Numerous locals qualify for CIF finals

GLENDALE — After surviving their respective league finals, a slew of local track and field high school athletes traveled to Orange and Santa Barbara counties to take part in the CIF Southern Section prelims on Saturday.

Several made the cut to move on to the CIF Finals, which will be held Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Division I at Trabuco Hills High — Three members from the Crescenta Valley High girls’ squad got through the prelims. Distance runner Cali King clocked 5 minutes 8.72 seconds in the 1,600. Claudia Pham had a personal-best mark of 11:14.69 in the 3,200. Senior Melanie Samvalian had a personal-best mark of 38 feet 3 1/2 inches in the shot put.

“I’m happy with the way they competed,” veteran Crescenta Valley Coach Mark Evans said. “It’s a great experience, even for those who didn’t qualify.”

Division III at Estancia High — No Hoover athletes advanced to the finals.

Division IV at Carpinteria High — Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Flintridge Prep had several athletes march on to the finals.

Flintridge Prep had three athletes advance. They were Jason Bunn, Dot Silverman and Brooke Elby.

Bunn clocked 10:07.46 to place ninth in the 3,200. Silverman won her heat in 5:20.36 in the 1,600 and finished third overall. Elby finished ninth in the 300 low hurdles in 47.97.

“I’m pleased with who we have moving on,” Flintridge Prep first-year Coach Nick Ponticello said. “It’s two more than we had last year and they performed very well.”

Sacred Heart, under Coach Eddie Gorton, had three individuals and one relay team advance.

Paulina Antaplyan, a sophomore, finished ninth in the 1,600 in 5:15.66. She then came back to take eighth in the 3,200 in 11:26.79.

Sophomore Drew Washington finished eighth in the 400 in 58.98.

Flintridge Sacred Heart’s 4x400 relay team of Hailey James, Daelyn Moon, Washington and Noelle Niederhaus finished sixth in 4:06.95.

“I’m happy with the results and a lot of them got better late in the season,” Gorton said. “We want to get better for Cerritos.”