For the third year in a row, the Poly girls’ track team ran away with a state championship, taking the California title by a huge margin of 51-28 and scoring in 8 of 16 events.  The title is Poly’s 11th state track title, and they become just the second school in history to three-peat; Berkeley High is the other, and the Yellowjackets rank second behind Poly in team totals in state history, with five.

But the achievement was much more historic than it was dramatic—in fact, with entrants in 9 of 16 events and scorers in 8, there was never any doubt.  Poly finished with 51.33 points, well ahead of second-place Clovis’ 28.  Millikan took 12th with 13.33, thanks to the efforts of Ashley Smith and Paisley Pettway.

The day started with a bang as the girls’ 4X100 relay took 2nd with a time of 45.83; Melia Cox chipped in 4 points with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles; Akawkaw Ndipagbor blazed a 53.49 for third in the 400-meter; then Arielle Stevenson and Dynasty Gammage combined for 7 points in the 800-meter, running 2:10.27 and 2:11.44 respectively to take 4th and 7th place; Ndipagbor finished her quick breather and took third in the 200-meter with a 23.87; and the runners put a nice bookend on the day by winning the final event as well, the 4X400 relay, in 3:39.15.  The second place team was Serra with 3:42.26.  The field contributor for the girls was Tara Richmond, who tied for second in the high jump with 5’8″, and took fifth in the triple jump.

Tying with Richmond in the high jump was Ashley Smith of Millikan, who also took sixth in the 200-meter with a time of 24.24.  Her Ram teammate Paisley Pettway took fifth in the 800-meter, with a time of 2:10.34.  Wilson’s 4X400 came in with the state’s sixth-best time, at 3:46.96.

For the Poly boys, give credit to Kaelin Clay, who put in yeoman’s work.  He was the anchor leg in the 4X100, which Poly won thanks to his comeback effort—be sure to watch the below video, as Clay crosses Rio Mesa’s anchor runner for a split-second win, 41.13 to 41.15.

Then running as an individual he placed third in the 100-meter with a blazing 10.49, and 6th in the 200-meter with a 21.22.  Myles Andrews took fourth in the 800-meter, and the 4X400 relay team finished second behind Serra, with a time of 3:11.66 (Serra ran a 3:08.72).

It was a great showing for the local athletes, but especially for the lady Trackrabbits, who continue to put more and more space between them and the chase pack.  Last year we pointed out that only one runner was graduating from the state champion team—this year, it’s not much different, with 75% of the team coming back.  In other words—get used to hearing about this historic team, because clearly, they’re not going anywhere.

Click here for full results and more videos from the day!