ELK GROVE, Calif. – The foursome of Grace Dunham, Kelsey Sutch, Daphne Witherell and Kayla Towne won the inaugural 4x800-meter relay, Perpetua Nwaukoni led a 1-2-3 sweep in the frosh/soph shot put, and Colleen Medina finish first in each of the frosh/soph 200- and 400-meter prelims to highlight St. Francis on the first day of action at the Delta League track & field championship meet held at Elk Grove High Saturday.
Saturday's session consisted of varsity events in the morning, with frosh/soph events in the afternoon with the exception of the distance races. Additionally, the first day of the meet did consist of a eight varsity and frosh/soph finals, which contribute toward the overall league team championships. The remaining events on Saturday were prelims that advance to final heats and sections to be held on Tuesday.
St. Francis currently sits in third place with 33 points, with Davis and Pleasant Grove tied for first with 40 each.
The 4x800 meters was added to the league and section championships this year after being a popular event at major national meets like the Arcadia Invitational and Penn Relays. Dunham, Sutch, Witherell and Towne compiled a winning time of nine minutes, 44.19 seconds, more than 15 seconds faster than runner-up Franklin and tops in the Sac-Joaquin Section. The time also ranks fifth in school history.
Before her contributions in the 4x800 relay, Witherell was her team's first member to score team points for the Troubadours. The Amherst-bound distance runner finished fourth in the varsity 3,200 final with a 11:46.84. Junior Ryann Strawn finished close behind in fifth (11:53.30) with senior and future Seton Hall runner Paige Quigley in eighth (12:01.79), collectively accounting for 10 points toward the team standings.
The senior tandem of Maddie Pelfrey and Donna Valizadeh chipped in another 14 points toward the team total, respectively placing second and third in the varsity pole vault. Pelfrey went 10 feet, 10 inches; with Valizadeh matching Pleasant Grove's Bailey Clayton in clearing 8-4. Valizadeh earned the tiebreaker based on attempts.
Senior Lauren Riley and junior Elise Blomquist added nine points to the SF scoring with their fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the varsity shot put. Riley added an inch and a half to her previous best, pushing a 33-6.5. She ranks 10th in school history, right behind Margo Jaime's 1989 best of 33-7. Blomquist followed in fifth with a 31-8 effort
Three Troubies advanced to Tuesday's finals in the varsity 800, with Dunham (2:20.20) and Towne (2:21.35) winning the first and third heats, respectively. Junior Kelsey Sutch ran a 2:26.58 in the second heat to earn one of the 12 finals spots.
Junior Caitlin Hafenstein crushed her previous personal best in the 200 meters with 26.60 time, despite a slight headwind of 0.7 meters per second. That time was good for second in the opening heat and fifth among the prelims, earning a lane in Tuesday's final.
From the frosh-soph portion of the meet, Medina dominated the field in the 400 prelims with a 1:02.30, shattering her previous best of 1:04.12 from the Halden Invitational two weeks earlier. She followed that with a first-place 27.87 in the 200. In fact, four of the six heats were won by Troubies. Anastacia Maruccia took down the first heat (28.16), Holland Sperber claimed the second (28.60), Lucia Vicio won the third (28.55) while Medina raced in the sixth and final prelim. As such, St. Francis will have the 1-4-5-6 seeds in Tuesday's final.
Nwaukoni led a 1-2-3 Troubie trifecta with a 30-0.5 push in the shot put, leading teammates Antonija Jezildzic (28-11) and Maysen Boswell (27-3) for the top three spots. That resulted in a 24-point boost in the frosh-soph scoring. The shot putters were the only St. Francis athletes in a frosh/soph field event on Saturday.
The Delta League track & field championships conclude on Tuesday, starting with the girls' high jumps at noon. The first running event will be the girls' frosh/soph 4x100 relay at 1 p.m.
2023 DELTA LEAGUE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 1
Elk Grove High School
Events with SF entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed
All events are prelims except where noted
GIRLS' 3,200 METERS FROSH-SOPH FINAL - 1. Hailey O'Bear, Pleasant Grove, 11:55.68... 9. Ashlyn Smith, 13:24.52; 10. Ashley Sexauer, 13:45.19; 12. Jordan Brace, 14:09.20; 14. Stella Davenport, 14:27.23; 16. Kyra Lueras, 15:06.13; 17. MacKenzie Olmstead, 15:28.87; 18. Bianca Espanola, 15:44.32; 20. Evelyn McNearney, 16:00.33; 21. Gabriela Briscoe, 16:08.35; 22. Rebecca Mochel, 18:16.06.
