Mt. SAC track and field closed out their season this past weekend at their home track in the annual 3C2A championship while competing against 34 California community colleges.
SAC took home both the men’s and women’s team state title awards, as well as two male MVP awards highlighting sophomore jumper Myles Massie sophomore distance runner Diego Varela.
MENS DAY 1 SCORES WOMENS DAY 1 SCORES
MENS DAY 2 SCORES WOMENS DAY 2 SCORES
MVP’s : Myles Massie and Diego Varela
Massie dominated both of his events, jumping a personal record and winning the long jump with a score of 7.62 meters. He followed that performance with another victory in the triple jump with a mark of 15.54.
Massie also became state champion in both these events along with earning All-American status. “If I could do this again I would,” Massie said. “All good things have to come to an end.”
Massie will be joining the Pittsburg State track and field team this upcoming season, taking his skills to a Division I program.
Varela started off day 1 of the competition winning first place in the men’s 10,000 meter run. Varela placed first with a time of 32:03.79 followed by a day 2 victory in the 5000 meter run with a time of 14:45.68.
Varela, who had never come first in his events prior to his state win, spoke about how much it meant to him.
“I’m tearing up a bit because I’m just so happy,” Varela said after his 10,000 meter win.
He had stated after he won the 10,000 meter run that he would be happy getting top three for the next 5,000 race. Little did he know, he would get gold twice.
“I did not expect to win but I won,” Varela said. “I feel amazing. I expected him to beat me but there was something in me where I wasn’t able to give up.”
Varela’s performance makes him a dual-event state champion along with earning him All-American status in the longest distance races within 24-hours.
DAY 1
Taiyo Ishiguro
Sophomore decathlete and javelin thrower Taiyo Ishiguro threw an impressive 61.73 meters winning gold in javelin.
“The first one to five throws were so bad,” Ishiguro said. “But the final throw, everyone cheered [for] me. So I [felt so] powered.”
Olivia Powers
Freshman javelin specialist Olivia Powers dominated her class with a throw of 45.02 meters
Powers moved into first place with her third-to-last-throw, then followed it with a personal record throw, and on her final attempt she managed to best that personal record pushing her deeper into first place. The three consecutive throws capped off a strong performance beating out the competition by about 2 meters.
“I have no idea where that came from,” Powers said. “It was just pure adrenaline. I’m just so happy it’s connected. There were days off when I came out … I’m so glad I did because I don’t think this would be possible without that.”
DAY 2
Emma Samvelian
Sophomore Emma Samvelian pole vaulted a staggering 3.90 meters, earning second place and All-American honors.
Samvelian competed in both shot put and pole vault within minutes of each other, rushing back and forth between events trying to put on a performance in both. Despite the quick turnaround, she placed third in shot put while also putting up great numbers in pole vault.
“I’ve been competing in the throws and vault since I was in high school, but it’s never been quite that tight,” Samvelian said. “I had a lot of fun to be honest. I had a season best in shot put today and an outdoor PR in pole vault today so I think overall it worked out.”
Freshman teammate Miku Yanagawa edged out Samvelian with a near record breaking vault of 4.00 meters.
Marques Guzman
Sophomore sprinter Marques Guzman won gold in the 200 meter dash running a time of 20.78.
“I set a goal for myself last year at the state championships,” Guzman said. “I got sixth place in the 200s, ran a very slow time, 21.08. Me and my coach we just worked everyday … just blood sweat and tears for this moment right here.”
Guzman also placed 5th in the 100 meter dash and was a part of the 4×400 meter relay team which came in third place.
Men’s Triple Jump
SAC made its mark in the men’s triple jump event, with Massie’s statement win and two more SAC athletes rounding out the top three.
Freshman jumper Michael Danna jumped an impressive 15 meters even earning him second, while sophomore jumper Brandyn Wetherspoon earned third with a score of 14.90 meters.
Decathlon
Ishiguro competed in the decathlon along with teammates freshman Kase Scheffeld and sophomore Jaden Williams.
Ishiguro placed second with 6740 points, followed by teammate Williams, who finished third with 6540 points. Schaffeld trailed the group with an eight-place finish scoring 5880 points through all events.
“Today was a little rough, hurdles started off pretty slow,” Schaffeld said. “Discus on the deck was a little rough but in the pole vault we came back and jumped 4 meters, about a foot PR. In discus we came out threw about a meter off our PR … I couldn’t be happier, I’m proud of myself as far as that goes.” Scaffeld said he is looking for a better performance next year since he has been dealing with injuries during the latter half of the season.
SAC took home 11 first place awards, two team awards and 26 all American state title achievements.
For more information on scores and placements on both days of the 3C2A Championship, visit the official website.
Award Photos
