Jill Fisher of San Marcos edges Santa Barbara’s Natasha Feshbach in the girls 100 at the Channel League Championships. (Photo by Scott Gibson)
Jill Fisher of San Marcos and Santa Barbara High’s Natasha Feshbach put on a quite a show in the sprints at Friday’s Channel League track and field championships at Warkentin Stadium.
Fisher grit her teeth and powered through the finish line to nip Feshbach in the 100 by one one-hundredth of a second, 12.76 to 12.77.
“Some people said I looked like I was screaming. It’s pretty cool,” Fisher said of the all-out effort she put forth to win the 100.
The winners automatically qualified next Saturday’s CIF Division Prelims. Second- and third-place finishers also qualified if their marks met CIF standards.
Feshbach was a powerhouse in capturing the 200. The Dons sophomore won in 25.82 and Fisher took second in 26.16
“The 200 is my baby,” said Feshbach, who had a big day in the championship meet. She set a PR of 18-3 in winning the long jump and took the 100 hurdles in 14.47. She hit the second to last hurdle but was able to maintain her balance and power across the line in a good time.
“It wasn’t as clean as I like, especially on the (second to) last one,” she said. “The wind was a little bit hectic for me, but I had a great race.”
San Marcos freshman Erica Schroeder won the 800. (Photo by Scott Gibson)
She said she was surprised by her long jump. “It’s really farther than I thought I would be right now. I’m stoked about it.”
Stamatia Scarvelis of Dos Pueblos won her third straight league shot put title. She threw below her state-best mark of 53-9.25, but noted she was satisfied with the 51-2 heading into the postseason, aiming for a third straight CIF State Championship.
The UCLA-bound Scarvelis did record the third longest discus throw of her high school career with mark of 163-07.
Also from Dos Pueblos, Addi Zerrenner ran away with the 3200. Running in cold, windy conditions, the Arizona-bound Zerrenner won in 11:15.58.
The wind made it difficult for the pole vaulters. DP’s Sydney Eilbacher and Camren Villarruel and Ventura’s Karli Dugas all cleared 10 feet, and Eilbacher was declared the winner on fewer misses.
Kelli Martindale of Santa Barbara won the triple jump at 36-9.
San Marcos freshman Erica Schroeder won a varsity title in her Channel League meet debut, taking the 800 meters in 2:15.46, which was two seconds faster than her seeded time. Schroeder also ran the first leg on the Royals’ winning 4×400 relay. Schroeder, Fisher, Delaney Werner and Emily Allen were timed in 4:01.61.
The San Marcos girls also captured the 4×100 relay. The team of Ashley Carney, Danielle Anderson, Ashley Julio and Fisher clocked 49.63 to edge out Ventura (49.85).
Adilene Aldapa opened up a big lead after 800 meters and romped to a runaway victory in the 1600. Her time was 5:03.33.
Aldapa said her race plan was to start comfortably and conserve energy before making her move.
“It’s nice to have that extra energy,” she said.
On the windy conditions, Aldapa said she was nervous. “It was windy at county (championships) and (the race) didn’t go as planned, so here I was kind of nervous.”
Esteban Alfaro of San Marcos and Jon Dickinson of Dos Pueblos were double winners in the varsity boys meet. Alfaro won the 100 (11.4) and led a Royals sweep in the 200 (23.61). Garrett Paulson and Tyson Miller took second and third.
Dickinson doubled in the throws, winning the shot put at 51-8 and the discus at 143-0.
“That’s OK for right now,” Dickinson said of his shot put mark. “It’s mostly about advancing and making CIF.”
Elijah Johnson of San Marcos kicked into another gear on the last turn and won the league title in the 400 in 50.78. Teammate Tyson Miller took second (51.03).
Johnson was ecstatic after the victory, slapping high-fives with several teammates.
“I actually didn’t expect to do well,” he said. “I came out slow and the other guys hit the wind and I kicked at the end. I saved it all to the end and I just gutted it out.”
Now, Johnson is going to the CIF Prelims.
“Honestly, I didn’t even think that was realistic until a few weeks ago.”
