It seems like no hurdles can stop Lucas Schneider.
After missing the first half of the track and field season because of an injury, the Thousand Oaks High senior is rounding into the form that led him to the fastest boys 300-meter time in Ventura County in 2025.
At Saturday’s CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Preliminaries at Yorba Linda High, Schneider had the fastest time for the boys 300-meter hurdles (38.38 seconds) and sixth for the 110-meter hurdles (14.65).
Schneider will defending his Division 3 section final next Saturday at Moorpark High.
Last spring, Schneider was placed third at the section’s Masters Meet. At the state final, Schneider’s blistering 36.94 earned him third place.
Among other top performances at the preliminaries:
Davis Benson of Moorpark had the best qualifying marks for the Division 3 boys 110 hurdles with a school record 14.11 and long jump (22 feet, 3.50 inches) and tied for first with teammate Dean Guzman in the high jump (6-0).
Both county co-record holders of the boys 100 — Demare Dezeurn of Westlake and Jaden Griffin of Newbury Park — advanced with times of 10.45 and 10.46, respectively, at the Division 2 meet at Ontario.
Before transferring to Westlake, Dezeurn won Division 4 titles for Bishop Alemany in 2024 and 2025.
Led by Calabasas, area teams advanced five or more athletes in three girls events.
Calabasas filled the top four spots for the 100: 1. Olivia Kirk, 11.62; 2. Marley Scoggins, 11.65; 3. Malia Rainey, 11.65, and 4, Devyn Sproles, 11.84. Also qualifying was Gianna Gonzales of Moorpark in 12.02.
Kirk (23.73), Rainey (23.78), Sproles (23.92), Scoggins (23.95), Moorpark’s Camilla Peltonen (23.94) and Oaks Christian’s Savannah Williams (24.37) reached the 200 finals.
Peltonen’s time moves her to No. 6 on the all-time county performance list for the 200. She also placed third in the 400 (55.78).
Defending Division 2 champion Taya Frodis and teammate Charlie Curtis of Thousand Oaks qualified for the girls pole vault with Shaylee Torres, Kai Laber and Branna Burke of Ventura, Taya Frodis (10-9) and Charlie Curtis (10-3) of Thousand Oaks plus Newbury Park’s Kaia Duben.
Gianna Gonzalez of Moorpark set personal and school records in the Division 3 girls long jump (19-1.50) to qualify for the finals.
Division 1
County boys triple jump leader Douglas King of Pacifica qualified fourth (45-11.25).
Pacifica freshman Bryshon McGee tied for first (6-4).
Easton Bell of Camarillo placed fifth at the boys 110 hurdles (15.11). Camarillo advanced two girls and a boys relay team. Lacie Moody won her flight of the long jump (16-11), while Nieve Oliver was 9th in the high jump (5-2). In the boys 4×400 relay, Camarillo placed eighth (3:21.24).
Division 2
Three Ventura County girls advanced in the 800: 2. Sophia Grant, Newbury Park, 2:15.64; 6. Madison Boucher, Royal, 2:17.83, and 7. Laura Patterson, Thousand Oaks, 2:18.21.
Thousand Oaks had the second-fastest time for the girls 4×100 relay (47.02)
Saniya Holloway of Rio Mesa placed sixth in the 100 (12.20).
Anais Cruz of Westlake placed fourth in the 3,200 (10:51.36) with sister Sabrina (10:54.64) and Ventura’s Emerson McMeekin (10:59.91).
Sadie Harbour of Thousand Oaks tied for seventh at the high jump prelim (5-1). Teammate Jordyn Brown was third in the long jump (17-11).
Newbury Park (9:38.98) and Ventura (9:40.48) placed at the D2 girls 4×800 relay to qualify for the finals.
Emily Peterson of Simi Valley placed third in the triple jump (36-0).
Rio Mesa’s Derek Luna advanced in the boys 1,600 (4:13.88) and 3,200 (9:13.88). Teammate Jody Conyers of Rio Mesa was eighth in the 300 hurdles (39.21).
Christopher Toppe of Thousand Oaks place fourth in the long jump (21-11.5).
Other Lancers advancing included: Landon Schwanauer, who tied for first in pole vault (13-3 and Caleb Romeo, who was sixth in the 400 prelim (48.49).
Blake Harris of Ventura placed fourth in the 800 (1:55.95).
