East Bakersfield Invite Bakersfield College, Bakersfield, CA - Saturday, March 07, 2009
Meet Recap:
- 2009 Results HERE. On the fly results HERE.
- 2009 Photos HERE. HERE.
- 2009 Dyestatcal Coverage HERE.
- 2009 FaceBook HERE.
- Distance Events Recap HERE.
- East Bakersfield Relays A Warm-Up For Kern Invitational HERE.
- Last updated on 03/13/09
- Today was a brilliant spring day and there were some very good early season performances today. After I
made it through KHSD security (they were not going to let me through the coach/athlete gate) , I found a real buzz in the air about the new 4 x 800 relays and all three races did not disappoint. But first, the team results: Stockdale won the frosh/soph boys title, Bakersfield High won the girls title, Ridgeview won the boys title and Ridgeview won the sweepstakes title.
- Varsity Boys Team Results - Ridgeview 151. Centennial 106, Tehachapi 84, Bakersfield 83
- Varsity Girls Team Results - Bakersfield 54, Ridgeview 42, Frontier 36, Liberty 31
- Frosh/soph Boys Team Results - Stockdale 69, Centennial 53, Frontier 33, Ridgeview 24
- Sweepstakes Trophy - Ridgeview
- Sorry about the results below, the only official ones I got (HERE) did not include any individual
athlete's names. Some I know, so I added them to my meet recap. Please email me, if you can fill in the gaps. My email is andynoise@yahoo.com.
- FSB 4 x 800 - The first track event of the day was won by Wasco's frosh/soph boys and they set a meet
record in the 4 x 800. They lead from the gun and did not look back.
WASCO 9.09.3 HHS 9.29.0 RHS 9.31.8 STK 9.43.0 LHS 9.43.3
- GV 4 x 800 - Next up was the girls 4 x 800, East High opened up a huge lead right from the start, Ridgeview
and Bakersfield battled it out for second until the final leg when the SWYL and SEYL 2008 cross country champs got the batons. Ridgeview's Lynch (SWYL champ) did most of the work reeling in the East runner while Sarah Baker (SEYL champ) went along for the ride. With 200 to go, Lynch and Baker caught the East girl and then it was a neck and neck race to the finish with Sarah barely winning in 10:35ish.
BHS 10.34.7 RHS 10.34.7 EBHS 10.34.8 LHS 11.17.1 CHS 11.24.4
- VB 4 x 800 - In the varsity boys 4 x 800, the race was not that close. Van Zandt (Highland Jr) handed of the
lead to Turner followed by Ridgeview (Solis to Garcia) and then East. After the second 800, Highlands lead had been reduced and Ridgeview's 800 runner (Lewis) was getting the baton. In one lap he caught the Highland runner and took the lead. By the time Baker (Ridgeview Jr) got the baton the race was over and they had a huge lead.
RHS 8.23 HHS 8.38 FHS 8.45 BHS 8.50 GARCES 9.04
- Throws and Hurdles - In the throws, Frontier's Matt Darr dominated both events as did he schoolmate
Taylor Jackson in the hurdles.
- VG 1600 - The girl's 1600 was won by Garce's Monica Guzman who took the lead on lap one and stayed
there. Lynch (Ridgeview) was second followed by Foothill's Natalie Fernandez.
GARCES 5.40.2 RHS 547.5 FHS 5.48.1 EBHS 5.51.3 RHS 5.55.8
- FSB 1600 - Stockdale's Stephen Burke took the lead on the first lap of the frosh/soph 1600 and kept it. A
East high runner took second and was followed by Stockdale's Curtis Kelley.
STK 4.48.8 EBHS 4.50.5 STK 4.50.9 CHS 4.51.29 EBHS 4.59.2
- VB 1600 - The gun went off and Schwartz (Foothill Sr) started his time trial and the others began their race for
second. He went under 4:25 and twenty seconds behind him was a pretty good race for second with a half a dozen runners within 5 seconds of each other. North High's Joe Cleavenger lead a large pack through the first 400 behind Chris. At the 800, there was a pack of over ten athletes. The pack included Cleavenger, Highland's Van Zandt and Lewis, Bakersfield' Holt and Edquist, Solis of Ridgeview and Whitaker from Centennial. At the 1200, Van Zandt, Holt and Lewis took the lead of a pack of seven athletes. Then Schwartz Won with no one in sight except for the three athletes that he lapped. Down the homestretch Jake Van Zandt took the lead and was followed by Cleavenger, Colin Lewis, and Zach Holt.
