Yarbrough, Murray, Watson compete in CIF section finals

Three Fallbrook High School athletes competed in the CIF San Diego Section track and field finals.

Darriale Yarbrough was in the girls long jump at the finals, Erin Murray had a lane in the girls 400-meter race, and Darius Watson was a thrower in the boys shot put. Yarbrough and Watson were seniors during the 2019 season and Murray was a junior.

"We were prepared to have quite a few girls make it to the state meet, but it kind of unraveled when Darriale pulled a hamstring," said Fallbrook head coach Marco Arias.

The CIF San Diego Section track and field meet consisted of preliminaries May 11 at Mount Carmel High School and finals May 18 at Mount Carmel. Those with the top nine times and distances (top 12 for the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter races, although Fallbrook had none of those) competed in the "A" race or flight during the section finals while the others who qualified for the finals competed in the "B" events.

The runners or field athletes with the top three times or distances in each event at the section finals qualified for the state meet May 24-25 at Buchanan High School in Clovis.

During the preliminaries Yarbrough ran the 100-meter dash in 12.41 seconds, which placed fourth among Division I girls and sixth among girls from both divisions. She had a long jump of 17 feet 6 3/4 inches, which was second in Division I and sixth overall. The 4x100 relay team of sophomore Hanniah Crayton, sophomore Jade Kennedy, Murray, and Yarbrough had a preliminaries time of 49.22 seconds which placed seventh in Division I and eighth overall.

Kennedy was also in the girls long jump, and her distance of 16 feet 2 1/2 inches placed 13th among Division I girls.

Murray also ran the 200-meter and 400-meter individual races. Her 400-meter time of 57.61 seconds was fifth in Division I and seventh overall. She finished the 200-meter dash in 28.28 seconds, which placed her 16th among the 27 Division I girls.

The results qualified Yarbrough for the section finals in the 100-meter dash and the long jump, advanced Murray to the 400-meter finals, and earned the 4x100 relay team a lane in the finals. All qualified for the "A" race or flight. "That was very exciting," Arias said.

Two Fallbrook girls were in the CIF preliminaries for the discus throw; senior Siena Allen had the 22nd-place throw of 79'6" and junior Roseline Sanchez had the 24th-place distance of 75'5". Charlene Cayas participated in the girls shot put and had a throw of 28'3", which placed the sophomore last among the 27 Division I girls.

Caiden Metts scratched out of the long jump and the triple jump, so Watson and junior John Regan were the only Fallbrook boys to compete at the CIF meet. Watson threw the shot put 49 feet 11 1/2 inches in the preliminaries to place third both in Division I and overall. "He gave a good go at it," Arias said.

Regan ran the boys 800-meter race and had a time of 2:03.25, which gave him 20th place among the Division I runners. "John had a good race. He gave it his best," Arias said. "It was a deadly field and he gave it a very good effort."

Ten boys completed the Division I race in under two minutes. Regan is a transfer student who ran in North Carolina last year. Arias, whose coaching career has included transitioning former Camp Lejeune dependents into Fallbrook High School athletes, noted that the CIF San Diego Section is more competitive than North Carolina high school running. "It was a learning experience," Arias said.

Regan was a Lejeune High School sophomore in 2018. He ran the 3,200-meter race in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state meet and placed 11th among the 1A boys. His time of 11:07.36 would have placed tenth at this year's Valley League finals and was slower than 51 of the 52 Division I and Division II times combined at this year's CIF San Diego Section preliminaries.

Last year Regan was third among 1A boys in the NCHSAA East Regional 3,200-meter race and his 1,600-meter time of 5:03.51 placed him fifth at the East Regional meet. The NCHSAA has a 4x800 relay, and Regan was in that event at the 2017 state meet and anchored that event at the 2018 regional and state meets (the Lejeune runners won the regional meet).

Yarbrough was able to compete in the long jump at the section finals and had a distance of 18'2", which placed fifth. She was scratched from the 100-meter dash due to her injury and the Fallbrook team scratched out of the 4x100.

"Pulling out of the 4x100 took a toll on the girls," Arias said. "They were just running and peaking at the right time."

Murray completed her finals lap in 57.65 seconds to obtain eighth place. "Erin didn't have her best day in the 400," Arias said.

Yarbrough will run for Cal State San Marcos in 2020 if her health permits. "We're going to miss Darriale next year," Arias said.

That breaks up this year's 4x100 relay quartet. "All four of them are pretty special," Arias said.

"We're one away from getting back to that group," Arias said. "Hopefully we get a new freshman coming in."

Watson's throw of 46 feet 10 1/2 inches gave him 12th place. "He competed. Unfortunately all athletes have those certain days," Arias said.

Watson may throw the shot put and discus in college. "He's just learning to really understand throwing," Arias said. "He should be proud of everything he accomplished this year."