TWO GUYS=ONE STATE TITLE FOR CLOVIS EAST

Willy Irwin and Michael Peterson give the Timberwolves its first ever state championship in track and field; Hasay has another Jordanesque performance.

By Megan Poindexter
VSP Senior Writer:

Clovis East has done it again.

The blossoming school continues to demonstrate the quality of its’ athletic department and now has achieved greatness in capturing their first ever CIF state track and field title, and first ever state title in school history, on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“I don’t think that it has really sunk in yet. We are all so excited but still rying to figure out how this happened,” said A.J. Blackburn, the pole vault coach at Clovis East. “We knew from the beginning that it was a possibility but can’t believe it really happened.”

The combined efforts of Willy Irwin and Michael Peterson gave the T-wolves 20 points to put them in a four way tie with Frontier, Cathedral and La Sierra for the state team title.

And what made the win even more special about the win was that it came in front of a home crowd as the state meet was held at Buchanan High.

“This is very special and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to go out my senior year,” Peterson said. “This just says how amazing this coaches staff is here. I really believe that these coaches are the backbone of everything here.”

Winning a state title makes the T-wolves just the fifth team from the Central Section to ever do so and first in Fresno County.

Irwin was the one setting the pace for his school and all those belonging to the local scene at the 93rd CIF State track and field championships.

The junior placed second in the discus and fourth in the shot put to make a prominent statement for a developing Timberwolf track and field program.

“Hopefully what Willy has done here to day will get more athletes out for track,” said Tran Sanders, the throws coach at Clovis East. “This kid works hard and comes to throw everyday. He has such a tireless work ethic.”

And indeed did the hard work pay off.

Throws of 188-08 in the discus and 58-07.5 in the shot put helped him to reach the podium in each event. And with all those who placed in front of him graduating it seems as though the future looks bright for the developing T-wolf.

“I’m very excited about all this,” said Erwin. “I definitely have to work on the consistency of my throws and just work harder and do everything right from here.”

And while Irwin racked in 12 points he couldn’t have done it alone, and that’s where Peterson came in.

In prime conditions, Peterson was perfect in every attempt at the pole vault until he reached a height of 16-5, where he narrowly missed on all three of his attempts.

Peterson entered the meet with a personal best of 16 feet but proved his strength and how much he improved upon his speed since the Valley Championships.

“There is a little bit of disappointment knowing that I didn’t hit a higher mark, but I can’t complain about taking second in California,” Peterson said. “I am just really thrilled.”

Blackburn said that the fact that Peterson made every bar on his first attempt made all the difference in where he placed, as four other vaulters also jumped the same height of 15-11.

However, because of his perfect attempts he earned the second spot and that is a result of consistency in his vaults.

“Every time he got on the runway he did what he needed to do,” Blackburn said. “I am so proud of Michael, he is just an amazing kid.”

Other standout performances:

-Jordan Hasay (Mission Prep)- The Oregon bound senior won her fourth straight state title in the girls’ 3,200 meters going away, with a time of 10 minutes, 5.29 seconds. It’s the best time in the nation this year.

-Anna Jelmini (Shafter)- The senior who is headed to Arizona won both the shot put (50-05.75) and discus (186-09). Her season best marks make her owner of the national records in both events.

-Jenna Prandini (Clovis)- Despite a rough day in the preliminaries where she failed to qualify in the 100m and the long jump she turned in a personal best in the triple jump. She went into the state meet with a best of 39-4 in the event and finished on the podium sixth with a jump of 39-5.

-Holly Waseloff (Buchanan)- The junior tied for third place with a jump of 11-10. In the preliminaries she went 11-8 but with the bar moving my increments of five she didn’t have enough to compete Claire Hawkins and Kortney Rose who took second and first respectively.

-Jonathan Sanchez (Buchanan)- In a come from behind performance Sanchez moved from the very back of the pack to push himself into fifth place in the 1600 at 4:10.04. Heading to Duke in the fall, Sanchez returned to give a gutsy performance in the two mile clocking in at 9:12.91 to finish 20th.

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PRANDINI DOMINATES AT VALLEY TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

It was history in the making at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening, as Clovis High’s Jenna Prandini validated her place as one of the most dominant runners in Central Section history.

The sophomore standout took first in all four of her events en route to scoring 40 points for her team. With Prandini’s help the lady Cougars captured their first Valley championship since 1996, and second in school history, with a final score of 58, and Buchanan shortly behind at 55.

“They weren’t my best marks today, but I did what I had to do to win,” said Prandini. “I’m even more excited right now because we won as a team.”

Currently, Prandini ranks fourth in the state in both the 100 and the long jump, seventh in the triple jump and her 200 time wind aided is third.

Saturday, she proved how far out of reach she was for local competition. In the 100 she dazzled the crowd despite a rough start running an 11.86 with the next competitor being Brushey Wandick of Bakersfield with a time of 12.09.

She returned to do the same in the 200 clocking in at 24.56, while jumps of 18 feet 7 inches and 38 feet 10 inches in the long and triple jumps placed her above the rest of the field.

“What Jenna did today was a pretty special achievement”, said Greg Friesen the jumps coach at Clovis. “She is going to have to do better than those marks at state but she will be competing at a stadium that almost feels like home.”

Her four golds place her in an elite group, as she is just the second person to ever capture four wins at a Central Section championship. Madera’s Kim Young is the only other competitor to have done so in 1968.