FHS 4.25.8 HHS 4.47.4 NHS 4.47.4 HHS 449.6 BHS 4.49.7
- VG 4 x 100 - Was won by the Bakersfield Drillers whose team was Vanessa Hairston, Keirra white, Asha
Brown and Brushay Wandick.
BHS 50.54 LHS 52.33 FRHS 53.37 WHS 53.43 GARCES 53.73
- VB 4 x 100 - Was won by Ridgeview who featured Corey Hobbs and Liberty transfer Isiah Purvis.
1. Robertson, Hobbs, Williams, Purvis, 43.30 RHS 43.30 CHS 44.03 LHS 44.40 STK 44.67 GARCES 44.93
- VG 3200 - The three time was the charm for Ridgeview's Lynch. She was nipped at the tape in the 4 x 800,
came in second in the 1600 but took the win in the 3200. She was followed by Guzman (Garces), Fernandez (Foothill), her teammate and Nicole Berry of Highland.
RHS 12.29 GARCES 12.37.6 FHS 12.41.1 RHS 12.59.7 HHS 13.17.6
- VG 4 x 200 - The same Lady Drillers squad also won the 4 x 200 in what I was told was a meet record time.
BHS 1.47.4 WHS 1.54.9 GARCES 1.55.9 RHS 1.57.1 CHS 1.59.7
- VB 4 x 200 - Was won by Ridgeview.
1. Hobbs, Purvis, Carter, Robertson, 1:31.2 RHS 1.31.3 CHS 1.31.3 BHS 1.32.8 LHS 1.33.9 TEHAC 1.34.3
- VB 3200 - Schwartz went off by himself again and won easily. Robby Baker and Alex Garcia of Ridgeview ran
by themselves too. Robby just missed going sub ten for the 3200. The Drillers Ariey, Holt and Edquist took 4th, 5th and 6th and would have easily won the team race if the event was scored like it was in the past by the average for three runners. This year it was announced early in the meet that it was a team race but then it was changed back into an individual race because the meet schedule showed it as such. I wish they would make it a team event again, though I doubt anyone will ever beat the 9:38 average that Shafter achieved in the late 70's.
FHS 9.39.2 RHS 10.02.3 RHS 10.21.3 BHS 10.30.9 BHS 10.43.9
- VG 4 x 400 - Was won by Bakersfield High in 4:23 by Hairston, McDonald, Baker and White.
BHS 4.23.9 FRHS 4.25.5 CHS 4.32.4 RHS 4.35.3 INDEP 4.36.8
- VB 4 x 400 - Was won by Ridgeview.
1. Singh, Hobbs, Lewis, Purvis, 3:28.9 RHS 3.28.8 LHS 3.30.2 CHS 3.32.4 WHS 3.37.3 TEHAC 3.7.5
- VB Triple Jump - Defending state champ Johnny Carter wins. Charlie Morales of Bakersfield came in 3rd.
VRB Open 110 15.96 WASCO 15.96 RHS 16.38 SHS 17.11 TEH 17.12 BHS 17.12
RHS 45'2 SHS 38'5 BHS 38'3 LHS 34'10.5 FRHS 34'8.5
- VRB High Jump - Was a tie between Garce's McCullom and a West athlete.
GARCES 6'2 WHS 6'2 BHS 5'10 WHS 5'10 CHS 5'8
- VRB Shot - Matt Darr won by over 3 yards. Bakersfield's Moore came in 5th.
FRHS 57'3 HHS 46'11 CHS 45'3.5 DELANO 43'9.75 BHS 43'1.25
- VRB Long Jump - Watkins of South won over Ridgeview's Carter.
SHS 21'3.5 RHS 21'1 STK 20'4.5 CHS 20'3 STK 19'4.5
- VRB Discus - Matt Darr of Frontier wins by almost ten yards! Driller Moore comes in fourth.
