Track And Field

Ginny English had a decision to make prior to her junior year at Burbank High. She had just completed her sophomore season with the Bulldog track and field team in which she set a lower-division school record in the girls' pole vault. Things looked set for her final two seasons in track, as she had her sights set on breaking the varsity pole vault mark. The only problem was English was also a member of the Burbank choir, and singing had become an important part of her life.

GLENDALE — One of the best seasons in program history for Holy Family’s track and field came to an end on Friday. Competing in the Horizon League finals at Cantwell Sacred Heart in Montebello, the Gaels did not capture any individual league titles and failed to qualify any athletes or relay teams for the CIF Southern Section prelims. But with a league team tri-title already in hand, the school’s first since 1992, Coach Robert Bringas said it was a season of great accomplishment for the Gaels nonetheless.

NORWALK — Having overachieved all year in putting together a highly competitive season that culminated in qualifying five athletes for the CIF finals, the members of the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy track and field team could have been happy just to be at the 2010 CIF Southern Section Track & Field Divisional Finals at Cerritos College on Saturday. The Tologs came to race, though, and put a fitting exclamation point on the end of a surprising campaign with a fifth-place finish by sophomores Drew Washington and Stephanie Vargas and freshmen Daelyn Moon and Noelle Niederhaus in the Division IV 4x400-yard relay to close a day that also saw sophomore standout Paulina Antaplyan close out her rookie season with two personal records and another pair of fifth-place finishes in her individual events.

Glendale Community College track and field Coach Eddie Lopez is basically conceding any thought of a team title when the Vaqueros women take to the Cerritos College track for the 2012 California Community College Track and Field Championships. "Laney [College] is going to win it, but as the other teams cancel each other out, we're going to be right there for second or third with Cerritos and Antelope Valley," Lopez said. "Every point counts. We start with the 10K, get some places there.

NORWALK — On June 2, 1979, at Sacramento’s Hughes Stadium, then Glendale High senior Lee Balkin turned in the greatest high jump performance ever to be recorded at the CIF State Track and Field Championships. Twenty-nine years later, his record-breaking leap of 7 feet, 3 1/4 inches still stands as the meet record. For his efforts, Balkin was one of four athletes honored in a special ceremony prior to the start of Saturday’s 90th version of the state championships at Cerritos College.

GLENDALE ? It took less than a year before Matt Tappin suffered his first concussion. Then 11 months old, Tappin was on his concrete driveway at his Altadena home when his Rottweiler, Fred, knocked him over while chasing a squirrel. Tappin said he hit the back of his head on the driveway, leading to his initial concussion. What Tappin, who starred in football and track and field at Flintridge Prep before moving on to Washington University in St. Louis, couldn't fathom was that he would suffer at least 10 more concussions over an 18-year stretch.

GLENDALE — Running under the newly formed Falcon Running banner that he created and that adorned the uniform he put together, recent Crescenta Valley High graduate Zack Torres ran on the grandest stage of his young life Sunday. Just a few weeks removed from competing in the CIF-State Track and Field Championships, Torres ran his first-ever 5,000-meter race and did so at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. Torres placed 12th in the 25-runner race, finishing in 15 minutes 13.22 seconds.

They are through pushing themselves through grueling practices. Now, a trio of local youth track and field athletes want to push themselves to see where they measure up against their peers from across the country. Brittany Blackwell, Josh Carlos and James Maturan will soon find out when they make their inaugural appearances in the United States Track and Field Junior Olympics, which will be held today through Sunday at Burke High in Omaha, Neb. “I’m excited and nervous,” said Blackwell, a Sun Valley resident who will attend Holy Redeemer School in Montrose in the fall.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - Though the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and St. Francis High track and field teams lost in a Mission League dual meet Thursday afternoon to Alemany at St. Francis, the Tologs and Golden Knights opted to look ahead toward the end of the regular season. Flintridge Sacred Heart is looking for its athletes to gradually reduce their times leading up to the Mission League final in early May. While St. Francis showed some signs of fatigue while taking part in their fourth league meet in as many weeks, there may be good news on the horizon for the Golden Knights in their bid to get back on track.

GLENDALE — While competing in the Mission League, track and field athletes James Knowles and Philip Kostelnik proved to be among the best in their respective events by winning league titles. They've also managed to take their talents to a new level, putting themselves on the doorstep of reaching the prestigious CIF State Track and Field Championships. Knowles and Kostelnik will experience something new when they make their inaugural appearances tonight in the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos College in Norwalk, while hoping to extend their seasons for another week into state.

