Giants' men capture NorCal track and field title, program qualifies 22 athletes for state championships

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

A banner weekend for College of the Sequoias during the Northern California Track and Field Championships saw the Giants capture the men's team title, win five individual gold medals and produce 22 combined men's and women's state qualifiers.

Individual champions Julian Valdivia, Rome Johnson and Melvin Reece highlighted 22 top-eight performances that propelled Sequoias' men to 108.5 points during an event held May 2-3 at Butte College in Oroville. Modesto was second with 97.

"In order to win a championship, everyone has to show up when it's time to show up," Giants coach Kenny Jackson said. "In track there are a lot of athletes who will run a (personal record) at the beginning of the season. But when it comes around to championship time, they don't run their personal bests. But our athletes ran their best times during their conference championship and the Northern California championship. I'm really proud of them."

Makayla Jones and Ashlyn Reed were individual champs for the Giants' women, who produced 11 top-eight finishes while placing sixth as a team with 58.5 points. Modesto was first with 157.

The five NorCal champions as well as 17 other Sequoias' athletes move on to the California Community College Athletic Association State Championships, scheduled for May 15-16 at College of San Mateo. Top-four finishers in track events and top-six finishers in field events automatically qualified for state.

Valdivia punched his ticket to state by running 3 minutes and 59.76 seconds to win the 1,500 meter race. He finished more than a second ahead of second-place Alan Solari of Diablo Valley. The freshman from Tulare Western has been running faster times as the season comes to its conclusion, bettering his 4:01.83 achieved while winning the 1,500 at the Central Valley Conference championship race a week earlier.

"Julian has been getting a second or two better every week," Jackson said. 'I didn't sweat Julian. I knew he was going to do what he was supposed to do."

Valdivia also placed eighth -- the final team points scoring position -- in the 5,000 in 15:48.1. Jackson said he gave up on running the 800, where he would have been a top contender to win the state title, in order to do both the 1,500 and 5,000.

"He sacrificed to help us win a championship," Jackson said. "I really appreciate him making the personal sacrifice for the betterment of the team. That's rare."

Johnson (sophomore/Corcoran) and Reece (freshman/Las Vegas) led a dominant performance by the Giants' hurdlers.

Johnson won the 110 hurdles in 14.79, finishing 0.06 seconds ahead of Diablo Valley's Soloman Gates. The Fresno Pacific commit was also fifth in the 400 hurdles in 53.88, and will qualify for state in this event if his time is better than the fifth-place finisher at the Southern California Championships on May 10. Johnson missed the state meet in both events last season.

"Rome came into this season with a chip on his shoulder," Jackson said. "For him to come out and not just make it to state in both of his events, but to be a NorCal champion in the 110 hurdles, that's phenomenal. I'm really proud of him. I knew he could get the job done."

Reece was third in the 110 hurdles in 15.04, and Reece Poscablo (freshman/Honolulu) finished sixth in 15.50.  

Sequoias was even better in the 400 hurdles, earning four podium finishes.

Reece won in 53.23, edging San Joaquin Delta's Adonis Siga by 0.02 seconds.

Reece, a former basketball player, has only been running track for two years.

"For him to come out there and win NorCal against athletes that have been running track since they were 6 or 7 years old is just extraordinary," Jackson said. "I knew he could do it. I'm happy he got the job done. He did everything we needed him to do for our team to win a championship."

Poscablo was third in 53.70, and Richard Crakes (freshman/Las Vegas) was seventh in 55.63.

The Giants' men received second-place performances from Shane Bagley (sophomore/Lemoore) in the pole vault and the 4x400 relay team.

Bagley, who suffered a scary fall during the West Coast Relays back in March, didn't even get off the ground in his first two attempts. But with a state berth on the line, the Fresno Pacific commit cleared 15 feet, 5 inches in his final vault to move on. American River's Dylan Gschmeidler was first in 15-11.

"He overcame a lot of barriers psychologically and got it done," Jackson said. "He didn't win it, but the fact he got back in the air and got over that bar, I believe Shane will be the state champ."

The 4x400 relay of Reece, Chase Dexter (freshman/Las Vegas), Johnson and Tevin Howerton (freshman/Las Vegas) ran a qualifying 3:14.86. Modesto was first in 3:13.03.