FRHS 179'6 HHS 139'9 LHS 136' BHS 133'3 DELANO 128'8
- VRB Pole Vault - LHS 10' LHS 9' FHS 7'6
- VRB Open 110 hurdles - Singh of Ridgeview won his heat but came in second. Charlie Morales of
Bakersfield came in 5th. To bad this race was run in heats because 3rd through 5th are so close.
WASCO 15.96 RHS 16.38 SHS 17.11 TEH 17.12 BHS 17.12
- VRB Open 300 hurdles - Singh of Ridgeview won.
RHS 42.23 WASCO 43.09 STK 43.12 RHS 43.19 SHS 43.43
- Girls Long Jump - Alexander of Centennial won.
CHS 17' STK 16'5.5 HHS 14'11 RHS 14'1.5 FRHS 14'5.5
- VRG Open 100 hurdles - 2008 state qualifier Taylor Jackson of Frontier blew away the field. McDonald of
Bakersfield won her heat but came in 3rd overall.
FRHS 14.9 LHS 16.5 BHS 16.7 STK 17.4 NHS 18.1
- Girls Pole Vault - STK 8' NHS 8' LHS 8' LHS 7'6 CHS 7'6
- Girls High jump - WHS 4'8 TEHAC 4'6 FRHS 4'6 TEHAC 4'6 WHS 4'4
- Girls Shot - FHS 33'3.75 NHS 32'1.5 WHS 31'.75 FHS 30'2.75 NHS 28'6.25
- VRG Open 300 - Was won by 2008 state qualifier Taylor Jackson of Frontier and Bakersfield's McDonald
came in second.
FRHS 47.86 BHS 49.87 LHS 51.18 STK 51.76 FRHS 52.91
- Girls Triple Jump - 2008 state qualifier and Washington State bound Alana Alexander of Centennial won by
a yard.
CHS 33'11 FRHS 30'6 GARCES 29'2.5 DELANO 28'1 TEHAC 27'9.5
- Girls Discus - Stockdale sophmore Alex Collatz won by almost 20 yards.
STK 159'5.5 CHS 101'1 WHS 96'5 DELANO 94'9.5 FHS 87'
- FSB HIGH JUMP - MMHS 5'10 MMHS 5'8 MMHS 5'8 INDEP 5'8 WHS 5'8
- FSB 4x800 - WASCO 9.09.3 HHS 9.29.0 RHS 9.31.8 STK 9.43.0 LHS 9.43.3
- FSB Pole Vault - CHS 10' LHS 9'6 FHS 9'6 CHS 8' FHS 8'
- FSB Discus - FRHS 122'7.5 FHS 108'5 WASCO 107'6 LHS 103'5 DELANO 98'6
- FSB Triple Jump - RHS 37'1.5 INDEP 36'8.5 TEHAC 35'8 LHS 35'0 DELANO 34'10
- FSB Open 110 - STK 18.52 WHS 19.43 FRHS 20.38 MMHS 20.46 DELANO 20.53
- FSB 1600 Run - STK 4.48.8 EBHS 4.50.5 STK 4.50.9 CHS 4.51.29 EBHS
4.59.2
- FSB Long Jump - INDEP 19' STK 18'7.5 RHS 18'.5 STK 17'10.5 WHS 17'5
- FSB Open 300 - CHS 42.4 STK 44.54 FRHS 20.38 WHS 47.76 STK 48.31
- FSB 400 Relay - RHS 45.96 CHS 46.28 STK 46.63 WASCO 47.09 INDEP 47.14
- FSB 800 Relay - CHS 1.37.3 STK 1.37.7 FRHS 1.38.5 WASCO 47.09 DELANO
1.39.3
- FSB Shot - GARCES 43'8.75 CHS 43'4.75 WASCO 43'1 FRHS 41'6 HHS 40'8
- FSB 1600 Relay - CHS 3.42.8 STK 3.43.6 FRHS 3.52.6 DELANO 3.53.9 MMHS 4.00.4
Live Updates Via Twitter HERE.
Meet Preview:
- This meet is always the kickoff meet to a new track & field season in
Bakersfield. Long ago this meet was one of the meets of the year but now it is a shadow of its former self. I ran it back in the early 80s and remember all kinds of relays and medleys that are no longer contested.
