History was made on Wednesday afternoon from Atwater High at the third and final Central California Conference track and field Center Meet.
It was also the final time that Turlock and Pitman High would be competing under the CCC banner as they leave for a new league next season, and both coaches knew that their athletes had to push and give it all they have.
Things ended in a wild finish on the girls side after Turlock tallied a team score of 172 and Pitman followed in second with a score of 164.
For the boys, Turlock won by a landslide with a team score of 178 while Golden Valley scored a 111.5 to take second and Pitman (79) placed third.
The Bulldogs of Turlock also clinched the win at the junior varsity levels, sweeping the season at all four levels in the CCC while the boys notched their first league title since 1992.
“It’s crazy, still processing the whole thing… speechless,” said Turlock head coach Bergann Hernandez. “We won at all four levels with boys and girls varsity, and JV and I don’t think it has happened ever in track history that I can remember in recent memory.”
“It was fun, our kids came to compete and Turlock responded,” said Pitman head coach Thad Moren. “They got us in the long run but we won races on the track.”
In the girls 100-meter race, Turlock’s Katja Guerrero and Jocelyn Harris saw the best finish after taking third and fourth respectively. Pitman’s top finish in the 100m was sophomore Ximena Cesa, who took 10th.
Julia Handy, Guerrero and Cesa each took second, third and fourth respectively in the 200m race.
Handy dominated in the 400m race after taking first with a time of 59.75. Teammates Raquel Zapata and Guerrero followed in third and fourth, respectively. Pitman’s Cierra Verdone took fifth.
Mavleen Mann of Pitman hit a personal record and topped all locals in the 800m race with a second-place finish and a time of 2:23.74. Sofia Andres (Turlock) followed in third with a PR of 2:35.08.
Mann placed first in the 3200m race with a time of 12:19.76 and also took second in the 1600m race with a time of 5:09.25.
Harris of Turlock saw the best result in the 100m hurdles with a second-place time of 16.61.
Bernadette Hollcraft saw the best finish in the 300m hurdles with a time of 50.18.
In the girls 4x4 relay race, Pitman’s team of Jenna Green, Bianca Garcia, Hannah Green and Maddy Hall took first with a time of 4:20.86.
Whitney Barnes (Pitman) took first in the shot put with a throw of 41-feet.
Madison King (2nd) of Pitman topped all locals in the girls discus with a throw of 108’03” and the Pride saw three of the top four spots with Khaiya Simpson and Abigail Perry following in third and fourth respectively.
Of all locals, Jazmyn Tubbs (Turlock) saw the best clearance in the high jump after jumping 5’2” and tying for first place.
Emily Vander Weide of Pitman followed with a clearance of 4’8”.
Pitman’s Izzy Shallou-Enes and Shelby Gill tied for first in the pole vault with a clearance of 9’6”.
Kishauna Mavis (Turlock) hit a PR in the long jump after clearing 16-feet and 0.5 inches. Teammate Alissa Fuentes followed in second (15’11”).
Pitman’s girls owned the triple jump as they took all four of the top spots with Verdone, Hall, Delaney Holmes and Grace Westbrook.
“It was a fight, our girls were in a battle with Pitman, it was a hard day and hotter than we been used to and a really long day of competition,” said Hernandez. “With the heat and along with the level of competition that they had to compete at since we are in a good conference, we had to bring our ‘A’ game in all events and following points, trying to figure that out.”
On the boys side, Pitman’s Ty Thomson saw the best result of all locals in the triple jump after taking second place with a clearance of 41’2.5”.
Jonah Kosakiewicz of Turlock took first in the long jump with a clearance of 21’8”.
Silas Fredeen topped all in the pole vault after clearing 13’ and teammate Jose Sandoval took second after clearing 12’6”.
William Ashman (Turlock) took first in the high jump with a clearance of 6’4”.
Gabriel Cordero and Dustin Grein took second and third, respectively, in the discus throw.
Grein saw the best result in the shot put after throwing for a PR at 50’.5”.
Turlock and Pitman dominated the 4x1 relay race.
Turlock’s Colton Cummings, Bryce Souza, Antonio Ruiz and Sammy Wilson took first with a time of 42.06 while Pitman’s team of Guillermo Francis, Michael Moore, Quincey Williams and Ty Thomson followed in second at 42.95.
In the 300m hurdles, Turlock’s Bailey Vandergriff took first with a time of 41.24.
Pitman’s Donavyn Faria had the best result for any Pride runner in the race after taking third with a PR of 42.73.
Michael Moore of Pitman took second in the 200m race with a time of 22.81, falling just behind’s Golden Valley’s Hunter Slatten.
Williams (Pitman) took second in the 400m with a time of 52.23.
Cummings (2nd) saw the best result of the ‘Dogs and Pride, combined, in the 100m race with a PR of 11.04.
“Our boys are getting back to healthy and are looking forward to the march to the State meet,” said Moren. “It’s all exciting and can't wait for postseason to begin.”
“The difference is that the kids believed they could do this and I teach track as a team sport and that we are a family together and support each other,” said Hernandez. “Within that, they bonded and believed it was possible and I think that set the tone for the workouts, practices, everything we did. They believed they were working towards a goal of what we did.”
Next is the CCC Championships from Golden Valley at 10 a.m. May 5.
