MARAUDERS EXPERIENCE BITTERSWEET REGIONALS

Twelve Marauders participated in the Southern California Regional Championships, hosted by San Diego Mesa College on May 5. The regionals are a two-week qualifying competition that serves as the path to the May 19th & 20th State Championships at Modesto College.

For Antelope Valley College, the bittersweet side of the meet saw Sade Vasquez miss the high jump final by 5 centimeters. The men's 4x100 meter relay ran their fastest time of the season, placing 11th overall, but only 9 teams would advance.

The sweet side of the meet saw Prishencia Nnoham (currently ranked 3rd in the state at 400 meters, win her heat, easily returning to the state meet after placing 5th in 2022. Makuochukwu Ene, and basketballer Kaelin Smith, were ranked 14th and 18th heading into the triple jump competition, but both men responded mightily in the face of only 12 advancing to next week's final. Ene exploded on his last jump with an all-time top 10 triple jump effort, placing 3rd, while Smith also jumped a big personal best, placing 6th.

Ella Gawellek, the Marauder shot put and discus thrower, will compete in the May 12th finals next week. In all, the Marauders are sending two women and two men to the next to last competition of the 2023 track season. In week two of the SoCal Finals on May 12, Gawellek will start the day with the shot put at 10 am, followed by the discus throw at 3:30. Smith and Ene triple jump at 3:30, and Nnoham will run at 4:00 pm, looking to make back-to-back 400 state finals.

FULL RESULTS:

https://www.tfrrs.org/results/80977/2023_CCCAA_Southern_California_Prelims_and_Championships/