WALNUT - That little extra weight on the back shoulders of Glendale High junior Michael Davis was the collective aspirations and interest of a region at the CIF Southern Section Track and Field Championships at Mt. San Antonio College on Saturday. When Davis finished second in the Division I boys' 200-meter dash in a time of 21.40 seconds, he earned advancement to Friday's Masters Meet at Cerritos College not just for himself, but for the collective La Cañada-Glendale-Burbank area, as Davis was the region's lone qualifier.

Grace Zamudio and Nohemi Martinez both held the lead for portions of the women's 10,000-meter race that kicked off the 2012 California Community College Track and Field Championships at Cerritos College on Friday night. In the end, however, neither Glendale Community College athlete could lay claim to a title, as both were unable to match the finishing kicks of winner Ayded Reyes of Southwestern (38 minutes 19.15 seconds) or runner-up Analicia Silva of Orange Coast (38:24.60). Martinez took third in 38:27.21, while Zamudio, the Southern California champion and top seed in the event, slipped to fourth (38:29.16)

After enjoying big performances at the CIF Southern Section track and field division prelims, a handful of local athletes will converge on Mount San Antonio College to participate in the division finals. There will be plenty at stake for each contestant, beginning with trying to record qualifying marks today at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut to advance to the Masters Meet. Field events will begin at 11 a.m. and running events will kick off at 1 p.m. James Knowles of St. Francis High will take part in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles in the Division III race.

Gareth and Barrett Weiss might be among the most organized teenagers around. They wake up in the morning and head to school to tackle a variety of subjects from English to mathematics. Then it's off to gymnastics practice before taking a couple of hours to practice their musical instruments. Somewhere in between, there's time allotted in their busy schedules to work on their pole vaulting techniques. It appears they've become adjusted to managing their to-do lists rather well, which is half the battle for the freshmen pole vaulters on the Flintridge Prep boys' track and field team.

Glendale Community College track and field Coach Eddie Lopez is basically conceding any thought of a team title when the Vaqueros women take to the Cerritos College track for the 2012 California Community College Track and Field Championships. "Laney [College] is going to win it, but as the other teams cancel each other out, we're going to be right there for second or third with Cerritos and Antelope Valley," Lopez said. "Every point counts. We start with the 10K, get some places there.

Bolstered by a record-breaking jump from Justice Shank and the dazzling distance running of Grace Zamudio, the Glendale Community College women's track and field team emerged from the California Community College Athletic Assn. Southern California Finals on Saturday at San Diego Mesa College with a second-place showing - the program's greatest ever. "It's really special because we've been working so hard for the last four or five months," said Zamudio of GCC taking second with 70 points, just five behind winner Cerritos and 15 in front of third-place Antelope Valley.

ARCADIA - Explosive starts seem to come natural for Mike Davis. His finishes aren't too shabby either. The Glendale High track and field star showed precisely how important both facets can be on the lanes during the Pacific League finals at Arcadia High on Friday night. Davis, a junior, had no trouble capturing the 100- and 200-meter dashes for the second straight season. "It's key getting out of the blocks and then being able to hold it the rest of the way," said Davis, who captured the 100 in a personal-best time of 10.72 seconds and the 200 in 21.80.

CLAREMONT - It was a day of tremendous efforts for the Flintridge Prep boys' and girls' track and field teams at Thursday night's Prep League finals at Claremont-McKenna College. The Rebels succeeded across the board as the boys won a team title and the girls captured multiple individual championships as well as qualifying several athletes to the CIF Southern Section Division IV preliminaries May 12 at Carpinteria High. "We had been undefeated at all our league meets and had a really good season, but I was still nervous," said Rebels Coach Nick Ponticello, whose boys' team claimed its first title since 2003.

VALLEY GLEN - In order to be in line to repeat as Mission League champion in both hurdle events, James Knowles knew he had to be much sharper with his technique. Especially during the first part of each race. The St. Francis High senior track and field standout specifically worked on avoiding stutter-stepping in between the first four hurdles, so that he wouldn't fall far behind his worthy competitors. He didn't get off to the best start possible Thursday during the league finals at L.A. Valley College, but he managed to keep possession of both crowns as he captured the 110-meter hurdles in 14.74 seconds and the 300 hurdles in a season-best 38.48.

It didn't play out ideally for Cecilia Nicolas and Nohemi Martinez, but both Glendale Community College women's track and field runners said their desire to succeed fueled them to cross the finish line first at the Western State Conference Championships. Rodriguez and Martinez were the only Vaqueros - both men and women - to finish first Friday at Moorpark College, as the women took third with 108 points, behind West L.A. College (119) and College of the Canyons (112). The Wildcats swept on both sides, as their men also finished first with 135 points.