Giants produce pair of state track and field champions in Bagley, Reed

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

Shane Bagley and Ashlyn Reed struck individual gold to highlight College of the Sequoias' performances at the California Community College Athletic Association Track and Field Championships.

Bagley captured the pole vault title to help the Giants' men place fourth as a team, while Reed was first in the triple jump as the women finished 10th during a meet held May 16-17 at the College of San Mateo.

Bagley, a sophomore from Lemoore High, delivered 10 of the 54 points scored by Sequoias' men, the most of any team from Northern California. Riverside was the men's team champion with 98 points, followed by fellow Southern California programs San Diego Mesa (93) and Mt. San Antonio (88.5).

Reed, a freshman from Tulare Western, helped produce 20 of the 32.5 points scored by the Giants' women. Modesto was the women's team champion with 91.5 points.

Bagley's state championship culminated a remarkable comeback from a horrific fall off the pole vault during the West Coast Relays on March 29th in Clovis.

Bagley twisted to his left at the top of a vault and tumbled down off the side of the landing mat, rather than on top of it. After falling hard onto the ground, Bagley suffered back and rib injuries that kept him out of practice for several weeks.

"He had to overcome some things psychologically because he took a fall that a lot of people don't get up from and continue to compete with during that season," Sequoias coach Kenny Jackson said. "It was a really bad fall. For him to overcome a lot of physiological barriers and get on top of that pole and win a state championship says a lot about him. Mental toughness is what he showed. I'm really proud of him."

Bagley missed a month of competition before returning for the Central Valley Conference and Northern California Championships, but didn't push himself to his normal heights -- he was third in the state with a mark of 15-8.25 as a freshman in 2023 -- while battling nerves from the fall. He even scratched on his first two attempts at NorCals because of his trepidation of getting back in the air.

Bagley credited his coaches -- particularly Bob Fraley, the former head track and field coach at Fresno State and a world renowned pole vault expert -- for helping get him over the nerves.

"It was definitely a mental barrier that I was going through after that fall," Bagley said. "It really kind of scared me. When I went back to jumping, I was having a little bit of problems with my runs. My rhythm was off. It was hard getting back into jumping. But I gained my confidence back and I was alright. I ended up pushing through it and listening to my coaches and trusting their advice. Coach Fraley really helped me through that."

Electing to enter the 12-man competition with the bar placed at 14-11, Bagley cleared that on his first attempt. Only American River's Dylan Gschmeidler and Mt. SAC's Quintin Dukes also made it over 14-11.

Gschmeidler and Dukes failed on their three attempts at 15-11, while Bagley cleared on his second attempt to secure the state title.

The NCAA Division II Fresno Pacific University commitment soared to what proved to be his winning mark of 16-6.5 on his first attempt. Bagley then attempted to set the California community college record of 17-6, but was unable to clear that bar.

"I feel extremely grateful, to be honest, that I had the opportunity to go out there after everything," said Bagley, who redshirted last season while working on his academics. "After taking that time off and coming back and being able to jump well, and even after the injury, too, being able to come back from that, I just want to thank God. It was definitely an amazing feeling winning the state championship. I was super happy. I had a lot of joy."

Reed, meanwhile, entered as the top seed in the women's triple jump and did not disappoint while earning state gold.

She took the lead of the 12-woman competition with a first-round jump of 36-11.75.

Reed extended the lead to 37-8.5 on her second attempt.

No one else cleared 37 feet until Mt. SAC's Alessandra Jefferson popped a 37-0.5 on the fifth of six attempts.

Jefferson got to 37-8.0 on her final jump, but that wasn't enough to pass Reed, who uncorked a jump of 37-10.5 on her final attempt for the winning mark.

"It's an amazing honor," Reed said. "And I think I can do better in the future."

Jackson said Reed didn't let the pressure of being the top seed affect her.

"She's been jumping really good all year and she won state without jumping her best jump," said Jackson, noting Reed's top mark this season was close to 40 feet. "I felt like she could do it, but anything can happen the day of the meet. I'm happy she overcame nervousness, executed the practice plan and performed at the high level to win a state championship."

And Reed wasn't done with the triple jump. She also placed fourth in the long jump and was a member of the sixth-place 4x100 relay and seventh-place 4x400 relay teams.

Reed earned a second individual medal by leaping 18-1.75 on her sixth and final attempt, finishing behind champion Shaylan Roy-Williams of Modesto (19-7), San Diego Mesa's Ashley Nash (18-4.25) and Riverside's Catalina Teran (18-3). Roy-Williams is the only other freshman of that group.

Reed also ran the lead off leg on both relays, with the 4x100 clocking a 48.98 and the 4x400 finishing in 4:06.99. Chabot won the 4x100 in 46.98, while Riverside won the 4x400 in 3:53.65.