GIRLS' 3,200 METERS VARSITY FINAL - 1. Norah Dulaney, Davis, 11:19.98... 4. Daphne Witherell, 11:46.87; 5. Ryann Strawn, 11:53.30; 8. Paige Quigley, 12:01.79
GIRLS' 100 METERS VARSITY - 1. Aniaya Bishop, Cosumnes Oaks, 12.38 (w: +0.3)... 4. Caitlin Hafenstein, 12.99 (w: +0.3); 8. Kyah Pickett, 13.09 (w: +0.4); 18. Alesandra Stahl, 14.21 (w: +0.3)
GIRLS' 100 METERS FROSH/SOPH - 1. Charm Blackwell, Davis, 13.43 (w: +0.7)... 2. Holland Sperber, 13.62 (w: -1.8); 5. Anastacia Maruccia, 13.71; 8. Lucia Vicio, 14.03; 21. Ella Rose, 14.57;
GIRLS' 200 METERS VARSITY - 1. Ihe Okoh, Franklin, 26.76 (w: +0.6)... 5. Caitlin Hafenstein, 26.60 (w: -0.7); 9. Olivia Charles, 26.85 (w: +0.6); 10. Kyah Pickett, 27.04; 17. Penelope Cole, 28.74.
GIRLS' 200 METERS FROSH/SOPH - 1. Colleen Medina, St. Francis, 27.87 (w: +0.0)... 4. Anastacia Maruccia, 28.16 (w: +0.0) 5. Lucia Vicio, 28.55 (w: +0.5); 6. Holland Sperber, 28.60 (w: +0.3); 26. Ella Rose, 30.67 (w: +0.0)
GIRLS' 400 METERS VARSITY - 1. Camille Bursey, Sheldon, 58.64... 3. Sarah Charles, 59.68; 14. Penelope Cole, 1:05.69.
GIRLS' 400 METERS FROSH/SOPH - 1. Colleen Medina, St. Francis, 1:02.30... 8. Kennedy Bishop, 1:07.64;
GIRLS' 800 METERS VARSITY - 1. Theone Divinagracia, Franklin, 2:18.54... 2. Grace Dunham, 2:20.20; 3. Kayla Towne, 2:21.35; 8. Kelsey Sutch, 2:26.58; 13. Pamela Vargas, 2:32.70; 24. Ryann Strawn, 2:42.90; 29. Paige Quigley, 2:47.23; 30. Remi Vrilakas, 2:47.46; 31. Olivia Huerta, 2:48.02; 32. Elizabeth Gibbons, 2:48.47; 34. Amelia Bell, 2:50.53; 37. Emma Dobson, 2:55.68; 38. Ava Ellis, 3:00.03; 39. Abby Page, 3:01.94; 40. Grace Himmelmann, 3:04.55.
GIRLS' 800 METERS FROSH/SOPH - 1. Ayla Towne, Franklin, 2:33.70... 17. Kyra Lueras, 2:55.21; 19. Ashlyn Smith, 2:57.88; 22. Ashley Sexauer, 3:01.34; 25. Gabriela Briscoe, 3:10.10; 26. Jordan Brace, 3:12.65; 28. Evelyn McNearney, 3:12.86; 30. Bianca Espanola, 3:14.51; 37. Hanna Wysoczynska, 4:07.59; 38. Rebecca Mochel, 4:11.13.
GIRLS' SHOT PUT VARSITY FINAL - 1. Elizabeth Byars, Cosumnes Oaks, 36-7... 4. Lauren Riley, 33-6.5; 5. Elise Blomquist, 31-8; 9. Magdalena Becerril, 28-9; 21. Mackenzie Santos, 22-9.5; 23. Emika Garcia, 21-10; 26. Jacqueline Ingenito, 17-0; 27. Makayla Smith-Stabler, 14-2.5.
GIRLS' SHOT PUT FROSH/SOPH FINAL - 1. Perpetua Nwaukoni, St. Francis, 30-0.5... 2. Antonija Jezildzic, 28-11; 3. Maysen Boswell, 27-3. 12. Natalie Odell, 17-10.5.
GIRLS' POLE VAULT VARSITY FINAL - 1. Abigail Wagner, Pleasant Grove, 12-1... 2. Maddie Pelfrey, 10-10; 3. Donna Valizadeh, 9-4.
