SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Cate Joaquin ran the Invitational girls' 1,600-meter race in school-record four minutes, 48.58 seconds to highlight a crew of St. Francis athletes at the 39th Sacramento Meet of Champions at American River College Saturday.
Joaquin surpassed the old mark of 4:53.27, set by teammate Tatiana Cornejo at the Dublin Distance Fiesta earlier this year. Joaquin held the previous mark, then the two Troubadours surpassed Joaquin's record in Dublin. She entered the meet ranked third in the Sac-Joaquin Section in that event, behind Cornejo and Del Oro's Riley Chamberlain. Not coincidentally, Chamberlain won Saturday's race in 4:45.42, while Cornejo placed third at 4:57.52.
Cornejo followed her 1,600 performance with a runner-up 2:17.03 in the Invitational 800, trailing only Chamberlain's 2:14.55. Cornejo ranks third in the section, thanks to the 2:16.36 at Bella Vista's Bronco Distance Carnival on March 25.
The Sacramento MOC features the top athletes from the Sac-Joaquin and North Coast Sections. The meet is divided into an Open division, held in the late morning and early afternoon; and the higher-seeded Invitational division, run in the evening.
Junior Daphne Witherell arguably enjoyed St. Francis' top highlight of the Open portion of the meet, posting a fourth-place 11:37.82 in the 3,200 meters. This represents almost a 13-second improvement on her previous best of 11:50.71, set at the Bronco Distance Carnival.
Sophomore Grace Dunham also posted a sizable PR in the Invitational 3,200, crossing in 11:18.18 to cut more than 16 seconds from her old best of 11:35.07, also at Bella Vista in March.
St. Francis now enters the postseason portion of its schedule, returning to action at the Delta League championship trials on April 30. The finals take place the following Saturday. Both meets are held at Sheldon-Pleasant Grove Community Stadium.
2022 SACRAMENTO MEET OF CHAMPIONS
ARC Stadium (Sacramento, Calif.)
Results with SFHS entrants only • Winner plus SFHS finishers listed
GIRLS 4x100 RELAY OPEN - 1. Davis (Barr, Garcia, Young, Yikilmaz), 49.33… 12. St. Francis (Pickett, Hafenstein, DeLemos, Heisinger), 51.38.
GIRLS 3,200 METERS OPEN - 1. Olivia Schlieman, Rio Americano, 11:20.48… 4. Daphne Witherell, 11:37.82; 19. Paige Quigley, 12:19.59.
GIRLS 400 METERS OPEN - 1. Jasmine Harris, Tahoe-Truckee, 58.12… 24. Sarah Charles, 1:06.43.
GIRLS 100 METERS OPEN - 1. Egypt Hughes, Armijo, 12.14 (w: +1.9)… 22. Kyah Pickett, 13.03 (w: -0.5)
GIRLS LONG JUMP OPEN - 1. Brianna Wills, Cosumnes Oaks, 17-10.5… Kenna DeLemos, foul.
GIRLS POLE VAULT OPEN - 1. Emily Manshijp, Incline, 11-4… Donna Valizadeh, no height.
GIRLS 1,600 METERS OPEN - 1. Mariah Davis, Galena, 5:09.87… 18. Kelsey Sutch, 5:32.39; 21. Daphne Witherell, 5:37.08.
GIRLS POLE VAULT INVITATIONAL - 1. Alison Sahaida, Oak Ridge, 13-0… Maddie Pelfrey, no height.
GIRLS 1,600 METERS INVITATIONAL - 1. Riley Chamberlain, Del Oro, 4:45.42… 2. Cate Joaquin, 4:48.58; 3. Tatiana Cornejo, 4:57.52.
GIRLS 800 METERS INVITATIONAL - 1. Riley Chamberlain, Del Oro, 2:14.55… 2. Tatiana Cornejo, 2:17.03; 6. Kayla Towne, 2:22.44.
GIRLS 3,200 METERS INVITATIONAL - 1. Natalie Wieland, Ponderosa, 10:41.68… 13. Grace Dunham, 11:18.18; 19. Ryann Strawn, 11:59.98.
GIRLS 4x400 RELAY INVITATIONAL - 1. Edison (Hill-Brown, McCuller, Williams, Johnson), 3:59.87… 6. St. Francis (Carson, Towne, Heisinger, Cornejo), 4:05.83.
