The chess game that was the Dos Pueblos-San Marcos track and field dual meet played out in the Chargers’ favor on Wednesday at Valley Stadium.
A strong group of distance runners and depth in the field events led the Charger boys to a 71-56 win. On the girls side, Dos Pueblos scored big in field events and got an unexpected victory in the 4×400 relay to post a 72.50-54.50 decision.
The results give DP second place in the Channel League behind Ventura.
The victory by the Charger girls overcame an ironwoman performance by San Marcos’ Elysia Hodges. She competed in four events, three of them running back-to-back-to back. She won the 100, 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles and finished in the back of the pack in the 800.
Royals coach Marilyn Hantgin was hoping Hodges could help the team pick up some valuable second and third-place points in the 800 behind winner Marie Brashears.
“She wanted to see how well we can do in the eight,” Hodges said. “She told me if my teammates pass me then I can take it easy. I ran smart and didn’t push myself.”
Brashears ran a season-best 2:20.41, but San Marcos’ plans were spoiled as Erin Ristig and Emma Redick of DP finished second and third.
“We thought, ‘Let’s try it,’ because we knew if we went straight up we wouldn’t win. So we kind of had to take risk,” said Hantgin of the decision to use Hodges in multiple events.
DP’s Dave Kuderka also made a bold move. He pulled standout Erin Campbell from the 3200 and had her run the first leg of the 4×400 relay.
It paid off for the Chargers. Addi Zerrenner and Sophie Pollack went 1-2 in the 3200, and Campbell opened up a nice lead in the relay that her teammates (Emma Redick, Marina Plesons and Erin Ristig) held for a winning time of 3:58.
“Obviously, it was a gamble, but it made more sense in the points and the spirit of the girls,” Kuderka said. “That was good.”
He said the time is going to make them “competitive with a bunch of teams.”
San Marcos, which has a county-best 3:53.34 in the 4×400, didn’t use Hodges on the relay team on Wednesday.
For Campbell, who earlier won the 1600, she said it was a blast to run in the relay.
“At first I was disappointed I didn’t get to run the two mile, but it ended up being really fun,” she said of the event switch. “It was good to do some speed work.”
Hodges was running all over the place at Valley Stadium. She won the 110 hurdles in 16.31, got a little break and ran the 100, winning in 12.78 to beat DP’s Jessica Escalante (13.10).
Then she lined up for the 800. She was among the leaders before dropping back.
“Once my teammates, Katelyn Rheinschild, Annie Thwing and Kaitlyn Kuehn, passed me, I was like, ‘That’s enough.’ I just thought smart and slowed down,” she said.
After finishing the 800, Hodges and her pink spikes jogged over to the start of the 300 hurdles — her specialty.
How did she feel running in her third consecutive race?
“After I threw up I felt much better, so I was ready to run my race,” she said.
She won in 45.57.
“The field events were not as good, so we had to win on the track, which we did,” Hantgin said. “We won a lot, but they got 1-2-3 in triple jump and 1-2 in long jump. That adds up. But I thought our girls battled.”
Hannah McDaniel was a triple winner for the Royals, capturing the 400, 200 and high jump.
Ellen Sandin won the long jump and triple jump for the Chargers.
For the boys, DP’s Nick Scarvelis, the state leader in the shot put, won at 61-10 and took the discus. Shane Rowan of San Marcos doubled in the triple jump and long jump.
Kuderka said Sam Sarmiento’s third-place finish behind Bryan Fernandez and Sergey Sushchikh in the 3200 and Waiman Meinhold’s second place in the triple jump gave the Chargers enough points to get the win.
“I stressed to my kids, it is about team,” Kuderka said. “People don’t give track credit for being a team thing. Yeah, you have your own lane; yeah, you have your own circle, own runway. At the end of the day, the points add up.
“I don’t think a lot of people thought we could come into San Marcos and pull out a victory on guys and girls,” Kuderka added. “My team showed how strong they are. Man, if we can go back and take another shot at Ventura, I’d run them tomorrow. I think my guys and girls can do it, but we’re going to have to settle for second place. That’s OK, though.”
