Bob Leetch said. “Typically we compete at the South Bay Championships but due to a prior commitment we had to skip. SBC is a priority for us and we look forward to attending next year.”
Friday’s action included Invitational events with top-qualified athletes competing. Isabella Landry led Redondo by capturing the girls 1600 title with a personal record of 5:01.90.
The Sea Hawks had four girls finish in the top 10 with personal bests in the 800 Invitational with Domenica Villegas (4th, 2:19.51), Peyton Heiden (6th, 2:19.68), Montgomery Allison (7th, 2:20.26) and Molly Hastings (10th, 2:20.98).
Shelby Bender also ran a personal best, placing 3rd in the regular 800 race (2:24.06).
In the boys 800 Invitational, Benjamin Tait set a personal record of 1:58.44 with a 6th-place finish ahead of teammate Patrick Henry, who placed 9th (1:59.25).
In the 800 and 1600, personal bests were recorded by Christoph Waligorski (7th, 2:02.78) and Sangjun Lee (5th, 4:29.65), respectively.
Top finishes in Saturday’s action included Amari Turner winning the pole vault (12-6) and Redondo’s 4×100 Relay team of Amari Turner, Mahkaia Lee, Julia Ausland and Amber Autrey placed 2nd at 47.72.
Mira Costa’s Dalia Frias, left, and Lucy Atkinson finished 1-2 in the girls 3200-meter race at the South Bay Championships. Photo
“Turner came back to continue her winning ways with a win in the pole vault,” Leetch said, “The Cal Berkeley bound senior has had a tremendous season.”
On Saturday, Mira Costa competed in the South Bay Championships held at West Torrance High School.
The Lady Mustangs won the team competition with 82 points, besting Culver City (76) and West (57.5).
The girls set 10 personal records (PR) at the meet led by event winners Brooke Inouye (1600, 5:10.71), Dalia Frias (3200, 10:49.45) and Amari Frasier (300 hurdles, 14.80).
Other top finishes includes Lucy Atkinson (2nd, 3200, 11:22.65 PR), Katelyn Lowry (2nd, triple jump, 32-11), Pnina Tofler (3rd, 800, 2:23.25 PR) and Natalia Cervantes (3rd, 300 hurdles, 47.23 PR).
Mira Costa’s boys team had five personal bests as the Mustangs placed 6th with 54 points. West easily won the title (133) ahead of Culver City (67) and Peninsula (65).
Top finishes by Mustangs included Thomas Velvin, who captured the 800 title with a personal record of 1:56.34 and Cormac Carew, who won the 1600 with a time of 4:27.06.)
Complete results available at athletic.net.