- Back in the day, this was truly a relay meet. In fact, even the field events were
a 3 man competition. They averaged the best three marks to determine which school won. But it, the medleys and hurdle relays are no more
- The distance races (1600 and 3200) were team events too. The 1600 record
was a 4:17 average by three athletes from Arroyo Grande in 1994. The 3200 record was a 9:38 average by three athletes from Shafter in 1977.
- The relays that are contested now are the 4 x 100, 4 x 200, 4 x 400 and 4 x
800 (new this year). The individual running events are the 1600, 3200 and the hurdles. All the field events are contested as well. There are three divisions: varsity boys, varsity girls and frosh/soph boys.
- At this event, there are limited spots available to compete especially in the
running events. There is not any 100, 200, 400 or 800. In the past, they have not limited the number of field athletes, so one should consider trying one of the field events if you want to compete at this meet.
Scoring for Relays:
- 10 pts
- 8 pts
- 6 pts
- 4 pts
- 2 pts
Scoring for Open Events:
- 5 pts
- 4 pts
- 3 pts
- 2 pts
- 1pt
Awards:
- Sweepstakes Award for the school with the highest point total for of all the
divisions combined.
- First place plaque for Varsity Boys, Varsity Girls and Frosh/Soph Boys
Champions.
- Medals for first three in relays and open events.
Last year's team results:
- The Centennial girls won by half a point over Bakersfield (36.5 to 36). This year, the Drillers entire squad
returns and most of the Golden Hawk point scorers graduated with the exception of Alana Alexander.
- On the varsity boys side, Bakersfield dominated the relays for a 46 to 29 win over second place Hanford
West. Stockdale and West tied for third with 24 points.
- Frontier and Stockdale tied for the frosh/soph boys title. Bakersfield came in third.
- Bakersfield won the Sweepstakes award.
This year is not only the Golden Anniversary of the East Bakersfield Relays track and field meet, it is the first meet of the year for several former state gold medalist and many potential new ones. The action starts on Saturday, March 7th at 9 am at Bakersfield College's Memorial Stadium.
The first track event will be the 4 x 800 which is a new event for the E.B. Relays. This race is a long hoped for event for fans of distance running and on the boy's side, it should be a great race. Highland, Bakersfield, Ridgeview, Stockdale, Wasco and Shafter all had strong cross country teams last fall and should have four athletes that can run a fast time for two laps of the 400 meter oval. The "X" factor maybe the school who unearthed an athlete or two from another sport who can out run his cross country foes.
When speaking of distance running in Kern County, there is one name at the tip of everyone's tongue, "Schwartz". Chris Schwartz has not only been dominating local high schoolers, he has been dominating just about everyone in the state. In the fall of 2007, he won the division one (the large school division) state cross country meet and was one of 40 athletes to qualify for the Foot Locker National Championships. He was also named the "Junior Class Runner of the Year" by DyeStatCal.Com in 2007.
In 2008, Schwartz broke nine minutes in the 3200 at the state meet and came in second to German Fernandez, who shattered a decades old mark in the event. Then in the fall, Chris faltered at the state meet (placed 7th) but bounced back the following week and won the Foot Locker Western Regionals and then came in 8th at the Foot locker Nationals.
According to his coach, Chris will not be running many meets this season so that he can prepare for state meet and beyond. But he is suppose to run at the EB Relays where he is the defending 1600 and 3200 champ. Which events he runs has not been determined but he might even be in the 4 x 800 with his teammates.
Teamwork is the main focus of the EB Relays and except for the hurdles, 1600 and 3200, the rest of the running events are relays. Besides the aforementioned 4 x800, there is the 4 x 100, 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 which will be contested by frosh/soph boys, varsity boys and varsity girls.
In the track events, there will be many outstanding athletes running as a member of a team but in the field events, athletes will really shine because it is not a team competition. In the field events two gold medalists will be competing. Shafter senior Ana Jelmini won the shot and discus at the 2008 state track & field meet and Ridgeview sophomore Johnny Carter won gold in the triple jump as a freshman last year.
So come see these golden athletes at the gold anniversary of this local start of the high school track & field season. Who knows what future stars will make they mark at this event.