RESULTS
Girls 4×100 Meter Relay Varsity Finals
1, Dos Pueblos ‘A’ (Motyer, Melissa , Ristig, Erin , Plesons, Marina ,
Escalante, Jessica ), 51.77. 2, Dos Pueblos ‘B’ (Missman, Sarah , Gore, Bailey
, Davis, Cassandra , Bhavnani, Cerina ), 55.15.Boys 4×100 Meter Relay Varsity
1, San Marcos High School ‘A’ (Harvey, Randee , Kraus, Dillon , Thayer, Andrew
, Jackson, Devon ), 44.60. 2, Dos Pueblos ‘A’ (Norris, John , Torrey, Cy ,
Hernandez, German , Clipper, Roy ), 48.09. 3, Dos Pueblos ‘B’ (Moua, Marshall
, Briones, Zack , Thorp, Matthew , Degraffinreid, Jordan ), 49.38.Girls 1600 Meter Run Varsity
1, Campbell, Erin, Dos Pueblos, 5:14.92. 2, Zerrenner, Addi, Dos Pueblos,
5:23.03. 3, Kuehn, Kaitlyn, San Marcos, 5:24.84.Boys 1600 Meter Run Varsity
1, Sushchikh, Sergey, Dos Pueblos, 4:25.39. 2, Fernandez, Bryan, Dos Pueblos,
4:38.22. 3, Scott, Alfred, Dos Pueblos, 4:45.03.Girls 100 Meter Hurdles Varsity
1, Hodges, Elysia, San Marcos, 16.31. 2, Scarvelis, Stamatia, Dos Pueblos,
16.63. 3, Plymire, Kira, San Marcos, 16.77.Boys 110 Meter Hurdles Varsity
1, Peterson, Greg, San Marcos, 16.62. 2, Lake, Tristan, San Marcos, 16.84. 3,
Hernandez, German, Dos Pueblos, 16.88.Girls 400 Meter Dash Varsity
1, McDaniel, Hannah, San Marcos, 61.34. 2, Koopmans, Kaylin, San Marcos,
61.47. 3, Brashears, Marie, San Marcos, 61.62.Boys 400 Meter Dash Varsity
1, Kraus, Dillon, San Marcos, 51.62. 2, Linehan, John, Dos Pueblos, 52.08. 2,
Norris, John, Dos Pueblos, 52.08.Girls 100 Meter Dash Varsity
1, Hodges, Elysia, San Marcos, 12.78. 2, Escalante, Jessica, Dos Pueblos,
13.10. 3, LaViale, Courtney, San Marcos, 13.57.Boys 100 Meter Dash Varsity
1, Thayer, Andrew, San Marcos, 11.50. 2, Harvey, Randee, San Marcos, 11.53. 3,
Clipper, Roy, Dos Pueblos, 12.02.Girls 800 Meter Run Varsity
1, Brashears, Marie, San Marcos, 2:20.41. 2, Ristig, Erin, Dos Pueblos,
2:21.57. 3, Redick, Emma, Dos Pueblos, 2:23.68.Boys 800 Meter Run Varsity
1, Bartholomew, Jacob, Dos Pueblos, 1:58.28. 2, Ashby, Graham, Dos Pueblos,
2:00.59. 3, David, Philip, San Marcos, 2:01.04.Girls 300 Meter Hurdles Varsity
1, Hodges, Elysia, San Marcos, 45.57. 2, Missman, Sarah, Dos Pueblos, 49.88.
3, Gee, Megan, Dos Pueblos, 50.15.Boys 300 Meter Hurdles Varsity
1, Lake, Tristan, San Marcos, 39.90. 2, Hernandez, German, Dos Pueblos, 41.67.
