Photos by Jim Cayer
It was a warm evening last weekend at Lakewood High School, as Lindsey and Stanford proved themselves the city’s best middle school track teams.
Stanford blazed their way to an impressive Division 1 title with Haley McGinest leading the way with a “Sprint Double,” taking both the 100 and 200-meter—David Lugo took the 400-meter, and Andrew Dossman scored a 17’2″ to win the long jump. Hamilton’s Selesi Hopoi threw a 42’3″ to win the shot put, and Hughes’ Deante Cohn edged out Hill’s Vincent Calhoun won the high jump with a 5’5″. Jefferson’s Francisco Garcia won the 800-meter, and Hoover’s Brandon Hicks took the 1600-meter with a photo-finish win over Rogers’ Rodrigo Castellanos. Stanford’s power and depth won the event by a staggering 55 points—they scored 92, followed by Hughes at 37, and Hoover with 34.
Team members for Stanford include: Haley McGinest, Andrew Schenker, Mickelle Amoranto, Andrew Dossman, Bruce Yun, Grant Brown, Aaron Hotchkiss, David Lugo, Colby Penn, Cobi Ferrario, Adrian Moralez, Tristan Chamberlain, Nick Rangel, Andrew Soto, Jonathan Tate, Ian Burns, Kyle Carpentier, Matthew Palacios, Taylor Hooper, Christian Holland, Adam Hixon, Luke Alton, Jahleel Norwood, Robert Sickles and Coach Rick Maxson.
The Division 2 race was much tighter, as Lindsey and Monroe literally came down to the last event—the mile relay—and Lindsey winning by one point (Newcomb took third). Lindsey didn’t take the title until a stride’s length separated them from Monroe on the relay.
Monroe’s Elijah Moody posted an impressive double winning both the 100 and 200-meter, while teammate Miguel Bautista took the 800-meter and 1600-meter. Bautista was just a second away from breaking the all-time league finals record. Butler’s Isaac Crew won the shot put, and teammate Veasna Khan won the long jump; Tincher’s Miles Davis won the high jump, and Lindsey’s Chaz Sanders brought home 400-meter gold, and anchored the gold-medal 4X100 relay group.
Team members for Lindsey include: Chaz Sanders, William Luna, Chris McIntosh, Hykeem Johnson, Lionel Baello, Eric Jimenez, Jaylon Brown, Sergio Sanchez, Mario Flakes, Luis Dominguez, Leo Sanchez, Juan Cantero, Josue Espinoza and Coach Brian Cleven.