Prandini was helped by teammates Saylah Barserian, who took second in the mile at 4:59.39 and sixth in the two mile at 11:04.17, and Meghan Marvin, who placed fourth in the two mile at 11:00.02.

“We were very unsure about the results until the very end of the meet,” said Friesen. “This just helps to validate that we do have a good program here and it’s a special moment in Clovis High history.”

Yet it wasn’t just the Cougars that put a show on for the crowd, as world-class runner Jordan Hassay of Mission Prep rocked the stadium once again.

The three-time state champion in the two-mile, Hassay won the 800 meters in commanding fashion with a time of 2:09.64 and the 3,200 at 10:30.04.

Buchanan’s Holly Weseloff won the pole vault with a mark of 12-7, ranking third all time in section history.

The Edison girls 1,600 relay team ended the night with a bang, running 3:50.67 to put themselves at third best ever in the valley.

On the boys’ side things weren’t nearly as close as Buchanan ran away with their first ever team title earning 92 1/5 points with Ridgeview taking second (47) and Clovis East (45 2/3).

The Bears were powered by Jonathan Sanchez, who has committed to run at Duke in the fall. The senior ran all three distance events taking third in the 800 (1:54.97).

However, it was the 1,600 and 3,200 that proved to be his most challenging races, as he was edged by Foothill’s Chris Schwartz in both events.

In the mile it was neck and neck till the finish, but Schwartz timed a 4:14.37 while Sanchez finished with an impressive 4:14.71. The two-mile was just as close except Schwartz had a little more kick in him to beat Sanchez by less than two seconds.

In the sprints Brendan Bigelow of Central was the anticipated runner to watch. The sophomore who placed second last year at the state meet in the 200 cruised to victory in the 400 (48.04) and less than 15 minutes later came back to run the 100 and finished last in his heat pulling up five meters before the finish.

As a result, Bigelow scratched himself from the 200 and will simply focus on the 400 at the state meet in two weeks.

However, Michael Peterson of Clovis East gave the crowd a thrilling performance in the pole vault.

The UC Davis-bound Peterson entered the meet with the 4th best jump in the state at 16-0, and on Saturday won the event in clearing 15-4.

With the victory already in hand he made his last three attempts at 16-4, which would place him third all time in the Valley. His second attempt was cleared by nearly six inches, but on the downfall Peterson’s chest graced the bar and knocked in down.

“I won so I can’t complain, but I really wanted 16-4,” said Peterson. “I just have to run faster and gain some more speed before state.”

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RIGHT ON TRACK

Buchanan High School is the home of two of the biggest high school track and field meets in the state.

By Megan Poindexter
VSP Senior Writer

With the CIF State Track and Field Meet coming to Fresno in June, Saturday’s West Coast Relays served as a preview of the talent locals can expect to see.

“We brought in more competition and the level of them meet was higher,” said Brian Weaver, head coach at Buchanan and the meet director.

The meet started off with early record breaking as De La Salle, a school known for its’ dominance in high school football, saw its’ 4X100 meter team run a time of 41.99.

However, Spartans head coach John Harvey, who graduated from Roosevelt High School, said that it wasn’t his teams’ best performance as they ran a 41.95 the previous week.

“We wanted to come and run on this track early and see how it was,” said Harvey. “Our main reason for coming is because this is the state track now.”

And while the running events went well, the field events faced a tough head wind. Chase Wheeler of De La Salle came into the meet with the states’ second longest jump at 23 feet eight inches, but was only able to jump 22 feet six inches at the West Coast Relays.

“Kids normally compete better in stadiums they have been to before,” said Harvey. “We can do better though.”

As for the local standouts, Clovis High School Jenna Prandini had possibly the meets best performance.
The sophomore, who placed 10th in the 100-meter dash and sixth in the long jump at last year’s state meet with a torn ligament in her hip, took first in all four of her events Saturday and broke meet records in all of them.

She set a personal best of 39 feet 31/2 inches in the triple jump and a personal best in the 200-meter dash at 24.68. After scratching three times in the long jump she jumped 18 feet 10 inches, four inches short of her best, and turned around to win the 100-meter dash at 12.24.

“It doesn’t really boost my confidence because I still know there are a lot of good people out there,” said Prandini. “I just like running on this track because I’m getting more experience.”

The meet saw several of its records broken and while Weaver credits that to the tough level of competition, he doesn’t deny that the improvement to the Buchanan track has helped as well.
In partnership with the Clovis Unified School District, the Bears have been trying to bring the state championships to Fresno for quite some time and this will mark the first of three consecutive years that they will host the meet.

As a result, the track went from the all-weather surface to mondo in May of 2007. And while the stadium currently has a capacity of around 8,500 but bleachers will be added to the south end zone to create around 11,000 seats.

For over a decade the State Meet has been either held at Cerritos College or in Sacramento, where both stadiums can seat over 15,000 people. However, the meet normally attracts and average crowd of 9,000-12,000 people.

“This is a great high school facility,” said Harvey.

For now, Weaver and other locals are continually hopeful that with the state finals being moved to the central location the intensity of meets such as the West Coast Relays and around the Valley will rise.
It already looks to be happening as this year alone the Buchanan staff added 14 new teams to the meet to bring the total to 72.

“Anytime you can compete in a familiar place it builds the fan base,” said Weaver. “This gets people excited.”

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