Hartnell Men Win First Meet at Home
Competing at at home in the Gary Shaw Open Meet, the Hartnell men's track & field team enjoyed their best showing to date by winning the team competition by 93 points over San Joaquin Delta College. The meet was attended by seven community colleges and was open to athletes off all levels looking to compete under ideal weather conditions for the first time this season.
King City duo Esteban Deniz and Ricky Diaz III were event winners with Deniz edging Diaz in the 1500 meters 4:04.23 to 4:04.32. Diaz would enjoy the victory in the 800 meters at 2:00.15 in his final meet in Salinas. Diaz was also the highest placing Panther in the 5000 meters at 15:55.68. Sophomore Ramon Duran won the 400mIH in 59.78 leading freshman Bernabe Munoz (60.69) and Marco Barrera (62.55) to lifetime bests. Duran was also second in the 110mHH in 16.88. Freshman Ethan Lavina won another triple jump competition with a consistent 13.02/42-8.75 mark. Zachary Sims tossed the javelin to a State qualifying "A" mark in winning at 51.35m/168-6. That mark moved Sims into second in Northern California as he preps for the Norcal Decathlon Championship.
In the sprints, Marco Espinoza-Morado remained the fastest Panther at 11.33 and 22.90 in the 100 meters and 200 meters. Bernabe Munoz lowered his personal best over the full lap distance to 55.11. The 4x100 relay team of Espinoza-Morado, Javin Nair, Fabian Rodriguez, and Joshua Shimoda were 44.15. Morado, Duran, Shimoda, and Liam Pattison were timed in 3:38.90 in the 4x400 relay team.
In addition to Deniz and Diaz in the 1500 meters, Pattison (4:07.95), Jesse Blanco (4:08.35) and Joshua Riley (4:09.26) broke 4:10. Riley would also run 2:04.29 in the 800 meters. Blanco added a 15:55.71 in the 5000 meters to his day.
Orlando Dorado lead in the shot put with a lifetime best 11.69m/38-4.25, discus (33.91/111-3), and hammer (42.73/140-2). Dorado also debuted in the javelin at 39.60m/129-11. Ramon Duran also threw 39.46m/129-5.
In the long jump, three Panthers were separated by just 14 centimeters with Zachary Sims (6.27m/20-7) leading Ethan Lavina (6.21m/20-4-.50) and Elijah Washington (6.13m/20-1.5). Lavina and Washington both cleared 1.75m/5-8.75 in the high jump. Javin Nair lead in the pole vault clearing 3.90m/12-9.50 with Eduardo Martinez 3.60m/11-9.75.
The Panthers will split squads between three locations in their next weekend with competitions taking place at Modesto Junior College, Buchanan High School (Clovis)/Fresno State University, and San Francisco State Univeristy.
