Strader's State Championship Kicks Off Day One

Day one of the 2023 3C2A State Track & Field Championship kicked off for the Hartnell women with three events, the hammer throw, triple jump, and 10,000 meter run. It took just one throw from sophomore Katelyn Strader to secure Hartnell's second ever state title in the hammer throw. She joins former program record holder Clarissa Hernandez as the only Hartnell women ever to stand atop the podium in the event. Strader won the competition with a first round throw of 48.87m/160-4 that held up through the remaining five rounds and easily outdistanced the second place finisher by over one meter. The Pajaro Valley High School grad, completed an amazing turnaround that saw her miss several competition in April before returning in time to finish second in the hammer at the Coast Conference final and then win the Northern California title. She completes her career with two consecutive competitions throwing 160 feet or more and has the second best mark in program history.

Andrea Villegas began a challenging two days of competition with the 10,000 meter run. Just after the 5000 meter mark, Villegas started a chase after race leader Sage Holter of Santa Barbara City College. Villegas would in fact take the lead for several laps before Holter would spurt away the final four laps. Villegas would place second comfortably by 34 seconds and one of only two in the field to break 39 minutes. Villegas stopped the clock in 38:43.48 which moves her to fifth best in Hartnell history. After placing eighth in the 1500 meters as a freshman, Villegas is now an All-American in the 10,000 meters. 

In the women's discus competition, Strader would return to place ninth in her first state championship in the event. She recorded a solid mark of 36.16m/118-7 but was 0.34 short of another podium finish. Lorraine Mankins finished twelft in the triple jump final (10.13m). Isabella Reimann was unable to record a legal mark in the discus and placed twelfth in the hammer throw.