Droughn's Sprint Double Highlights Vaquero Invitational

For the second week in a row Pirate sprinter, Valexsia Droughn literally "ran away" from the sprint fields at the Vaquero Invitational, hosted by Glendale College. She bested her own school record in the 100 meters, and also ran for gold in the 200 for the double win. Fabiola Gomez-Flores won the 5000 meters in her first time running the event. For the Pirate men, Jordan Gibson brought home gold in the 200 meters while Darrell Handy-Johnson and twin brother Terrell Handy-Johnson claimed first place in the high jump and triple jump, respectively.

Droughn, getting a good start, sprinted to a first place win in the 100, improving her 11.93 school record with an 11.87 effort. She returned two hours later to record a win in the 200 meters in a time ranked No. 3 all-time for Ventura College. She now ranks No. 2 and No. 4 in the state at 100 and 200 meters, respectively.

Gomez-Flores took the lead with two laps to go in the 5000 meters finishing in 18:48.10 for the victory in her first attempt at the distance. Meanwhile, Marissa Gonzales rounded out the top-3 finishers for the Pirate women with a personal record in the 5k and ranks No. 3 in the Western State Conference. 

For the VC men,  Gibson continues to recovery from an illness that left him bed ridden for two weeks. He placed fourth in the 100 meters, but returned to win his fourth consecutive 200 meter event. Terrell H-J scored a seasonal best in the triple jump, just missing the top-10 all-time by three inches. Darrell H-J took the high jump gold medal while also collecting second place finishes in the triple and long jumps.

Two Pirate middle distance runners did not win but produced performances worthy of top-10 all-time positions. Alex Ambriz ran a personal best by 16 seconds, taking second in the 3000m steeplechase, ranking No. 2 in the WSC and No. 8 all-time at VC. Max Carmona also dropped his life-time best in the 800 meters placing fourth. He is No. 2 in the conference and ranks No. 8 all-time at VC. 

"This meet was a nice opportunity for the team to start tuning up for the WSC Championships in two weeks," commented head coach Tony Veney.

The Pirates next visit Santa Barbara City College Friday April 13 for the Santa Barbara Easter Open. Hammer and javelin events are contested at Westmont College at 1:00 pm while the remainder of the schedule gets underway at SBCC's La Playa Stadium at 3:00 pm.