Sequoias' 4x100 relay also featured sophomore Makayla Jones (Corcoran), freshman Lilianna Ramirez-Romero (Chowchilla) and freshman Coryn Theus (Las Vegas), while Ramirez-Romero, freshman Katalina Castillo (Corcoran) and Jones joined Reed on the 4x400 relay.

The Giants' men just missed a second gold-medal performance when their 4x100 relay team of freshmen Jaden Mora (Clovis), Chase Dexter (Las Vegas), Jeremiah West (El Diamante) and Tevin Howerton (Las Vegas) finished one one hundredth of a second (40.83 seconds) behind the team from San Diego Mesa (40.82).

"Every member of our 4x100 team is returning," said Jackson, the NorCal Coach of the Year. "We ran against all sophomores, and we were No. 2 in the state. Everyone knows we'll have a target on our back next year."

Hurdlers Rome Johnson, a sophomore from Corcoran, and Melvin Reece, a freshman from Las Vegas, contributed 10 points apiece individually.

Johnson was third in the 400 hurdles (53.41 seconds) and fifth in the 110 hurdles (15.00), while Reece was fourth in the 110 hurdles (14.96) and fourth in the 400 hurdles (53.52). San Diego Mesa's Jaden Dasher won the 400 hurdles (52.52), while Mt. SAC's Ruben Delgado won the 110 hurdles (14.6).

Top-four finishers were named All-Americans, while top-eight placers were given All-State honors.

Sequoias received team points from five other individuals and the 4x400 relay team, which had the next highest finish with a fourth. Freshman John Applewhite (Mt. Whitney), sophomore Aidan Coyne (Clovis East), freshman Richard Crakes (Las Vegas) and freshman Alejandro Berrera Gonzalez (Lemoore) clocked 3:16.68. San Diego Mesa was first in 3:12.65.

Fifth-place finishes were achieved by freshman Levi Jimenez (Mission Oak) in the high jump with a mark of 6-4.75, and freshman Julian Valdivia (Tulare Western) in the 1,500 in 4:02.95. Riverside's Bryson Williamson won the high jump in 6-8.75, while Mt. SAC's Jordan Berkley won the 1,500 in 3:59.61.

Valdivia also placed 10th in the 5,000, a race that was won by Cuesta's Weston Greenelsh in 15:27.04.

Also producing team points and reaching the medal podium were sophomore Phillip Snyder (Santa Maria), sophomore Tony Espinosa (Tulare) and Howerton.

Snyder was eighth in the shot put with a toss of 46-1.5, achieved on the first of his six attempts. San Joaquin Delta's Jake Toddey won the shot put with a best mark of 55-7.5.

Espinosa placed eighth in the decathlon with 5,537 points. His best finishes among the 12-man field were fifth-place efforts in the 100 and 1,500. Espinosa is the first decathlete to qualify for state since Jackson took over as Sequoias coach in 2018. Modesto's Blake Gross won the decathlon with 6,587 points.

Howerton was eighth in the 200 in 21.91. Chabot's Robert Stitts was the champion in 21.37.

The Giants also had state-placers in freshman Reece Poscablo (Hawaii), who was ninth in the 400 hurdles (55.80); sophomore Levi Wagner (Mt. Whitney), who was ninth in the 3000 steeplechase (9:56.19); and freshman Jesus Herrera (Tulare Western), who was 11th in the triple jump (43-0.5)."We're the No. 4 community college team in this state," Jackson said. "I'm very proud of them."For Sequoias' women, Jones joined Reed as a medalist in four events.

Jones was fourth in the 200 (25.03) and seventh in the 400 (57.54) to help produce 12 team points. Modesto's Roy-Williams was the 200 champion (24.01), while Canyons' Hazel Rhodes won the 400 (55.62).

Freshman Gardenia Quezada (Sierra Pacific) had the second-best placing for a Giants' woman, finishing tied for third in the high jump with a best mark of 5-1. San Jose's Haylen Johnson won the high jump in 5-5.

Sequoias also had freshman Arianna Ramirez-Romero (Chowchilla) place 10th in the 1,500 (5:00.55) and Castillo place 10th in the heptathlon (3,515 points). Castillo was first in the 800 among the 12 heptathlon competitors in 2:32.31. Her next best placing was fourth in the long jump.

Orange Coast's Liberty Miller won the 1,500 (4:45.05) and Modesto's Kylie Nunes won the heptathlon (4,588 points).

"For us to be top 10 in the state of California is something to be really proud of," Jackson said. "Our women's team is a reflection of our community, and of the high school coaches as well. We have some really good coaches who do a really good job with not just the women, but the men as well. It shows when they come to our program, they already have a really good background built at the high school level."