The track events start at 9:15 am:
- 9:15 am - F/S boys 4 x 800 - If Stockdale does not move their youngsters to varsity, they should be tough
especially with freshman Curtis Kelly on the squad with Blair Slanton.
- 9:30 am - Girls 4 x 800 - The Rigeview girl's looked super tough at the Lee Adams Open and almost beat
CSUB's DMR team. Locally, the 800 is not very deep but look for quite a few cross country runners giving the 2 lapper a shot. Some top individual 800 runners who should help out their teams are Sarah Baker (SEYL champ in the 800 in 2008) of Bakersfield, Tijerra Lynch of Ridgeview and Sarah McAtee.
- 9:45 am - Boys 4 x 800 - Highland, Bakersfield, Ridgeview, Stockdale, Wasco and Shafter all had
strong cross country teams last fall and should have four athletes that can run a fast time for two laps of the 400 meter oval. Some expected top individuals in this event are Jake Van Zandt (Highland Jr), Alex Clayton (Bakersfield Sr), Westin Hill (Liberty Jr), and Ridgeview's Jerrid Lewis.
- 10 am - Girls 100m Hurdles - 2008 State qualifier Taylor Jackson should take this event with Alana
Alexander (Centennial Sr) and Shinead McDonald (Bakersfield Sr) battling it out for second.
- 10:20 am - F/S boys 110m hurdles
- 10:35 am - Boys 110m hurdles - In year's past their has been one dominate athlete in this event but this
year the field is wide open.
- 10:50 am - Girls 1600 - Is an event that is dominated by soccer players who just finished their season and
have not been doing much track training and maybe sitting out this event and/or meet. Lynch of Ridgeview, ran some great 1600s at Lee Adams and will be challenged by Monica Guzman (Garces), Sarah Baker (Bakersfield So), Elizabeth Wittenberg (Shafter Sr) and Natalie Fernandez (Foothill So). Girl's distance runners often have a few freshman surprises too.
- 11:05 am - F/S boys 1600 - Look for Curtis Kelly (Stockdale Fr) to be out in front.
- 11:20 am - Boys 1600 - Chris Schwartz's pr is almost 20 seconds faster then anyone else locally. Look for
Colin Lewis (Highland Jr), Zach Holt (Bakersfield Sr), Robby Baker (Ridgeview Jr), Brian Solis (Ridgeview Jr) and others to close the gap between them and Schwartz.
- 11:35 am - Girls 300m hurdles - See 100m hurdles preview.
- 11:50 am - F/S 300m hurdles
- 12:05 pm - Boys 300 hurdles - See 100 hurdles preview.
- 12:20 pm - Girls 400 Relay - Traditionally this is a race between Bakersfield and Stockdale and will be that
again. Bakersfield's entire 2008 squad returns and is lead by Brushay Wandick. Two of Stockdale's top sprinters are now running for Edison in Fresno.
- 12:30 pm - F/S boys 400 relay
- 12:40 pm - Boys 400 relay - Bakersfield qualified for state last year and three of the athletes from that team
are returning. Ridgeview has a good team that ran well at the Lee Adams Open.
- 12:50 pm - Girls 3200 - See 1600 preview.
- 1:15 pm - F/S boys 4 x 200
- 1:25 pm - Girls 4 x 200 - See 400 relay preview.
- 1:35 pm - Boys 4 x 200 - Should be a good one between Ridgeview and Bakersfield again. Ridgeview has
Isiah Purvis now and he went to state last year in numerous long sprint events for Liberty.
- 1:45 pm - Boys 3200 - Besides the usual suspects mentioned in the 1600 preview, Bakersfield's Andrew
Ariey will be in the mix for the second spot and looking for his first sub ten performance if conditions permit.
- 2:10 pm - F/S boys 1600 relay
- 2:25 pm - Girls 1600 relay - Early season girl's 4 x 400s are always unpredictable, due to athletes playing
winter sports. Usually Bakersfield, Stockdale, Centennial and Liberty have good squads.
- 2:40 pm - Boys 1600 relay - With the acquisition of Purvis, Ridgeview looks like the team to beat. But
Bakersfield, Centennial, Stockdale and Liberty always have good teams.
