Led by junior sprinter Jazmyne Frost, Serra of Gardena captured its third CIF Girls’ State Track and Field title June 2 at Clovis High School.
Frost placed second in the 100-meter dash, third in the 200 and anchored the Cavaliers to victory in the 4x100 relay, repeating their 2017 triumph. Senior Jaylah Herron was fifth in the 400, and Serra’s 4x400 relay team was second, with Herron, Queen Okoh, Maya Rush, Kalea Brown and Destiny Reid also participating in the relay squad efforts.
Serra’s 36 points were three better than runner-up Oak Ridge, after coach Christopher Calvin’s Cavaliers had finished third in the 2017 state meet.
Santa Margarita finished 14th with 11 points, as senior Nikki Merritt ran third in the 300 meter hurdles and sixth in the 100 hurdles, and the Eagles’ 4x100 relay team was seventh. Marymount, on the strength of senior Malina Yago’s runner-up finish in the 800, scored 8 points, tying Mater Dei for 25th, with the Monarchs’ Dominique Ruotolo placing fourth in long jump and freshman Jade McDonald sixth in triple jump.
Marymount earned 4 points on freshman Audrey Suarez’ fifth-place finish in the 1600, and Alemany posted scored three points by finishing sixth in the 4x400 relay. St. Anthony freshman Atkinson Asjah was seventh in the 100 hurdles and Chaminade junior Bailey Umans seventh in the 400, each earning two points for her school.
In the boys’ events, Mater Dei senior Sam Van Dorpe ran third in the 800, the best finish by any local Catholic school boys’ finalist and good for six points. Sophomore Quinten Lyons of Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks earned four points by placing fifth in shot put, and St. Francis junior Matthew Molina scored three points with a sixth-place high jump effort.