Third-place finishes were achieved by Levi Wagner (sophomore/Mt. Whitney) in the steeplechase in 9:47.93, and the 4x100 relay of Jeremiah West (freshman/El Diamante), Howerton, Treshawn Rimmer (freshman/Las Vegas) and Dexter in 41.09.

Howerton qualified for state individually in the 200, placing fourth in 21.61. He was also seventh in the 100 in 10.70.

Sequoias produced two podium finishers and a state qualifier in the shot put as Phillip Snyder (sophomore/Santa Maria) was sixth in 46-1.25 and Ruben Rubio Carbajal (freshman/Las Vegas) was seventh in 46-0.5.

The Giants' other men's state qualifiers are Levi Jimenez (freshman/Mission Oak), who placed fourth in the high jump in 6-4.75; Tony Espinosa (sophomore/Tulare), who was fourth in the decathlon with 5,751 points; and Mekhi Sanchez (sophomore/Lemoore), who was sixth in the long jump in 22-1.5.

Espinosa's best performances among the 16 participants in the 10 decathlon events were second-place finishes in the javelin throw (139-2) and high jump (5-8.75).

Sanchez is Sequoias' only returning men's state placer. He was third in the long jump last season in 24-1.75.

The Giants' other team points were produced by Jesus Herrera (freshman/Tulare Western), who was sixth in the triple jump in 45-0.5.

"In the past, we've had guys like Quincy Hall and Jamal Britt who would score 40 points all by themselves," Jackson said of a pair of past Giants' state champions. "But this year, every point mattered. That's how crazy it was."

For Sequoias' women, Jones (sophomore/Corcoran) struck gold in the 400 in 55.15, while Reed (freshman/Tulare Western) delivered gold in the triple jump in 37-11.5.

A Cal State Northridge commit, Jones scored a convincing victory in the 400, finishing 1.23 seconds ahead of conference rival Crystal Rosales of Clovis.

"I knew she would go out and execute her race and become a champion," Jackson said. "And she knew that. When she got done, all I could do was give her a high-five and a hug because I didn't second guess it at all."

Reed's top triple jump was more than 2 feet longer than second place Giselle Rodriguez of Butte. She has been the state's top triple jumper for most of the season.

"When you know you are the person everyone is trying to beat, that's extra pressure," Jackson said. "That's hard to do as an athlete. But she never sweated it. She handled the pressure and adversity."

Both added second individual podium finishes as Jones was third in the 200 in 24.73 and Reed was fifth in the long jump in 17-6.25.

Jones placed fifth in the 200 in 24.61 at last season's state championships. She is Sequoias' only returning state medalist.

Jones and Reed were joined by Katalina Castillo (freshman/Corcoran) and Coryn Theus (freshman/Las Vegas) on the Giants' third-place 4x100 relay team in 47.83.

The women's 4x400 relay team of Lilianna Ramirez-Romero (freshman/Chowchilla), Castillo, Reed and Jones also placed third in 3:55.54.

Also earning state berths for Sequoias' women were Castillo in the heptathlon, where finished sixth with 3,605 points; Arianna Ramirez-Romero (freshman/Chowchilla) in the 1,500, where she finished third in 4:53.41; and Gardenia Quezada (freshman/Sierra Pacific) in the high jump, where she placed fifth in 4-11.

Castillo's best finish among the 17 competitors in the seven events was a first-place in the 800 in 2:27.54.

Dana Ruiz (freshman/Tulare Union) was a team-scoring seventh in the 1,500 in 4:58.55.

The state meet is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. May 16 with the men's decathlon and field events. Running events begin at 4 p.m.

On May 17, the decathlon kicks the day off at 9 a.m., followed by field events at noon and running events at 12:45 p.m.

General admission tickets are $15. Tickets are $10 for students with an ID, college staff with an ID, seniors 60 and older and children 12 and younger.

The Giants will be out to win their first state team title since the men in 2017, and their first individual championships since Jamal Britt won the 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles and long jump in 2019.

"We've got to perform better than we've ever performed. That's just what has to happen," Jackson said. "I know we will do it. We've been doing it. We just have to show up and do our thing."