SANTA FE SPRINGS — Sprinters and long-distance runners in the Catholic Youth Organization Los Angeles ran for top honors while competing in the May 7 CYO track and field championship finals at St. Paul High School.

Only a few select athletes out of a pool of 2,550 registered track participants in the Los Angeles Archdiocese earned a spot. The athletes competed in the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay; 1600-meter, 800-, 400-, 200 and 100-meter dash; and field events long jump, shot put and javelin.

The top three varsity girls’ teams were St. Rita’s with 90 points, St. Philip the Apostle with 65 points and Transfiguration with 37 points. Varsity boys’ teams came in as follows: Assumption BVM with 96 points, St. Rita with 50 points and Cathedral Chapel with 30 points.

Boys and girls varsity teams comprised of seventh- and eighth- graders competed along with “B” boys and girls teams, made up mostly of fifth- and sixth- graders (with a few fourth-graders “bumped” up to the B team).

The top three B girl’s teams were St. Brendan with 45 points, SS. Felicitas and Perpetua with 44 points and St. Philip the Apostle with 39 points. Top finishing schools in the boy’s B division were St. Philip the Apostle with 69 points, Assumption BVM with 66 points, and St. Paul the Apostle with 33 points.

Six CYO records were broken at this year’s track and field championship, both in varsity and B competitions.

> Assumption BVM’s varsity boys 4x100-meter relay team won the race with a record time of 48.54 seconds.

> Alex Lomeli, who is on St. Monica’s varsity girls team, ran the 800-meter in 2:24.45.

> C.J. Rettig of St. Rita’s varsity boys team threw the javelin 174 feet, six inches.

> Jorge Sahagun of St. Louise de Marillac’s B team threw the javelin 122 feet, six inches.

> Noah Bustos of Assumption BVM’s B team long jumped a record 17 feet 10 inches.

> B-teamer Celeste Ramirez of St. Anthony Long Beach ran the 1600-meter in five minutes, 43.9 seconds.

The race for the championship began in April when 70 track teams in the archdiocese entered regional qualifying meets at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs and Damien High School in La Verne.

The athletes with the eight best times in each event from each of the three regional meets advanced to the May 3 semi-finals at St. Paul High School. The athletes were vying once again to be in the top eight.  

For information on athlete’s individual times, visit www.cyola.org.