EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. – Junior Maddie Pelfrey placed third in the pole vault while senior Tatiana Cornejo hit a personal record in the 800-meter run, leading a crew of St. Francis athletes on the first day of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I track & field championships, hosted by Oak Ridge High Tuesday night.
Pelfrey cleared the bar at 11 feet, 6 inches, matching friend and Pleasant Grove junior Abigail Wagner. However, Wagner earned the tiebreaker to place second. Pelfrey, who set the school vault record at the Delta League Championships two days earlier, finished third for six points toward the Troubadours' team scoring. Oak Ridge's Alison Sahaida won the section pole vault title at 12-0.
Cornejo won the third heat and the overall prelim round of the 800 with a time of 2:15.57, improving on the 2:16.36 she ran at the Bronco Distance Carnival in late March. The Cal Poly-bound runner ranks fourth in school history, with the fastest 800 by a Troubie since current New Mexico Lobo Isabella Fauria went 2:10.49 at the 2019 state meet.
Cornejo was one of two SFHS athletes in the 800 to advance to Thursday's final, as Kayla Towne placed second in the second heat and sixth overall with her 2:21.55.
Towne later led off a 4x400 relay with senior Grace Heisinger, sophomore Caitlin Hafenstein and the anchor Cornejo to a 4:03.82 clocking. Cornejo ran a sub-60 final split, nearly catching Oak Ridge at the finish line. The Trojans compiled a 4:03.72 to win the prelims, just one tenth of a second ahead of St. Francis' 4:03.82.
For her part, Heisinger also advanced to a championship final in the 300 hurdles. She went 47.45 to finish second in Heat 2. Heisinger, who ran the 100 hurdles earlier in the evening, had the fastest at-large advancing time to the final, making her the No. 4 seed in Thursday's session.
Junior Lauren Riley was the only other SFHS athlete to compete in a final as part of Tuesday's session. She posted a discus throw of 86-2 to place sixth in her flight and 17th overall.
All competitors at the SJS division championships qualified for the meet by virtue of a top finish at their respective league championships. For the Div. I meet, the top eight arose from each of the Delta, Sierra Foothill and Tri-City Athletic Leagues. The top eight in Tuesday's prelims then move on to Thursday's finals, with the exception of the 800, which advances 12.
The top eight finishers from Thursday's finals will then earn berths to the CIF-SJS Masters meet, held at Davis on May 20 and 21. From there, the top three placers at the Masters meet (plus at-large qualifiers) move on to the state championships, held in Clovis the following weekend.
For St. Francis, Thursday's CIF-SJS finals sessions begins with the girls' 1,600 meters at 5:15 p.m. Senior Cate Joaquin and Cornejo rank No. 2 and 3, respectively, in the SJS heading into the meet. Joaquin also ranks second in the 3,200, which starts at 6:50 p.m.
2022 CIF SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION DIV. I CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 1
Oak Ridge High School (El Dorado Hills, Calif.)
Events with SFHS athletes only • Winners/leaders plus SFHS finishers listed
GIRLS' POLE VAULT FINAL - 1. Alison Sahaida, Oak Ridge, 12-0… 3. Maddie Pelfrey, 11-6.
GIRLS' DISCUS THROW FINAL - 1. Nellee Bitners, Davis, 122-3… 17. Lauren Riley, 86-2.
GIRLS 4x100 RELAY PRELIMS - 1. St. Mary's (Clay, C. Fields, Scott, K. Fields), 47.84… St. Francis, DQ.
GIRLS 100 HURDLES PRELIMS - 1. Yvette Harris, Lincoln (Stockton), 14.37 (w: +1.8)… 13. Grace Heisinger, 17.75 (w: +2.1).
GIRLS 100 PRELIMS - 1. Cameron Fields, St. Mary's, 12.07 (w: +1.1).. 14. Kenna DeLemos, 12.93 (w: +1.1).
GIRLS 800 PRELIMS - 1. Tatiana Cornejo, St. Francis, 2:15.57… 6. Kayla Towne, 2:21.55; 18. Kelsey Sutch, 2:34.14; 20. Pamela Vargas, 2:36.11.
GIRLS' 300 HURDLES PRELIMS - 1. Yvette Harris, Lincoln (Stockton), 44.88… 4. Grace Heisinger, 47.45.
GIRLS' 4x400 RELAY - 1. Oak Ridge (Goins, Walker, Vernaza, Heinlein), 4:03.72… 2. St. Francis (Towne, Heisinger, Hafenstein, Cornejo), 4:03.82.
2022 CIF SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION DIV. I CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 2
SFHS Heat/Lane/Flight Assignments
GIRLS' SHOT PUT (5:30 p.m.) - Lauren Riley, Flight 1 #12
GIRLS' LONG JUMP (5:30 p.m.) - Kenna DeLemos, Flight 2 #6
GIRLS' 1600 (5:15 p.m.) - Cate Joaquin #1; Tatiana Cornejo #4; Grace Dunham #12; Kelsey Sutch #18.
GIRLS' 800 (6:15 p.m.) - Tatiana Cornejo #1; Kayla Towne #6.
GIRLS 300 HURDLES (6:30 p.m.) - Grace Heisinger lane 6.
GIRLS 3200 (6:50 p.m.) - Cate Joaquin #6, Grace Dunham #11, Daphne Witherell #13, Paige Quigley #15, Ryann Strawn #16.
GIRLS 4x400 RELAY (7:20 p.m.) - St. Francis lane 3.
