By Gilberto Manzano
THROW IT DOWN, BIG MAN—Moorpark High senior thrower Kevin Uebelhardt reached the CIF-Southern Section Division 2finals in the boys’ discus. Uebelhardt will play football at the U.S. Naval Academy. Athletes dream about competing at the CIF State Track and Field Championships.
Only a small group makes it to today’s state preliminaries at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis.
Six local student-athletes from Camarillo, Rio Mesa and Simi Valley high schools advanced to the big show. A handful of competitors picked up section titles along the way. The track season ends at the section meet for most; even fewer survived Masters.
“We’ve had many talented athletes over the years, and every year only one makes it to state—if we’re lucky,” Simi Valley track head coach Steve Ringgold said. “It’s not easy getting there. A lot of things need to go right.”
Zaria Francis of Camarillo will run the girls’ 200-meter sprint today. Fellow Scorpions Ahmed Obed (boys’ 200) and Justin Warren (boys’ long jump) also qualified for the state meet.
Rio Mesa’s Greg Vann is a top contender in the boys’ long jump.
Simi Valley’s Mady Richards and Alexander Billing will compete in the girls’ long jump and boys’ 110 hurdles, respectively.
Moorpark, Royal and Grace Brethren thrived on the track this spring.
Obed knows what it’s like to have state aspirations come to a screeching halt. The Scorpion sprinter was a virtual lock to race in Clovis last year before an injury ended his season at the Ventura County championships.
“I’m definitely going to appreciate my time at state,” said Obed, who holds the fastest 200 mark in Ventura County history. “This has been my goal the past four years, and I finally made it.
“My priority this year was to stay healthy. I didn’t train as hard as last year, but that’s a good thing. I’m healthy and mentally prepared.”
Obed, who will suit up for Harvard University next season, won the Division 1 100 section crown. In the 200, Obed’s favorite event, he took second at section finals and fourth at Masters.
“The 200 was my strongest event so I was kind of surprised to win the 100,” said Obed, who holds county and school records in the 100 (10.73 seconds) and 200 (21.07). “It was a very exciting moment. Division 1 was a tough field.”
Obed said he’s looking forward to facing Vista Murrieta sophomore Michael Norman, who won the 200 at Masters.
Francis has enjoyed a breakout sophomore season. Her fastest time in the 200 is 24.30 seconds. She advanced to Masters in the 100 and won the event at the county championships.
Mary Perez, who has coached at Camarillo for 20 seasons, said Francis is the first Scorpion female sprinter to make it to state during that span.
“We’re turning into sprint city,” Perez said. “It’s rare to have sprinters from Camarillo run at state. Usually it’s distance runners. This shows how hard the coaches and sprinters have worked.
“I’m very excited for Ahmed and Zaria. They’ve come a long way.”
Warren, a long jump savant, is a high flier on the basketball court.
He took third at Masters with a long jump of 22 feet, 10 inches.
“Justin is an all-around great athlete,” Perez said. “He’s always been able to jump high, but he also has some speed, which helps him on the runway. Hopefully, a college picks him up. He’ll be a great twosport athlete.”
Vann crushed the long jump field at Masters with a first-place jump of 24-00.5. That’s not even his highest mark this season.
He won the Division 2 section event with a leap of 24-6, a Rio Mesa record and third-best jump in Ventura County history.
The junior Spartan holds the seventh-best long jump mark in the nation this year.
“It’s kind of crazy to think Greg still has a lot of room to grow,” Rio Mesa head coach Brian FitzGerald said. “He’s only been jumping for a few years.
“He’s been so consistent staying on the board. He makes his jumps count.”
Vann was living on a U.S. Naval military base in Rota, Spain, last year where he first picked up long jump.
Ringgold said this will be the first time he sends two competitors to the state meet in his eight seasons with the Pioneers.
“It’s very exciting for the program to have a boy and a girl at state,” Ringgold said. “Alex and Mady deserve to be there. They have worked so hard all year.”
Billing won the 110 hurdles at the Division 2 finals and placed seventh at Masters. His personal best mark in the event is 14.01 seconds.
“Alex was a little disappointed in not getting a PR at Masters,” Ringgold said. “He made it to the next round, and that’s the goal. All bets are off when it comes to state.”
Richards has enjoyed a decorated prep career, but this will be the first time she competes at the state meet.
A senior bound for USC, Richards holds school records in the 100, 200 and long jump. She qualified for the long jump with a mark of 18-5.50, sixth at Masters.
“The only thing missing from Mady’s long resume was a state meet,” Ringgold said. “She has done so much for the program. We’re going to miss her next season. It’s going to be hard to find someone to fill the void.”
Grace Brethren’s Sarah Coyle had a standout season in the high jump. She placed seventh at the section Division 4 final (4-09).
Royal’s Carlie Burow competed in the girls’ 300 hurdles at the Division 2 prelims. Highlander Ryan Klachko reached the boys’ 1,600 at section prelims.
Moorpark’s Kevin Uebelhardt finished eighth in the discus during the Division 2 finals with a throw of 141-10. He threw 156-04 at prelims.
Cole Kistner, a Moorpark senior, qualified for finals in the boys’ pole vault.
The Moorpark boys’ and girls’ track and field teams each took second place in the Marmonte League regular season standings with 5-2 records.
“It was another great year for Moorpark,” Musketeer coach Scott Mangers said. “We had almost 300 athletes in the program. They were a class act group. They always worked hard and helped out during meets. We’re going to miss the seniors and wish them the best.”