The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by Joe Carlson & Debbie Hughes.
Long Beach’s top track and field athletes put on a show Thursday afternoon at Wilson during an exciting slate of events at the Moore League Finals.
Long Beach Poly ended the day with 14 gold finishes while Wilson racked up nine. Millikan had three first place finishes, two coming from distance runner Max Ramirez, and Lakewood found a pair of wins including one from sprinter Amaya Rice. Cabrillo also took a pair of wins in the field events thanks to Lauren Farr.
All of those athletes and a handful of other qualifiers will compete at the CIF-SS Division 1 prelims at Trabuco Hills in a little over a week, followed by the finals on May 17 at Moorpark.
Girls’ Varsity
Eight of the Bruins nine first-place finishes on Thursday were thanks to the girls who even had a pair of repeat winners.
Wilson had a dominant performance by Kaylin Edwards who took home a pair of wins from each of her hurdle events. Edwards hit a personal-record in the 100m hurdles with a 13.79 and ran a 41.00 in the 300m hurdles. She also anchored Wilson in its 4x100m win with a finish time of 3:47.71.
“I think that I’m consistently dropping times but [I have more in me],” Edwards said. “I’m just trusting in my coaches and my team and I know that every time I step out on this track I gotta do the best that I can.”
Nadia Mejia was the star distance runner of the meet with a win in each the mile and the two-mile. Mejia ran a 5:04.68 in the 1600m and a 10:59.09 in the 3200m, but she expects those numbers to drop even more when she has more push at CIF-SS and State meets.
“I feel good but time wise I’m not satisfied,” Mejia said. “I wanted faster than my PR’s but it’s not gonna go my way all the time. At CIF I know I’m going to have more competition and more people in front of me so that’s just more motivation.”
Brooklyn Lee was a standout athlete for Poly after taking home the 100m with a new personal-record of 11.69. Lee also anchored the Poly girls’ 4x100m that won gold with a 47.15.
“I was just trying to break 11.8, so the fact that I was able to get 11.6 when my goal was 11.7 is amazing so I’m just so happy,” Lee said.
Lakewood earned a first-place finish from Amaya Rice, who came from behind in the final 100 meters of the 200m to win with a time of 24.12. The senior has faced a rough patch over the past year after setting a high standard for herself with top finishes in CIF-SS meets during her sophomore season. Rice had tears in her eyes as she reflected on seeing her name back at the top.
“I wanted this so bad,” she said. “My junior year was really hard. I didn’t really even PR all year and I was just having a hard time so I’m really proud of myself. It’s really special that I got to do it here. I’m just really proud of myself.”
Cabrillo found a pair of wins in the field events after Lauren Farr won shot put with a 36-01–-almost four feet clear of second place. Farr also won first in discus with a 98-11.
Boys’ Varsity
The Long Beach Poly boys picked up 10 of the 13 boys events and also had a handful of athletes run and win multiple events.
The most active athlete of the night was Poly’s Julius Johnson, who touched gold in all three of his events. Johnson started his afternoon by winning the 100m with a 10.512—just eight-tenths of a second in front of his teammate Malachi Dawson. Johnson also won the 100m with a 21.44 and was the second leg of Poly’s 4×100 that went 41.18.
“It feels pretty good,” Johnson said. “It’s just like running against my teammates in practice. It’s good competition.”
Noah Smith was also strong for Poly with a 47.35 first-place finish in the 400m—his first individual career win at Moore League finals. Smith also erased a gap during the 4x400m for the Jackrabbits where he anchored them to a 3:13.82 and first-place finish.
“That really meant a lot to me, especially just moving on to CIF knowing all of the competition ahead of me,” Smith said. “Today was another good marker of where I’m at and what I need to approve of.”
Poly also had another repeat winner in Lynnox Newton, who was the top boys hurdler of the afternoon. Newton won the 110m hurdles with a 14.15 and the 300m hurdles with a 39.42.
Millikan was home of Thursday afternoon’s top distance athlete Maximiliano Ramirez. The senior won the 1600m with a 4:31.77 and the 3200m with a 9:47.90. Ramirez was out with injury during his cross country season, which he says makes the wins even sweeter.
“I wanted to win the Moore League for cross country but unfortunately injuries are part of every sport,” Ramirez said. “I just continued to work and I knew I had track season so I just gave it all I had.”
Wyland Obando put on a show in the 800m where he won comfortably with a 1:52.41. Obando also participated in the 400m but was advised by his coaches to jog in order to save his legs for the 800m.
Jonathan Weston was a standout in the field events for Poly after long jumping 22-05 and triple jumping 42-07.
Lakewood found a win in the high jump from Marqice Simmons who cleared 5-11.
Girls’ Varsity Moore League Champions:
4x100m – Poly (L. Holland, J. Hunter, A. Brooks, B. Lee), 47.15
1600 – Nadia Mejia, Wilson, 5:04.68
100m Hurdles – Kaylin Edwards, Wilson, 13.79
400m – Jaylin Hunter, Poly, 56.26
100m – Brooklyn Lee, Poly, 11.69
800m – Shirayah Lewis Williams, Wilson, 2:14.98
300m Hurdles – Kaylin Edwards, Wilson, 41.00
200m – Amaya Rice, Lakewood, 24.12
3200m – Nadia Mejia, Wilson, 10:59.09
4x400m – Wilson (S. Lewis-Williams, A. Washington, K. Edwards, R. Jones), 3:47.71
High Jump – Jillene Wetteland, Poly, 5-08
Long Jump – Loren Webster, Wilson, 18-03
Triple Jump – Journii Spencer, Wilson, 37-06.50
Shot Put – Lauren Farr, Cabrillo, 36-01
Discus’ – Lauren Farr, Cabrillo, 98-11
Boys’ Varsity Moore League Champions:
4x100m – Poly (J. Hill, J. Johnson, M. Dawson, D. Wright Jr.), 41.18
1600 – Maximiliano Ramirez, Millikan, 4:31.77
110m Hurdles – Lynnox Newton, Poly, 14.15
400m – Noah Smith, Poly, 47.35
100m – Julius Johnson, Poly, 10.512
800m – Wyland Obando, Wilson, 1:52.41
300m Hurdles – Lynnox Newton, Poly, 39.42
200m – Julius Johnson, Poly, 21.44
3200m – Maximiliano Ramirez, Millikan, 9:47.90
4x400m – Poly (G. Armstrong, J. Hill, D. Shufford, N. Smith), 3:13.82
High Jump – Marqice Simmons, Lakewood, 5-11
Long Jump – Jonathan Weston, Poly, 22-05
Triple Jump – Jonathan Weston, Poly, 42-07
Shot Put – Cesar Gomez, Millikan, 45-10
Discus’ – Jaden Akens, Poly, 152-07
