VC Track Teams Compete at Henry Kirk Invitational

The Pirates' men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Henry Kirk Invitational hosted by Allan Hancock College Friday in Santa Maria. Brianna Richards and Honest Watson both turned in gold medal performances for the women while the men's 4x100m relay team of Ty Brown, Makaio Thompson, Max Daniel and Jeremiah Penny also claimed first place for the VC men.

Richards ran 4:47.89 in the 1500m to finish first, posting the fourth-ranked time in the state this season and the No. 8 mark all-time in the VC records. Meanwhile, Watson won the long jump with a mark of 5.45m (17'10.5"), the sixth-best in the state and the 10th-best in Pirate history. Watson also came in third place in both the 100m and 200m events.

Kelsey Crist  and Jada Dubose placed fifth and seventh in the long jump, respectively, and Leia Ludy crossed the finish line sixth in the 100m hurdles.

Ariel Montejano and Alyna Renteria both had a solid days in the field, placing in all four throwing events. Montejano claimed silver in the javelin while placing seventh in the discus, eighth in the hammer and ninth in the shot put. Meanwhile, Renteria was fourth in the javelin, sixth in the discus and hammer and 10th in the shot put.

Brown, Thompson, Daniel and Penny ran a 42.54 in the 4x100m relay to claim gold to lead the Pirate men. Brown was also third in the 400m hurdles and triple jump. Meanwhile, Penny won silver in the 200m and bronze in the 100m while Daniel was third in the 200m and fourth in the 100m. Thompson placed eighth in the 100m and came in 12th in the 200m.

Caleb Strencha won a silver medal in the high jump and claimed bronze in the triple jump. He also came in seventh in the long jump. Aaron Giron finished second in the 110m hurdles and placed fourth in the 400m hurdles while Henry Fulk was fourth in the 800m and sixth in the 1500m.

Marcelo Mendoza also placed in a pair of events, finishing fourth in the 5000m and seventh in the 1500m runs. Julian Arenas and Erick Aleman finished fifth and eighth in the 800m, respectively. 

In the field, Abraham Salinas was fourth in the shot put and seventh in both the discus and hammer. Jason Vasquez placed eighth in the shot put and discus while Daniel Perez was sixth in the hammer.

The Pirates will next compete on Friday Mar. 13 at the Coast Classic at Orange Coast College and on Saturday Mar. 14 at the Occidental Classic at Occidental College.