Jayden Gills of Newbury Park placed second in the triple jump (44-7.50). Henry Oesterle of Ventura was eighth (42-5.50).
Westlake (7:58.28), Newbury Park (7:59.54), Ventura (7:59.54) and Rio Mesa (8:06.13) placed at the 4×800 relay to qualify for the finals.
Thousand Oaks (3:16.25) and Newbury Park (3:16.70) had the two-fastest times in the boys 4×400 relay.
Division 3
Delaney Napierala of Oaks Christian placed second in the girls 3,200 prelim (10:58.63) at Yorba Linda. Reese Tamburro of Agoura was eighth (11:05.27).
In the 1,600, Napierala (4:57.42) and Oak Park freshman Kathleen Lambe (5:00.06) had the second and third-fastest qualifying times. Christina Smith (5:02.08) of Oaks Christian is the first alternate.
Moorpark had the second-fastest time in the 4×400 (3:54.34). Also advancing were Oaks Christian (3:58.35) and Oak Park (4:05.84).
Oak Park (9:55.49) and Oaks Christian (10:17.61) placed in the 4×800 relay.
Chase Kelly of Calabasas finished fifth in the 100 hurdles (15.39).
Gwenneth Mureika of Oak Park placed fourth in the high jump (5-2) to qualify for the finals.
Calabasas had the fastest qualifying time for the 4×100 relay (46.09) at the Prelims. Oak Park was 10th (49.28) will be the first alternate
Three area athletes qualified for the boys 1,600 finals. Vin Krueger (4:16.88) and Arizechkwu Nwosu (4:18.73) of Oaks Christian had the top two times. Dhruv Kulkarni of Oak Park qualified sixth (4:19.39).
Moorpark (41.73) and Agoura (42.18) won their heats in the 4×100.
Tyer Starling of Agoura was ninth in the long jump (21-4.25).
Oaks Christian (3:19.48) and Oak Park (3:22.86) had the second- and third-fastest times in the 4×400 relay. Agoura was sixth (3:20.58)
Ryan Quinn of Calabasas had the eighth-fastest time in the 400 (49.25)
Four area athletes placed at the boys 800: Vin Krueger (1:53.45) and Arizechkwu Nwosu (1:54.67) of Oaks Christian, Moorpark’s Elijah Luekenga (1:54.75) and Oak Park’s Ashton Curtis (1:56.74).
Kingston Celifie of Calabasas placed second in the 100 prelims (10.55).
Jalen Aguilar-Carnes of Moorpark placed eighth in the 200 (21.30). Nevada Ford of Oak Park was 10th with a school record 21.46 and will be the first alternate.
Oak Park was fourth in the 4×800 relay (8:03.41).
Sterling White of Oaks Christian had the No. 2 time in the 3,200 prelim (9:17.29). Also advancing were Malcom Caughey, Oak Park, 9:27.44, and Dorian Bening, Agoura, 9:27.59.
Division 4
Keera Wallace of Foothill Tech had the fastest qualifying time in the 3,200 (11:31.47) and second-fastest time (5:12.07) in the 1,600 prelims.
Bennett Rodman of Foothill Tech tied for first in the girls high jump (4-10) and sixth in the pole vault prelim (9-6).
St. Bonaventure’s April O’Neill was fourth (16-6.50) in the long jump.
Nordhoff’s Thomas Eckert qualified fourth in the boys 110 hurdles (15.59) and 300 hurdles (40.26).
Other Nordhoff boys qualifiers were Joaquin Fontan, who had the fourth-fastest time in the 400 (49.79) plus Blake Ryker and Jake Weber, who tied for third (10-6) in the pole vault.
St. Bonaventure freshman Tony Dargan was fourth in the 100 (10.78).
Silas Petty of St. Bonaventure was third in the 110 hurdles (15.59).
For Foothill Tech, Viggo Bortolin was fifth in the 1,600 (4:23.66), Elijah Spencer placed fifth in the discus (132-8) and the 4×800 relay team was fourth (8:24.16).
Thacher’s Alec DiLulo finished fourth in the 800 (1:57.59) and high jumper Rafa Kelliher qualified at 6-1).
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks hurdler Schneider thrives at CIF-SS track prelims
Reporting by Derry Eads, Special to The Star / Ventura County Star
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