THREE MARAUDERS ADVANCE TO REGIONALS AT WSC TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Three Marauders Advance to Regionals at WSC Track Championships

The Antelope Valley College men and women's track teams traveled to College of the Canyons for day 1 of the 2-day Western State Track Championships. In each event, the top seven finishers advance to the Southern California Regionals on May 6 at Moorpark College. Kasey Gibbs started things off with a 6th place finish in the women's Hammer throw and in the process, was also named All-WSC second team. Xavier Tatham followed suit in the men's hammer with a 3rd place finish and an All-WSC first team award.

Jacob Jimenez placed 8th in the men's hammer scoring a point for the Marauders and receiving All-WSC Honorable Mention. Jimenez is on the qualifying bubble and could receive an at-large birth into the Regionals. Jordan Kennon rounded out the day's Regional qualifiers with an 8th place finish in the men's high jump (from a sudden death jump off). He then automatically qualified in the long jump with a 4th place finish, claiming All-WSC Honorable Mentioned and 2nd Team, respectively.

On the track, participants had to run qualifying heats to advance to next week's finals at Santa Monica College. Kayla Thompson took first place honors in both her 200-meter and 400-meter rounds, ranking 1st and 3rd heading into next week. Prishencia Nnoham won her 400-meter heat in a team-leading lifetime best while placing 2nd in her 200-meter heat (also advancing). Briann Brazill also got into the act, winning her 100-meter heat and taking a qualifying 2nd place in her 200-meter section. Celeste Meza grabbed the 8th and final spot for the 400-meter hurdle final, placing 4th in her heat.

In addition to the sprinters and hurdlers who advanced to Santa Monica, the Marauders have two distance runners, three jumpers, and four throwers who will all seek to punch their tickets to the Socal Regional Preliminaries next week. "We had a good day today," commented Head Track and Field coach Tony Veney... "When you have to run rounds, you have to be ready for the ebb and flow of the meet. People don't advance who should, and dark horses pop up out of nowhere. But for us today, the meet went almost according to plan." "Because the WSC is the largest track conference in the state, we often get the "lion's share" of the at-large entries, and I hope that holds true for Jordan in the high jump and Jacob in the hammer," Veney added.

The Championship Finals on 4/29 at Santa Monica College begin with all field and track events starting at noon.