Warrior track sweeps distance medley at Big Dual

Fallbrook High School won both the boys and the girls distance medley relay races at the Big Dual Invitational meet March 7 at Vista High School.

The boys relay team of Ramon Villagomez, Caleb Sumpter, Enrique Rivera, and Uriel Aguirre won their race in 11:34.6 while the girls team of Noelle Garcia, Holly Contreras, Lauren White, and Mercedes Cortes finished first at 14:10.8.

“All in all it was a pretty good day for us. We looked good in all events,” said Fallbrook head coach Troy Hamlin.

Villagomez put Fallbrook into the lead by completing the 1,200-meter leg in 3:35.9. Sumpter took 56.6 seconds for the 400-meter portion, Rivera required 2:19.5 for the 800-meter segment, and Aguirre anchored the race by running the 1,600-meter part in 4:41.

Garcia began the girls race by running 1,200 meters in 4:05. Contreras fell in the first 30 meters of her 400-meter lap but regained her footing and finished the lap in 72.6 seconds.

White’s 800 meters consumed 2:42 and Cortes held off the Vista runner while taking 6:10.8 to complete 1,600 meters.

The Warriors’ season began March 5 with a non-scoring dual meet at Ramona. Fallbrook’s boys had tied for second among Division I teams at the 2008 CIF San Diego Section finals while Ramona’s boys won the Division II title.

The 2008 CIF finals also saw both Ramona’s Ryan Morgan and Fallbrook’s Marquis Sumpter qualify for the state meet, which takes the top three section finals finishers for each event, in the 400-meter run.

The San Diego Section’s other 400-meter qualifier, Nico Reeves, was a Lincoln High School senior in 2008, so this year’s section 400-meter championship will likely be between Morgan and Sumpter.

Morgan won the March 2009 race with a time of 50.17 seconds while Sumpter had a time of 50.42 seconds. “Neither of them were in top form yet,” Hamlin said.

“The times were outstanding. To run 50-point this early in the season is very good,” Hamlin said. “Both of them showed that if they will get to work now that they have the ability to get back to where they were last year and perhaps even further.”

Hamlin wasn’t disappointed with Sumpter’s loss to Morgan. “It was a good way for him to open his season,” Hamlin said.

Ramona brought 184 members to the dual meet while the Fallbrook team consisted of 132 members. “It’s quite a big team,” Hamlin said.

Both head coaches used the non-scoring meet to evaluate freshmen and other track and field newcomers. “It was more of a teaching experience than a track meet,” Hamlin said. “There were some big things that came from Ramona, however.”

Aguirre ran 4:40 in the 1,600-meter race at Ramona while Villagomez posted a time of 4:57.9. Anthony Pando cleared 13’6” in the pole vault for Fallbrook.

At the Big Dual Invitational, Sumpter faced his likely rival for the 200-meter section championship, Mission Hills’ Joe Cooks.

Cooks won the race in 21.84 seconds, Hosea Tate of Mount Miguel was second at 22.11 seconds, and Sumpter placed third at 22.16 seconds. “It’s a very respectable mark for early March,” Hamlin said.

Sumpter also finished third in the 100-meter dash at the Big Dual. Cooks won that race with a time of 10.82 seconds, Derrall Hunter of Mount Miguel placed second at 11.30 seconds, and Sumpter had a time of 11.33 seconds.

Sumpter did not run the 400-meter race at the Big Dual, but he participated in the triple jump and finished second with a distance of 39’11”. His best 2008 distance in that event was 40’2”.

At the Big Dual, three Fallbrook runners broke five minutes in the 1,600-meter race.

Aguirre matched his Ramona time of 4:40, Villagomez ran the metric mile in 4:59.27, and Michael Froboes had a time of 4:59.44. Rivera narrowly missed a five-minute metric mile, completing the four laps in 5:00.53.

Garcia finished third in the girls 1,600-meter race at the Big Dual. Her time of 5:25.24 finished behind the 5:19.85 of Vista’s Kelly Thompson and the 5:24.49 of Sweetwater’s Aylin Mejia.

“She did a very nice job. That’s a very respectable first invitational mark,” Hamlin said of Garcia.

Garcia also tried the 300-meter hurdles for the first time and placed third with a time of 52.60 seconds.

Pando matched his 13’6” Ramona mark at the Big Dual. “He is certainly in contention at the CIF final this season or will be,” Hamlin said.

Two Fallbrook girls tied for second in the pole vaulting event at the Big Dual; Olivia Tidd and Tuongvi Cao each cleared 7’6”.

Ralph Cachero threw the discus 114 feet to place third in the boys event at the Big Dual.

The boys 4x400 relay team of Justin Jones, Aaron Lopez, Cody Williams, and Garrison Haddon finished second at the Big Dual with a time of 3:40.79, trailing the 3:35 of Steele Canyon.

The boys 4x100 relay team of Marquis Sumpter, Caleb Sumpter, Justin Jones, and Kameron Drawhorn had a time of 44.70 seconds to place third behind Steele Canyon and Mission Hills, which was anchored by Cooks.

The girls 4x100 relay team of Hannah Wilson, Jamie Garcia, Sarah Samaradivakara, and Tara Burke placed third with a time of 53.84 seconds.

Wilson, Garcia, Samaradivakara, and Contreras are all freshmen, as is Briana Rothert. “This is an outstanding group of young freshman sprinters that we have,” Hamlin said.

Burke is a sophomore. The freshman girls also include Cortes.

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