The VC men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Western State Conference Preliminaries Friday at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita. Most of the competition was about qualifying for the conference finals on April 29, but five events were contested to the end for both the men and women. Charlotte Allison and Stina Johansson claimed golds for the Pirate women while Josh Weinerth grabbed a bronze for the Ventura men.
Allison (La Reina) defended her WSC titles and won both the high jump (5'3") and long jump (17' 10 1/2"). She will compete in the triple jump final next week.
Johansson (Sweden), meanwhile, was the 10k winner in 38:06.56, the No. 2 mark all-time in Pirate history. She has also qualified for the finals in the 3000m steeplechase, 800m, 1500m, and 5k, which could give her an incredible WSC championships.
Cassandra O'Reilly (Rio Mesa) finished seventh in the high jump and tied for eighth in the javelin. She will compete in the 100m hurdles, shot put, and 4x100m relay in the conference finals. Jaime Lozano (Oxnard) came in fourth in the hammer, and will compete in the shot put and discus next week.
Anissa Cason (Pacifica) was sixth in the high jump and qualified for the 400m final. She will also run on the 4x400m relay. Citilali Cortez (Rio Mesa) qualified for both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles finals and will also compete on the 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.
The VC sprinters also had a solid day of qualifying. Ariana Vera (Rio Mesa) and Aubrianna Smith (Foothill Tech) qualified for the 100m and 200m finals. Both will run the 4x100m relay and Vera will also compete with the 4x400m relay quartet.
Alexandra Sanchez (Rio Mesa) qualified for the 1500m final while Michelle Sanchez (Oxnard) tied for eighth place in the javelin and will compete in the shot put and discus next week.
Weinerth (Rio Mesa) led the efforts for the Ventura men with a bronze medal finish in the 10,000m run and he will compete in the 5k next week. Meanwhile, Ramiro Mateos (Oxnard) was right behind Weinerth at fourth in the 10k and will run the 3000m steeplechase and 5,000m next week.
Christian Alejandre (Pacifica) was sixth in the hammer, and will compete in the shot put and discus next week while Danilo Juarez (Pacifica) was eighth in the javelin with the discus competition coming up next week.
Isaiah Martinez Spence (Oxnard) qualified for the 400m final.
The Pirates will next compete in the WSC Championships on Friday April 29 in Santa Monica beginning at 10:00 am.