Track And Field

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.

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.

WALNUT - Among the locals who competed at Saturday's 54th annual Mt. San Antonio College Relays from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Crescenta Valley High and Glendale, the Nitros' Michael Davis may have stood tallest. The multi-sport star competed in three competitions, highlighted by his entry in the invitational 100- and 200-meter dashes, as well as his role in the only local win of the night. The lone local victory came in the second-to-last race of the evening, courtesy of the Glendale boys' 1600-meter relay team.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE - Sitting on a table near the starting line at Moyse Field, the Bronze Bowl was technically up for grabs, as it is every season. But, in reality, the Glendale High track and field team had it under lock and key virtually from the start of Wednesday's Pacific League rivalry showdown with Hoover. The Nitros entered with a considerable depth advantage and made the most of it in handing the Tornadoes a 112-23 loss in the boys' competition, while winning, 100-31, on the girls' side.

LA CRESCENTA - With the regular season now complete, some of the members of the Crescenta Valley High boys' and girls' track and field teams can turn their attention during the next two weeks toward winning league championships. In particular, Josh Straschewski and Kayleigh Carrillo. Crescenta Valley closed out its final dual league meet Wednesday, falling to rival Arcadia. The boys' lost, 86-50, while the girls' suffered a 90-46 defeat. Straschewski did his part, capturing the 110-meter hurdles in 15.2 seconds before taking the 300 hurdles in 40.6.

WALNUT - Months after winning a state cross-country championship, the Glendale Community College women's distance squad is still setting the tone, just in track and field. Members of the Vaqueros' title squad wrapped up a couple of victories and a few impressive times, highlighted by Alyssa Selve and Cecilia Nicolas, in leading GCC at Saturday's 54th annual Mt. San Antonio College Relays. For the aforementioned Selve, running at Mt. SAC was a return to normalcy for the sophomore from Canyon High, who was competing in only her third race since suffering a stress fracture in her foot at the beginning of the year.