2014 Corona Relays – Meet Summary

by Mark Gardner, Meet Director

For a meet in its first season, it was disappointing to know that it could have been possibly cancelled because the first storm in the midst of a very dry and warm winter!  The forecast remained consistent for a 50% chance of rain in Corona from 7 am until 2 pm.  When Great Oak and Redondo Union, two of the best relay-styles programs in the nation committed, along with an allegiance to other supportive programs, the meet director felt that he owed it to these schools to stay the course.   Knowing that they might have to pause to let the rain move on, the meet was never going to be cancelled or moved! 

With the help of brooms, chamois, a plethora of eazy-ups and leaf blowers, the Corona Relays was able to secure a safe environment for athletes to start the 2014 season off on a positive note.  Thinking outside the box, the meet director had arranged to conduct Pole Vault and High Jump in one of the school’s two gyms.  In the end, they still conducted High Jump indoors, albeit on mats secured from the school’s cheerleading squad.  In weighing the work and hoops that needed to be cleared, they decided to conduct Pole Vault outside and take their chances.  (They also heard that a Great Oak vaulter needed 120 feet on his approach).  Dodging several dangerous rain cells here and there along with morning temperatures in the 50’s, the meet on the track went on without a hitch.  Several field events had to pause, allow for extra warm-ups, while Shot Put had to be cancelled due to the sector taking on too much water over the previous 24 hours.  Do we have shovels to help get the shot puts out of the mud?   That question was the death knell for Shot Put unfortunately. 

Great Oak captured the 1^st place team titles at all four levels.  On the girls’ side, Redondo grabbed that runner-up while Corona boys kept the 2^nd place trophy at home.  Noticeably, Great Oak and Redondo held back on a lot of relays, resting out a number of kids and introducing some of their younger kids to the Varsity level relays.  Next year, the Corona Relays meet committee has considered changing up the format, perhaps going with a Small Schools relays in the morning and Large Schools, beginning in the afternoon.  They cited that they want to keep the Varsity and Frosh/Soph format in that this is the perfect opportunity to introduce the sport to more people of our newer faces while also teaching how Track & Field can be a ‘team oriented sport.’   

Considering how the weather was going to hinder the sprints and field events, several great efforts were still recorded!  Ironically, the top efforts were recorded in the field events, where athletes had to be more patient than most invites.  The highlight of the meet came towards the end of the day with Great Oak’s Dustin Wert as he set the stadium record in catapulting himself to a new personal best of 15-3.  Wert also had some solid attempts at 15-6.  Longtime throwing guru, Bill Pendleton of Esperanza, brought his crew of boys over to compete.  Disappointed in the Shot Put being cancelled, their patience persevered in the Discus ring.  Aztec senior William Truong set a stadium record with his throw of 160-8.  Truong is also one of the state’s top shot putters.   With all things considered, THE top performance of the day was Bronson Osborn’s runner-up performance of 154-1.5.  But, keep in mind – Bronson is a FRESHMAN!  The high jump, conducted indoors, was hindered in that the athletes could not wear their jumping spikes along with a much, more cushioned jumping surface.  With that in mind one has to recognize Beaumont senior Sammy Roberts 6’4” victory in the High Jump.  In the open 110 Hurdles, Corona senior Elvis Pompa held off Upland freshman Ryan Anderson in the closest contest of the day, 15.08 to 15.09.   Upland returns one of the best sprint units in the nation, led by junior Myles Valentine.  On this day though, it was fellow junior Antonio Woodard’s day to shine.  He out-leaned Valentine, 10.98-11.00 for the victory into a -1.2 cold wind.  These two provided enough punch to lead their group to a 42.81 victory in the 400 relay and the 1600 relay (3:27.69).  The most thrilling finishes of the day was provided by Great Oak junior Damion Marshall.  Marshall spotted his Upland opponent a good 10 meters ahead going into the anchor leg of the 4x200.  Marshall hit another gear with 80 meters left and came in with a sub-22 second split for the team victory - 1:29.61 to 1:30.05.  Redondo ran to the victory in the 4x800 as Great Oak rested out a lot of the same boys that captured the 4x800 relay at last week’s Indoor State Meet.  Dustin Herold looked as smooth as can be on anchor for Redondo.  Runner-up Corona also produced a solid effort in breaking 8:10.  Great Oak dominated the 4x1600 Relay.  With three sophomores in that group, they averaged 4:32 per boy for the 18:08 victory.  One of the best distance returners in the nation, El Modena’s Sydney Gidabuday tried to close in on Great Oak with a 4:18 split for his crew as he outkicked Beaumont for that 2^nd place medal.  Not to be overlooked, Beaumont set a new school record in their 18:25 effort.  Consistently one of the top DMR crews in the nation, Redondo ran away with a 10:37.48 victory over El Modena.  Redondo’s “B” team broke 10:55 as a testament to their depth!  In the triple jump, Chaparral’s Jedaki Hill bounded out to a 43-8 victory despite the conditions. 

On the girls’ side, we also witnessed some great efforts in Pole Vault.  Two-time Masters Meet qualifier, Corona senior Devin Stetson won the competition at 11-0.  The true story though was Redondo freshman Kaitlin Heri, also elevating over 11 feet!  Part of an impressive trio all elevating over 10 feet, you sensed the excitement in Redondo head coach Bob Leetch.  Redondo is always in the hunt for those Division II CIF Titles on the strength of their middle distance crew but this strength will provide an additional punch in May.  Although the weather was not-sprint friendly, JW North’s M’Fon Ibekwe won the 100 meters, rolling into a cold wind, in 12.70.  She also ran a sub-58 second leg to secure the victory for the Div. II 2013 Finalists in the 4x400 Relay.   Ibekwe also closed in on Great Oak’s anchor in the 4x100 relay but came in with a 49.33 relay effort.  Great Oak started the season off well with a 48.93 victory here.  Multi-talented Kristin Hamlin of Redondo came through with a nice 15.34 victory into a cold wind for the 100 Hurdles.  Hamlin qualified to the postseason as an individual in three events in 2013.  Redondo came back for an easy victory (9:43.38) in the 4x800 with junior Amber Gore recorded a sub 2:20 split on her leg.  Great Oak’s girls got the meet rolling by dominating the 4x1600 win breaking 21:40 (5:25 avg. per girl) while leaving home Destiny Collins for precautionary reasons.   Great Oak’s incredible distance depth was truly felt as one needs to look into their Frosh/Soph results to gather a better perspective.   We saw a nice battle ensue in that Sprint Medley Relay between Corona and Murrieta Mesa.  With 300 meters to go, Corona’s Alicia Williams (2:17 split) was able to move away Taylor Taite (2:20 split) to secure the victory for the home crowd.   In the Distance Medley Relay, Williams came back to lead Corona to an early lead by splitting 3:45 on the 1200 leg.  But, Redondo’s depth proved to be the difference as they ran away with the victory in a 12:41.86 clocking.  Not in the official results, Dana Hills junior Evelyn Roberts shined in the Discus with a winning effort of 113-7. 

All in all, it was a great start for a first year meet.  Corona High truly appreciated who stuck with them and supported their efforts to keep the meet alive.  Corona Relays II is already set for February 28, 2015.