ROCKLIN, Calif. – Senior Sarah Charles finished second in the 400 meters with a time of 59.58 seconds, while senior Lauren Riley placed third in the discus and hit a personal record in the shot put, highlighting a small crew of St. Francis athletes at Rocklin's Thunder Invitational high school track & field meet Saturday.
The Troubadours sent only field athletes and sprinters to Rocklin, as the entire team had competed at the Delta League center meet in Davis on Wednesday, plus a sizable group of distance runners joined SF's top two pole vaulters at the Bronco Roundup on Friday night.
Charles won the meet's first heat with a time of 59.58, good for second in the overall standings. This makes her the first Troubie to crack the one-minute barrier in the quarter since Isabella Fauria did it twice in the 2018 season: a 58.57 in a dual with Sheldon and a 57.7 hand time as part of a relay split at the Stanford Invite. Fauria later went on to compete collegiately at New Mexico, mainly in the 800 meters.
Riley's push of 32 feet, 8.75 inches granted her fifth place in the shot put, while her 104-0 discus throw was good for third place. This is the second time in her career that Riley has broken the century mark in the discus, following the 107-6 at Ponderosa's Ruptier Invitational one week earlier. She needs just one more inch to break into the schools' all-time top 10 list.
Junior Elise Blomquist also hit massive PRs to finish ninth in each of the two throws. She unleased a 92-5 in the discus and a 31-7 in the shot, respectively improving from her previous best of 87-5, set at Wednesday's Delta League meet; and the 28-10.5 shot that won last year's second league center meet.
St. Francis has a short turnaround before its next meet, the "Holy Spikes" rivalry dual with Christian Brothers on Tuesday. This event was originally scheduled for March 14 at CB's Bollinger Stadium but was postponed due to expected inclement weather at the time. Furthermore, the meet will now take place across eight lanes at Jesuit High.
TRACK & FIELD: 2023 THUNDER INVITATIONAL
Rocklin High School (Rocklin, Calif.)
Events with St. Francis entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed
GIRLS' 100 METERS - 1. Ashanti Elie, Whitney, 12.31 (w: +2.6)... 11. Kyah Pickett, 12.95 (w: +3.0); 36. Lucia Vicio, 13.61 (w: +2.8); 70. Piper Sherburne, 14.07 (w: +1.0); 87. Ella Rose, 14.35 (w: +1.2)
GIRLS' 200 METERS - 1. Jaliyah Davis, River City, 25.79 (w: +1.2)... 13. Kyah Pickett, 27.58 (w: +0.2); 52. Anastacia Maruccia, 29.49 (w: +1.0)
GIRLS' 400 METERS - 1. Jaliyah Davis, River City, 59.37... 2. Sarah Charles, 59.58; 18. Colleen Medina, 1:04.20; 37. Kennedy Bishop, 1:06.949.
GIRLS' 4x100 RELAY - 1. Whitney (Souto, Eastman, Beasley, Elie), 49.41... 19. St. Francis (Barsotti, Cole, Vicio, Pickett), 54.62.
GIRLS' DISCUS THROW - 1. Rylee Rudnicki, Oak Ridge, 113-3... 3. Lauren Riley, 104-0; 9. Elise Blomquist, 92-5; 33. Emika Garcia, 65-9.
GIRLS' SHOT PUT - 1. Zenalia Hatcher Simmons, Del Campo, 40-1.75... 5. Lauren Riley, 32-8.75; 9. Elise Blomquist, 31-7; 28. Magdalena Becerril, 26-5; 44. Emika Garcia, 22-10.
GIRLS' LONG JUMP - 1. Jonte Lehmann, Del Campo, 17-4.5... 45. Abbey Pavelchik, 11-7 (w: NWI), 53. Ilia Smith, 9-2 (w: NWI).
GIRLS' HIGH JUMP - 1. Ashanti Elie, Whitney, 5-6... 35. Abbey Pavelchik, 4-0.
