A victory in the 4x400 meter relay brought Loyola High School to a top-five finish in boys’ competition at the CIF State Track and Field Championships held May 24 and 25 in Clovis.
The Cubs’ all-senior relay team of Mason Ratkovich, Andrew Arth, Konnor Paris and Jeremy Davis finished first in 3:17.56, just 0.12 seconds ahead of Long Beach Poly. The 10 points for winning gave Loyola 20 points for the meet, tying for fourth place in team scoring behind winner Clovis North (41).
Loyola’s other points came from Ratkovich, third in the 800 meters at 1:52.22 (.51 from first), and senior Will O’Brien, fifth in pole vault at 15 feet 5 inches. (Scoring is based on 10 points for first, eight for second, six for third and down to one point for eighth.)
Behind Loyola were fellow Catholic school competitors Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks, 18 points (tied for eighth); J.Serra, 13 (tied for 15th); St. John Bosco, four (tied for 49th); Cathedral, three (tied for 55th); and Serra/Gardena, two (tied for 61st).
Notre Dame senior Christian Grubb was second in the 100 meters in 10.53 (.23 from first) and third at 200 meters in 21.11. St.John Bosco freshman Rayshon Luke was fifth in the 100 (10.59), and Serra senior Mekhi Mays was seventh in the 200 (21.57).
As expected in the distance races, J.Serra earned points from junior Anthony Grover (fourth) and senior Peter Herold (sixth) in the 1600 meter run, and from Herold (fourth) in the 3200.
Cathedral sophomore Anthony Taylor was sixth in the 100 meter hurdles (14.13), and Notre Dame junior Quinten Lyons was fifth in shot put (61 feet 1.25 inches). In the “ambulatory para” 100 and 200 meter events, junior Henry Waterman of Mater Dei placed first in each.
Girls: Serra makes top 10
Senior Jazmyne Frost of Serra/Gardena, part of last year’s state championship team, was in the spotlight again with top-three finishes in the sprints, while a pair of Catholic school sophomores also made their mark in the girls’ competition.
Frost was third in the 100 at 11.64, just .09 out of first, then finished second in the 200 at 23.83, only 0.1 from first. Combined with senior A’Lena Chaney’s eighth place in the long jump, Serra collected 15 points, tenth behind runaway winner Buchanan’s 50 points.
Sophomore Asjah Atkinson of St Anthony scored in two events, finishing third in the 100 meter hurdles at 13.84 (0.6 off the lead) and sixth in long jump. Her nine points earned St. Anthony a tie for 22nd.
Mayfield sophomore Audrey Suarez finished third in the 1600 at 4:45, 2.42 second from first, for six points (tied for 33rd in the team event). And Santa Margarita totalled eight points (tied for 26th) on the strength of sixth-place finishes by senior Tessa Green in the 100 and Lauren Memoly in the 400, and a seventh-place finish by the 4x100 meter relay team of Green, Memoly, Olivia Guida, and Makena Eddy.
Also excelling at the meet was Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks freshman Vaiva Puodziunas, who won the para shot put.
Mike Nelson is the former editor of The Tidings (predecessor of Angelus News).
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