Sweet Victory: Track & Field League Finals and CIF Qualifiers

Junior+Ellie+Rosing+%28second+leg%29+passes+on+the+baton+to+third+leg%2C+junior+Britta+Wolker%2C+both+running+62+second+splits.

Junior Ellie Rosing (second leg) passes on the baton to third leg, junior Britta Wolker, both running 62 second splits.

Britta Wolker, Journalist

The end of CdM’s track and field season concluded with successful League Finals results this past Friday, with only more excitement awaiting those qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation Prelims. The season’s last event was held at Los Alamitos High School, hosting the Sunset Surf League schools of Edison, Fountain Valley, and Los Alamitos High School. The meet began at 5:oo pm, later than typical meets, as the girl’s 1600-meter race took off first, running in fairly chilly weather as the evening sunset began to appear. The last races of the meet occurred under white fluorescent lights, highlighting a thrilling display of the 4×400 relay teams running so quickly, that the batons held in the runner’s hands resembled the flash of a lightning strike.

 

Out of the girl’s sprint group, sophomore Ava Simos impressively qualified for all three of her events including 100 Hurdles with a time of 15.70 in second place, 300m Hurdles in 47.60 also with a second-place finish, and the 100m dash with a time of 12.32 in third place. Simos pushed through a heavy schedule with what seemed like grace and strength as she tackled each and every hurdle in her events. Simos keeps her achievements humble, almost frustratingly so she shakes her head during practice and says “Noooo. There’s no way I’ll do that good” as she proceeds to run, hustle, and absolutely dominate the field as a lower classman.

 

On the boy’s side, senior Jason Plumb qualified for CIFS on Saturday with a 21.99 200m in second place, a third-place team effort finish in the 4×100 (42.39), and a long jump of 24’5’’ that officially placed him in the top 10 for California rankings. Plumb’s jump put him almost a full meter ahead of the runner-up.

 

As for the distance girls, sophomore Melisse Djomby-Enawe qualified for the 1600m in second with a huge lifetime best of 5:09:13 and an 11:33:33 in the 3200 with a second-place finish as well. Also notable is her 60-second split in the girl’s 4×400 which placed second with a time of 4:10:39. Their performance was a wild spectacle that witnessed a baton pass from Djomby-Enawe to junior Ellie Rosing, to junior Britta Wolker, and lastly an anchor finish by junior Mia Corigliano. The order ended up being less than ideal, with a better strategy being planned for successful execution on Saturday.

 

Indeed it is exciting news to be able to flaunt the idea of qualifying for CIFS. However, no matter how it all turns out on the weekend, all the athletes should be proud of themselves; running is no easy task considering months worth of blood, sweat, tears, and the painful sting of lactic acid coursing through muscle cells.