As always, the Dons showed up big on the track at this weekend’s Tri Valley Championships, one of the most competitive meets in the North Coast Section, with 21 athletes qualified for the Meet of Champions next Friday and Saturday at Dublin High School.  The top 6 athletes per event at the Tri Valley Championships move on to the Meet of Champions, along with those meeting very high performance standards in individual events if outside of the top 6 (and we had several athletes meet those standards!).

In the morning session, the girls 4×100 relay team of Sophie Chinn, Haley Chelemedos, Olivia Kemp and Isabelle Agnost got things rolling on the track, placing 5th in a super fast heat with a PR, ACA #3 49.13 and the boys 4×400 relay team of Julian Hood, Ben Mickelson, Bryan Lurie, and River Lockwood ended the day on the track with a sixth place finish in the 4×400 relay.  

Not limited to the track, the Dons also dominated in field events, with Deonte Littlejohn defending his title in the discus and placing second in the shotput with a PR 52’8″ and teammate Bethel Imasuen placing third in the shotput.  Illias Kaplanes Jones took 6th in the boys long jump.

On the girls side, Dulci Vail placed 2nd in the high jump and Haley Chelemedos placed 2nd in the long jump with a PR, ACA #6, 18′ 2.5″ and 5th in the high jump and had a near miss in meeting the qualifying standard in the 200 meter race.

Also showing up strong was our unified team Malory DeCredico, Alyvia DeCredico, Asha Sekhon, and Sylvie Merrill who placed 2nd in the 4×100 relay and 4th in the 100 meter team event  (Mallory DeCredico and Leah Quintella) to qualify for next week’s Meet of Champions.

Every athlete who attended performed well, not a surprise because only the best in DAL earn entry into the Tri Valley Championships.  Congratulations to all of our athletes, with a special congratulations to our 20 athletes who earned the right to compete in the NCS Meet of Champions next week, where a top 3 finish moves a competitor to the State Track & Field Championships.  

Meet of Champion Qualifiers are:

Boys-

Deonte Littlejohn-Discus #1, Shotput #2

Illias Kaplanes Jones-Long jump #6, 100 meters #12th with a qualifying mark 10.92 (tied 4 ACA best)

River Lockwood–300 meter hurdles #4, PR (#3 ACA best), 4×400 Relay #6

Bethel Imasuen-Shotput #3, PR 50’5″

Benjamin Mickelson-400 meters #7 with a qualifying mark of 50.52, an improvement on his ACA frosh soph record!, 4×400 relay #6

Julian Hood–4×400 relay #6

Bryan Lurie–4×400 relay #6

Grant Ricker–Triple Jump #8

Landon Deily-High jump #9 with a qualifying mark of 5’11”

Harry Zimmerman-800 meters #12 with a qualifying mark of 2:00.83

And in the category of nearest of near qualifiers, the winner is Matt Schwarz, who ran a blazing PR and tied 7th at ACA in the 100 meters and missed the qualifying mark by .015 of a second.  Great things to come for Matt next year!

Girls–

Haley Chelemedos-Long jump #2 (PR ACA #6 18′ 2.5″), High Jump #5, 4×100 relay #5

Sophie Chinn-4×100 relay #5, 100 meters #9 with a qualifying mark 12.44 (PR and ACA #3)

Dulci Vail-High Jump #2

Isabelle Agnost (freshman)-4×100 relay #5

Olivia Kemp (freshman)-4×100 relay #5

Neve Murphy-1600 meters #8 with a qualifying mark 5:13.59

Unified–

Malory DeCredico, Alyvia DeCredico, Asha Sekhon, Sylvie Merrill 4×100 relay #2

Mallory DeCredico, Leah Quintella 100 meter team  #4

*****

Good luck at Dons at the Meet of Champions!