DUBLIN – De La Salle sprinter Jaden Jefferson had never beaten Paul Kuhner of Acalanes in a race before Saturday.
The sophomore knew it could take a special performance to upset the present state leader within the 100-meter dash.
In one in every of the closest races of the night, Jefferson narrowly edged out Kuhner to take first place with a time of 10.46 on the North Coast Section Meet of Champions on Saturday. Kuhner finished the race in 10.50.
Jefferson's time would have been a top-10 finish within the state, but a 2.4 wind rating prevented that.
“It’s just an honor to win NCS as a sophomore,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson got out of the blocks quickly and didn't relinquish the lead your entire time. Kuhner made the race interesting at the top, but was unable to overtake the De La Salle sprinter.
“Paul is a great racer,” Jefferson said. “He has long legs and good form, so I knew I had to stay in the lead for the rest of the race.”
Later within the day, Jefferson upset one other Acalanes standout.
He finished the 200m in 21.39, beating Trevor Rogers of the Acalanes, who finished in 21.80.
“I knew Jaden was left out,” Rogers said. “I got a glimpse of his speed beforehand and knew he would be difficult to catch.”
De La Salle finished the evening in first place with 53 total points. Jefferson will probably be one in every of the favorites to win each the 100 and 200 next week.
Zoe Lahanas wins 800 after a season-ending automobile accident
There were serious questions on whether or not Clayton Valley's Zoe Lahanas would return to the track this season.
In March, the Cal commit was hospitalized after being involved in a automobile accident. Lahanas was bedridden and was not even allowed to go outside for 2 weeks.
But after fighting back, the senior picked up one in every of the most important wins of her highschool profession by taking first place within the 800 with a time of two:15.85.
“I didn’t even know if I would run now,” Lahanas said. “Everything is a privilege at the moment. It feels so good just to be out here again.”
Lahanas led for many of the way in which but was pushed well by Charlotte Orr of Las Lomas and Jayla Addison of Carondelet. Orr took second place with a time of two:16.54 and Addison took third place with a time of two:17.42.
As Lahanas crossed the finish line, she sat emotionally within the infield and realized she had won the race.
“I'm glad I was mentally strong enough because now I can look back and smile about what happened,” she said.
Acalanes is third within the team standings behind Rogers' big day
Rogers had in the future.
The senior finished second within the 200-meter dash, earned first place (41.65) within the 4×100-meter relay and won the long jump at 24 feet, 2 inches.
“I have to give 100% credit to the coaches,” Rogers said. “They trained us really well. Everyone was able to take full advantage of their events and that is 100% due to the coaches.”
Acalanes fell behind early within the 4×100 against De La Salle and Pittsburg. Kuhner gave the Dons a lift within the third round and gained some ground, allowing Rogers to complete the race strongly.
In the ultimate 100 meters, Rogers put his head down and sprinted as fast as he could until he could see the finish line.
Acalanes finished just ahead of runner-up De La Salle, who scored 41.79.
“Everyone did their best and put us in a position to win the race,” Rogers said.
The runner from Pittsburg takes first place to take part in other plans
Pittsburg senior Milani Bell had one thing on her mind as she walked into the starting blocks: attending to prom on time.
Bell got here back to win the 400m with a time of 56.33. The senior stayed in the midst of the pack for many of the race, but finished strong in the ultimate 200 meters, beating second-place finisher Sadie Sanders of Montgomery by a tenth of a second.
“My mindset going into this race was to get through it as quickly as possible because I have to go to prom,” Bell said.
After receiving her first place medal, Bell made a beeline for the locker room area and removed her track and field cleats as quickly as possible. Her teammates cheered her on from the sidelines as she sprinted off the rostrum.
“I wanted to hurry up and get this race over with, but it means a lot to me,” she said. “Last year I wasn't that good at this event, so I wanted to show what I can actually do. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, and that’s what I did.”
Pittsburg won the ladies team title with 64 points.
Other champions
Boys
Triple jump: Brandon Rush of Bishop O'Dowd, 47-00.50
4×800: Granada, 7:49.76 (equals record and beats previous mark of seven:58.10 set by Clayton Valley Charter in 2023)
Pole vault: Pittsburg's Khaliq Muhammad, 4 p.m
1,600: Arrin Sagiraju of Dougherty Valley, 4:12.34
110 hurdles: Zion Shelton of El Cerrito, 14.32
3,200: Lucas Cohen of Albany, 8:56.42
4×400: Clayton Valley, 3:19.85
Girl
Discus: Campolindo's Pinkie Schnayer, 128-04.00
Pole vault: Jathiyah Muhammad of Pittsburgh, 2:01 p.m
Triple jump: Bishop O'Dowd's Lanai Mitchell, 37-07.50
4×800: Granada, 9:10.30 (record, surpassing previous mark of 9:25.91 set by Monte Vista in 2023)
Long jump: Natalie Lyons of Acalanes, 6 p.m.-6 a.m
Shot put: Campolindo's Pinkie Schnayer, 45-02.50
4×100: Pittsburgh, 47.49
1,600: Campolindo's Shea Volkmer, 4:53.78
4×400: Monte Vista, 3:55.36
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