Derek Luna was concerned he wasn’t going to qualify for sectionals.
Instead, the Rio Mesa High junior broke a 50-year-old league record at the Channel League Track and Field Championships on Thursday, April 30, at Oxnard High’s Houser Stadium.
Luna raced to the league title in the boys 3,200 meters in 9 minutes, 10.91 seconds, bettering the league record set by George Aguirre of Santa Barbara in 1976 by nearly four seconds.
“I was afraid I wasn’t going to meet the standard,” Luna said. “So I started pushing the last three laps.”
Luna, who also finished second to Dos Pueblos’ Owen Abbott in the 1,600 meters in 4:14.77, finished nearly nine seconds ahead of second place.
“I was surprised,” Luna said. “I didn’t think I was going to perform well.”
With Ventura settled as the boys and girls team champions after the dual meet campaign, the athletes were focused on qualifying for next weekend’s CIF-Southern Section prelims.
Six days after defending her county championship, Oxnard’s Halena Marin set another personal best in winning the girls 400 meters in 57.98 seconds.
“I’m addicted to success,” Marin said. “I want to push my limits to see the type of athlete I can become.”
Pacifica swept the boys jumps.
Freshman Bryshon McGee needed just one attempt at 6 feet, 6 inches to win the high jump. Douglas King took the triple jump at 44-9. Julian Fuentes won the long jump at 22-1.75.
“I just wanted to prove a point,” Fuentes said.
Pacifica’s Malachi Gholston won the boys 100 meters in 11.04, just .03 shy of his target.
“My mentality was to run it through … and then go celebrate,” Gholston said. “But I didn’t get it, so right now I’m a little bummed.”
Ventura’s Madeline Abbott won the girls 400 in 2:20.51.
“I gave it my all,” Abbott said. “I’m just happy that I was mentally able to battle through.”
Oxnard’s Mariah Tutt won the girls 200 meters in 25.16 and finished second in the 100 in 12.32.
“Hopefully next week I can break 25,” Tutt said.
Rio Mesa’s Saniya Holloway won the 100 meters in 12.11 and finished second in the 200 in 25.64. She also won the long jump in 17-3.
Boys
Rio Mesa’s Jodey Conyers won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.15 and was second to San Marcos’ Logan Patterson Deakyne in the 300-meter hurdles in 40.18.
Ventura’s Evan Kellner won the discus at 155-9 and Oxnard’s Alder Kubic won the pole vault at 13-10.
Buena’s Josiah Perez, Kavin Swainston, Jaxon Roberts and Ryland Armenta won the 4×100-meter relay in 43.51 seconds.
Buena’s Kavin Swainston was third in the 200 meters, behind champion Kellan Cotter of Dos Pueblos, in 22.70. Buena’s Josiah Perez was second to Dos Pueblos’ Kellan Cotter in the 400 meters in 51.13.
Ventura’s Blake Harris was second to Dos Pueblos’ Cullen Gully in the 800 meters in 1:57.72.
Oxnard’s Ethan Cornejo finished second behind Santa Barbara’s Malachi Johnson in the shot put at 46-1.25.
Ventura’s Myles Russell, Brandon Fischer, Blake Harris and Daniel Skall finished third, behind champion Dos Pueblos, in the 4×400-meter relay in 3:27.04.
Oxnard’s Jacob Thomas, Julien Zubiate, Abraham Lopez and Christopher Prado finished second to Santa Barbara in the 4×800 relay in 8:55.38.
Girls
Ventura’s Sophie Nuckols won the 1,600 meters in 5:16.64 and teammate Emerson McMeekin won the 3,200 in 11:10.51.
Ventura’s Amani King won the shot put at 34-10.75 and teammate Shaylee Torres won the pole vault at 11-0.
Ventura’s Grace Baysinger, Nuckols, Jordyn Ward and Abbott won the 4×400-meter relay in 4:04.81. Ventura’s Avery Hale, Jordyn Ward, Oakley Moran and Vail Newman finished second to Dos Pueblos in the 4×100-meter relay in 50.53.
Rio Mesa’s Nayeli Alfaro, Livvy Bautista, Aurora Arellano and Olivia Weinerth won the 4×800-meter relay in 10:05.70.
Ventura’s Moran was second to Santa Barbara’s Elina Stump in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.81 seconds and the 300-meter hurdles in 48.54.
Ventura’s Amani King finished second to Dos Pueblos’ Luna Gnagy in the high jump at 5-0.
Ventura’s Anastasia Dominguez was third behind champion Alix Hollingsworth of Dos Pueblos in the discus at 102-7.
Oxnard’s Sofia Beltran finished fourth in the triple jump, behind champion Stump, at 32-11.25.
Buena’s Rocio Rosy Trujillo won the wheelchair discus at 42-5 and the wheelchair shot put at 15-8.5.
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Rio Mesa’s Luna shatters 50-year-old Channel League track record
Reporting by Joe Curley, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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