FOLSOM, Calif. – Sophomore Jasleen Gandhoke captured the individual girls' high jump championship with a leap of 5-foot-6, tying her personal record and earning a state championship berth, highlighting a group of St. Francis athletes on Day 1 of the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters track & field championship meet at Folsom High's Prairie City Stadium Friday night.
The top three finishers in the SJS Masters finals earn trips to the 105th CIF Track & Field Championships in Fresno on May 30 and 31, with the exception of the 4x800 relays, which only advance two qualifiers. Most of the Friday's events were preliminary rounds to Saturday's finals, with the exception of the 4x800 and any field events.
Gandhoke was the only entrant to clear 5-0 and 5-2 on her first attempts, then maintained her clean sheet with jumps over 5-4 and 5-5. By the time the bar went to 5-6, only three athletes remained, meaning all three had secured their state meet spots. McClatchy senior Kate Hemesath had to pause her action to run in the Lions' 4x100 relay, then in the 100-meter hurdles. St. Mary's junior Fekei George missed on all three attempts, but Gandhoke cleared 5-6 on the third try. Hemesath returned from the hurdles finish line to go 0-for-3 at 5-6, meaning Gandhoke had already clinched the championship when she came back from her own 100 hurdles heat. She nearly beat 5-7 but just barely clipped the bar on that first jump.
Gandhoke is the first Troubadour to win a SJS Masters title since Tatiana Cornejo captured the 1,600 meters in 2022. Additionally, she is the first SF field athlete to snare a Masters championship since Karen Lysaght won back-to-back at the 1980 and 1981 meets at Woodland High School and Modesto Junior College, respectively.
Several Troubadour field athletes have placed second in the 43 years following Lysaght's title. Christina Bray nearly made it three straight SF wins with her 5-2 effort in the 1982 high jump. Laura Huarte runnered-up the 2002 pole vault with an 11-3 leap, Isabella Palchak went 5-6 at the 2018 high jump, Kayla O'Brine fired a 135 in the discus throw in 2014, and most recently, Maddie Pelfrey cleared 12-0 but lost on attempts to friend and rival Abigail Wagner of Pleasant Grove in the 2023 pole vault.
The 4x800 relay of Sophia Kadel, Sunny Schranz, Halle Welch and Miya Menza opened the day's running schedule by finishing sixth in the 4x800 at 9:42.99. Junior Antonija Jezildzic took 26th in the shot put at 27-1.25 while Tayli Paeu-Lindgren placed seventh in the triple jump with a 35-8.75 in the first round for the other St. Francis finals on Friday. Unlike the Division I meet, the Masters officials recorded wind readings during the triple jump, making that 35-8.75 her best wind-legal mark – good for fourth in school history.
Among the prelims, Gandhoke lopped 0.44 from her previous PR in the 100 hurdles with a 15.00, good for sixth place in the meet and fourth in the St. Francis record book.
Junior Alexa Randall also moved onto Saturday's finals session in four events: seventh in the 4x100 relay (49.24) along with Gaby Gonzalez, Emma Bugarin and Jada Dwyre, 10th in the 400 meters (58.22), 10th in the 200 (25.65) and 10th in the 4x400 relay (4:06.63), along with Nassali Serwanga, Colleen Medina and Brynn Baker.
In fact, the decision to hold the 2025 meet at Folsom High impacted Randall's advancement. The top 10 finishers in the running trials (except for 12 in the 800s) move onto the finals due to the number of lanes at the stadium. In previous Masters meets, such as the 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions at Davis, only eight could move on to the finals.
In addition to advancers from Friday's trials, St. Francis will have representation in the 1,600 (Welch) and 3,200 meters (Menza) on Saturday. Field events begin with the 2:15 unified shot put, while the first running event is the unified mixed 4x100 at 5 p.m. The first Troubie event is the 5:15 p.m. 4x100 relay.
2025 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION MASTERS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 1
Prairie City Stadium (Folsom, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed • All events were prelims except where noted
GIRLS' HIGH JUMP FINAL - 1. Jasleen Gandhoke, St. Francis, 5-6.
GIRLS' 4x800 RELAY FINAL - 1. Whitney (I. Soto, E. Soto, Smith, Ewers), 9:15.77... 6. St. Francis (Kadel, Schranz, Welch, Menza), 9:42.99.
GIRLS' 4x100 RELAY - 1. Twelve Bridges (Flynn, Winston, Oriel, Go Forth), 47.18... 7. St. Francis (Gonzalez, Randall, Bugarin, Dwyre), 49.24.
GIRLS' 100 HURDLES - 1. Brooke White, River City, 13.94... 6. Jasleen Gandhoke, 15.00.
GIRLS' 400 METERS - 1. Briyanna Word, St. Mary's, 55.82... 10. Alexa Randall, 58.22.
GIRLS' 100 METERS - 1. Naiaja Sizemore, Vanden, 11.43... 16. Jada Dwyre, 12.60.
GIRLS' 300 HURDLES - 1. Starla Skiles, Ripon, 43.96... 11. Jasleen Gandhoke, 46.41.
GIRLS' 200 METERS - 1. Briyanna Word, St. Mary's, 24.07... 10. Alexa Randall, 25.65.
GIRLS' 4x400 RELAY - 1. Twelve Bridges (Blume, Winston, Oriel, Go Forth), 3:54.93... 10. St. Francis, 4:06.63.
GIRLS' SHOT PUT FINAL - 1. Zenalla Hatcher Simmons, Del Campo, 43-2... 26. Antonija Jezildzic, 27-1.25.
GIRLS' TRIPLE JUMP FINAL - 1. Devyn Chambers, Oakmont, 38-3.25... 7. Tayli Paeu-Lindgren, 35-8.75.
2025 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION MASTERS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 2 SCHEDULE
Prairie City Stadium (Folsom, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • All events are finals
5:15 p.m. - Girls' 4x100 relay (Lane 2)
5:34 p.m. - Girls' 1,600 Meters (Halle Welch, No. 17)
5:59 p.m. - Girls' 100 Hurdles (Jasleen Gandhoke, Lane 8)
6:19 p.m. - Girls' 400 Meters (Alexa Randall, Lane 10)
7:29 p.m. - Girls' 200 Meters (Alexa Randall, Lane 10)
7:44 p.m. - Girls' 3,200 Meters (Miya Menza, No. 23)
8:19 p.m. - Girls' 4x400 Relay (Lane 10)