3, Peterson, Greg, San Marcos, 43.06.Girls 200 Meter Dash Varsity
1, McDaniel, Hannah, San Marcos, 26.21. 2, Escalante, Jessica, Dos Pueblos,
27.03. 3, Koopmans, Kaylin, San Marcos, 27.16.Boys 200 Meter Dash Varsity
1, Harvey, Randee, San Marcos, 23.13. 2, Kraus, Dillon, San Marcos, 23.70. 3,
Thayer, Andrew, San Marcos, 23.96.Girls 3200 Meter Run Varsity
1, Zerrenner, Addi, Dos Pueblos, 11:39.23. 2, Pollack, Sophie, Dos Pueblos,
11:48.23. 3, Fisher, Jewel, San Marcos, 11:49.68.Boys 3200 Meter Run Varsity
1, Fernandez, Bryan, Dos Pueblos, 9:41.23. 2, Sushchikh, Sergey, Dos Pueblos,
9:42.21. 3, Sarmiento, Sam, Dos Pueblos, 10:29.22.Girls 4×400 Meter Relay Varsity
1, Dos Pueblos ‘A’ (Campbell, Erin, Redick, Emma. Plesons, Marina,
Ristig, Erin ), 3:58.86. 2, San Marcos High School ‘A’ (McDaniel, Hannah ,
Koopmans, Kaylin , Brashears, Marie , Rheinschild, Katelyn ), 4:02.41. 3, San
Marcos High School ‘B’ 4:28.11.Boys 4×400 Meter Relay Varsity
1, Dos Pueblos ‘A’ (Torrey, Cy , Hernandez, German , Linehan, John ,
Bartholomew, Jacob ), 3:48.00.Girls High Jump Varsity
1, McDaniel, Hannah, San Marcos, 5-00. 2, Nelson, Ayla, Dos Pueblos, 4-10. 3,
Reeg, Tessa, San Marcos, 4-06.Boys High Jump Varsity
1, Meinhold, Shen, Dos Pueblos, 5-10. 2, Spadoro, Philip, Dos Pueblos, 5-08.
3, Rowen, Shane, San Marcos, J5-08.Girls Long Jump Varsity
1, Sandin, Ellen, Dos Pueblos, 16-07.50. 2, Plesons, Marina, Dos Pueblos,
16-04.50. 3, Khalil, Christina, San Marcos, 15-02.Boys Long Jump Varsity
1, Rowen, Shane, San Marcos, 20-03. 2, Meinhold, Waiman, Dos Pueblos,
20-00.25. 3, Lagattuta, James, Dos Pueblos, 18-09.Girls Triple Jump Varsity
1, Sandin, Ellen, Dos Pueblos, 34-09.50. 2, Motyer, Melissa, Dos Pueblos,
32-10.25. 3, Bhavnani, Cerina, Dos Pueblos, 32-08.50.Boys Triple Jump Varsity
1, Rowen, Shane, San Marcos, 45-03. 2, Meinhold, Waiman, Dos Pueblos, 41-00.
3, Peterson, Greg, San Marcos, 39-05.50.Girls Discus Throw Varsity
1, Hyatt, Kelsey, San Marcos, 98-06. 2, Spencer, Mackenzie, Dos Pueblos,
97-11. 3, Escalante, Jessica, Dos Pueblos, 97-08.Boys Discus Throw Varsity
1, Scarvelis, Nicholas, Dos Pueblos, 165-09. 2, Lagattuta, James, Dos Pueblos,
134-05. 3, Fultz, Casey, San Marcos, 129-01.Girls Shot Put Varsity
1, Scarvelis, Stamatia, Dos Pueblos, 38-10.50. 2, Hyatt, Kelsey, San Marcos,
35-09. 3, Jimenez, Jennifer, Dos Pueblos, 30-02. 3, Castillo, Keliah, San
Marcos, 30-02.Boys Shot Put Varsity
1, Scarvelis, Nicholas, Dos Pueblos, 61-10. 2, Lagattuta, James, Dos Pueblos,
45-01. 3, Fultz, Casey, San Marcos, 38-09.Boys Pole Vault Varsity
1, Strong, Joseph, Dos Pueblos, 12-06. 2, Switzer, Kurtis, Dos Pueblos, 11-06.
3, Peterson, Reed, San Marcos, 10-06.Girls Pole Vault Varsity
1, Plesons, Marina, Dos Pueblos, 11-00. 2, Ireland, Alexis, San Marcos, 8-00.