The field events that start at 9 am are:
- FSB high jump
- Girls long jump - Look for Bakersfield's Marlise Williams and Alana Alexander (Centennial Sr)
- FSB pole vault
- VRB shot - Matt Darr (Frontier) threw some huge early season throws already.
- FSB discus
- FSB triple jump
The field events that start at 10:30 am are:
- Girls pole vault - Amanda Klinchuch (Liberty) is a top ranked vaulter in the state.
- FSB long jump
- Girls high jump
- VRB long jump
The field events that start at 11 am are:
- VRB discus - Matt Darr (Frontier) threw some huge early season throws already. Darien Moore (Bakersfield)
took second at last week's Clovis meet and looks to break 150 feet soon
- Girls shot - Anna Jelmini is the defending state champ in this event. Also look out for Alicia Torres
(Bakersfield Fr) to continue the Driller tradition in the throws.
The field events that start at 12 pm are:
- VRB pole vault
- Girls triple jump - Come see state qualifier Alana Alexander (Centennial Sr) and SEYL Marlise Williams
(Bakersfield Sr)
- VRB triple jump - Come see 2008 state champ Johnny Carter.
- VRB high jump
The field events that start at 1 pm are:
- FSB shot
- Girls discus - Last year Stockdale freshman Alex Collatz made a huge splash on the high school scene and
this year her and nation leading Anna Jelmini (Shafter Sr) should be at it again.
Featured Athletes:
- This was the first meet that freshman Alex Collatz (Stockdale) threw at as a high schooler and her 152'8 toss
was the furtherest any freshman has thrown in a decade. See complete story HERE. Alex's dad is the track and field coach at CSU Bakersfield and she is a pretty good triple jumper too. I hear this season she may add the high jump to her repertoire. She also plays club volleyball too.
- As amazing as Alex's debut was, she only took second place because Shafter has the best thrower in the
country. Ana Jelmini (12) recently signed to throw at Arizona State and is the defending state champ in both throwing events. So get out of the stands and head over to the discus field to see two of the best throwers in the country.
- Of course, the track will have some major talent on it too. In the distances, former state cross country champ
and runner up in the 3200 is expected to compete. Chris Schwartz (12) went sub nine in the 3200 and sub 4: 20 in the 1600. This year i expect him to go sub 4:10 and who knows what in the 3200. I remember the 2007 EB invite, where Chris went sub 60 for the first 400 and 2:08 at half on the way to an easy victory in the 1600. Who knows what he will do this year.
- Speaking of distance running, a welcomed addition to the schedule is the 4 x 800. The varsity boys race
should be a good one, Highland, Bakersfield, Ridgeview, Stockdale (if they run their youngsters varsity), Wasco and Shafter could all make this a very competitive race.
- In the boy's high jump, Isiah Griggs (Bakersfield 11') and Garce's Phillip McCullom should continue the rivalry.
So far Griggs has had the upper hand by winning league and qualifying for the state meet last year. This year Phillip has started his season early with good jumps at the MLK indoor meet and a 6'6 jump at the Lee Adams Open. His 6'6 ties Isiah's best. Of course, Isiah has not been sitting around, he has been playing hoops for the Drillers and their season just ended. Interestingly, DyeStatCal put Phillip on their all state team and left Isiah off it. Even though Isiah is the second best returning junior in the state.
- In the triple jump, Johnny Carter (Ridgeview 10th) was the state champ in 2008 and is ranked nationally too.
On the girl's side, Alana Alexander (Centennial Sr) competed at state in both horizontal jumps in 2008. She recently signed to compete at Washington State next year.
- Alana also hurdles, but will have stiff competition from Taylor Jackson (Frontier Jr) who ran at state in both
events last year. Bakersfield's Shinead McDonald won SEYL titles in both events in her first year of hurdling in 2008 and is raring to go. Especially since she has been playing hoops for the Drillers and their season just ended.
- Another Lady Driller basketball player that is really looking forward to her last season of high school track is
Brushay Wandick. She ran the 200 at state last year and plans on returning this year as an individual and as a member of a relay team too. EB will be her first outdoor meet of the year and her and her teammates should do well in the relays.
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