CLOVIS, Calif. – Seniors Tatiana Cornejo and Kenna DeLemos placed 14th and 17th in their respective events to lead a trio of St. Francis student-athletes on the first day of the CIF State Track & Field Championships, held at Buchanan High Friday.
Cornejo qualified for the girls' 1,600-meter run thanks to her individual title at last week's Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Meet, while DeLemos made the girls' long jump field due to her runner-up finish at the Masters.
Cornejo, one of only five Troubadours in program history to break the five-minute mark in the 1,600, went 4:58.55 to finish sixth in the first heat of that event, and 14th overall. The Cal Poly-bound runner came home with a 1:12.15 split in the bell lap, which moved her up four places in the final standings. Cornejo was also the top finisher among CIF-SJS entrants, with Bella Vista's Leila Swanson finishing 23rd at 5:07.10.
DeLemos placed 17th in the girls' long jump, opening with a 17-foot, 7-inch effort then improving to 17-7.5 on her second attempt. The future Delta College track and soccer student-athlete qualified for the state meet by virtue of a leap of 18-7.5 at the CIF-SJS Masters, good for third in school history. Furthermore, DeLemos was the highest finisher from the section, besting St. Mary's senior Cameron Fields (17-4.75).
St. Francis also had representation in the girls' pole vault in junior and school record-holder Maddie Pelfrey. Unfortunately, Pelfrey missed on all three attempts at the opening height of 11-9. A Woodland product (along with DeLemos), Pelfrey broke a four-year-old school record with a vault of 12-6 at the Delta League Championships earlier this season.
The CIF state meet concludes on Saturday. The lone remaining Troubie is senior Cate Joaquin in the 3,200. The future Georgetown Hoya is the No. 7 seed in the event with an entering mark of 10:28.69. Joaquin shattered the SFHS record in the event with a 10:20.97 at the Arcadia Invitational in April, good for 29th on the national leaderboard.
Full live results of the championship can be found at https://www.rtspt.com/events/cif/2022/.
2022 CIF STATE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 1
Buchanan High School (Clovis, Calif.)
Events with SFHS entrants only • Winners/Leaders plus SFHS finishers listed
GIRLS' LONG JUMP PRELIM - 1. Alyssa Hope, King, 20-3.75 (w: +2.3)… 17. Kenna DeLemos, 17-7.5 (w: +1.3).
GIRLS' 1,600 METERS PRELIM - 1. Dalia Frias, Mira Costa, 4:49.83… 14. Tatiana Cornejo, 4:58.55.
GIRLS' POLE VAULT PRELIM - 1 (tie). Rose Wagner, Fallbrook; Alison Sahaida, Oak Ridge, 12-7… Maddie Pelfrey, NH.
