A dream years in the making.
For 10 San Joaquin County girls, it became reality Saturday, May 23, at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters finals at Folsom High School.
Each punched a ticket to the 106th CIF State Track and Field Championships.
Not everyone celebrating a top-three finish got to go, however, as one athlete was left out after a tiebreaker. Only one San Joaquin County girl left with a Masters title.
So who’s headed to Buchanan? Who won? And how did they do it?
Here are the girls state qualifiers from the SJS Masters finals.
Champion
Long Jump — Jordyn Bernard, Kimball, 19-00.25
Some athletes find one lane. Jordyn Bernard seems to collect them. The Kimball sophomore contributes in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4×100 relay and 4×400 relay, but the long jump keeps standing above the rest. After winning both the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Championships trials and the Sac-Joaquin Section Finals/Masters trials, Bernard followed it with a personal best — a reminder that her ceiling may still be far off.
Runner-Up
100m — Ella Choeun, Bear Creek, 12.00
The signs were already there. After never previously running 11.85 or faster, Ella Choeun entered in top form after doing exactly that in each of her previous three races, including a first-place personal-best 11.83 at the SJAA League Championships, an 11.85 runner-up finish at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Championships trials, and a personal-best-tying 11.83 at the Sac-Joaquin Section Finals/Masters trials.
200m — Ella Choeun, Bear Creek, 24.27
Need more proof Ella Choeun was building toward this? Look at the 200 meters. Before this surge, the Bear Creek senior had broken 25 seconds just once in her career. Then came four straight sub-25 performances — a first-place personal-best 24.02 at the SJAA League Championships, a winning 24.41 at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Championships trials, and a 24.25 runner-up finish at the Sac-Joaquin Section Finals/Masters trials.
400m — Mya Johnson, Lincoln, 54.40
What exactly is the ceiling for Mya Johnson? The Lincoln freshman entered after winning nine of her previous 10 400-meter races, then uncorked a personal best. She may not have won this one, but if this is the beginning, that’s a scary thought for the rest of the field.
800m — Tyleah Badea, Sierra, 2:12.62
Need a label for Tyleah Badea? Start with record-breaker. The Sierra junior punched her ticket back to the state championships in the 800 meters for the second straight year while rewriting the school record books with the fastest mark since Sierra opened in 1994.
Shot Put — Natalie Powell, Oakdale, 39-10.25
Nine straight wins. Zero second-place finishes. Yes, Natalie Powell had a pretty good run going. But the real story? The growth. One year after just a single first-place finish and a sixth-place result at this very meet, the Oakdale junior is headed to state.
Discus — Raniya Nelson, Manteca, 146-03
Talk about making an entrance. Raniya Nelson stepped into the ring and, on her very first throw, shattered Manteca’s school discus record — no small feat for a school that opened in 1920. The mark blew past the personal best she had set just 10 days earlier with a 143-6 at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Championships trials. And somehow, Nelson still felt there was more left.
High Jump — Fekei George, St. Mary’s, 5-06.00
Not one. Not two. Try three. Fekei George is headed back to the CIF State Track and Field Championships for the third time, adding a second Masters title to a career that keeps getting better. The wild part? The St. Mary’s senior never even did the high jump before high school. Fast forward to now: 28 outdoor high jump wins, the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top mark this season at 5-8, and Division I programs like Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis and San Jose State already in pursuit. Her height was tied for first, but one extra miss at a lower height left her officially second.
Third Place
Shot Put — Syerra Cerrato, Bear Creek, 37-08.25
A little more than two feet kept Syerra Cerrato from pulling off a two-event breakthrough. Still, the Bear Creek standout made sure the shot put took care of business. The surprising part? This was her lowest mark in the previous seven meets. Even without reaching the 41-4 personal best she set last year, Cerrato’s senior season remained packed with consistency, including nine victories and strong postseason finishes.
High Jump — Clara Schoolland, Ripon, 5-05.00
One day, Clara Schoolland signed to continue her track and field career at Concordia University. The next, she was back doing what she does best. The Ripon senior tied for third, matched her personal best and punched her ticket back to state after missing out a year ago, returning for the first time since qualifying as a sophomore.
High Jump — Mya Everett, Sierra, 5-05.00
At first glance, the ending might look disappointing. Look closer, and the story changes. Mya Everett took up high jump for fun, then became Sierra’s school record-holder while tying Clara Schoolland for the next-best mark after two athletes tied for first. One extra miss at a lower height was all that separated Everett from state. For a basketball-first athlete in her first year doing the event, that’s still a remarkable accomplishment.
Triple Jump — Tatiana Moses, Weston Ranch, 37-03.75
Talk about a memorable 24-hour stretch. One day, Tatiana Moses signed with Northern Arizona University. The next, the Weston Ranch standout qualified for her first CIF State Track and Field Championships. And honestly? It fit the season. Moses broke the school triple jump record with a 38-4 earlier this year at the 2nd Annual Dave Soeth Invitational, stacked 11 wins, had just one second-place finish, and this marked only her second time finishing third.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Meet San Joaquin County’s 10 CIF State girls track qualifiers
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
