Advertisement

Morgan wins 400 at Bronco Invite

Share

Ramona High School junior Ryan Morgan won the 400-yard run at track and field’s Bronco Invitational held March 14 at Rancho Bernardo High School.

“He ran a big race,” said Ramona Coach Bob Verhoest.

Morgan posted a time of 49.80 seconds, edging the 49.91-second performance of Hoover’s Elliott Sanders. Fallbrook’s Marquis Sumpter, who had been ill earlier during the week, finished third at 51.13 seconds.

“That’s an excellent time,” Verhoest said of Morgan’s win. “He’s really looking well. He’s really coming around.”

The Bulldogs had two track and field meets during the week: Ramona hosted Vista in a non-scoring dual meet March 12.

“Overall it was a pretty good day,” Verhoest said of the Vista meet. “We really got to see a lot of our kids.”

The boys’ performances against Vista included Paul Reynolds running the 800-meter race in 2:05, freshman Dylan Blankenbaker completing the 1,600-meter run in 4:56, and sophomore Tanner Perfect running the 3,200-meter event in 11:03. Tyler Creswell won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.58 seconds, and the 4x100 relay team of Dean Faddis, Seth Drake, Mikey Head, and Morgan took 43.8 seconds.

Verhoest rested Morgan for the invitational in the 400-meter run, but Matt Laws crossed the finish line in 51.8 seconds against Vista.

The girls 100-meter dash included times of 12.96 seconds by Caitlyn Choy, 13.92 seconds by Kendall Rose, and 14.56 seconds by Kristen Meador. All are freshmen, as is Kelly Helman, who took 19.15 seconds for the 110-meter hurdles and 57.53 seconds for the 300-meter hurdles.

“We’re pretty loaded up with freshmen this year,” Verhoest said.

Erika Stinchcomb ran the 200-meter dash in 28.48 seconds and Chelsey Cortez completed the 1,600-meter run in 5:28.

The field events included a 27’5” shot put throw from Heidi Jones, a 29-foot triple jump by Becca Hickle, and Shelby Bush clearing 4’8” in the high jump.

“We had a lot of kids do really well,” Verhoest said.

Although Kelly Thompson of Vista won the girls 3,200-meter run at the Bronco Invite, Cortez finished fourth at 11:28.18 to set a personal record.

“That’s a great two-mile time,” Verhoest said.

The Bulldog 4x400 relay team of Morgan, Laws, Tanner Jorgenson, and Israel Marquez took second at the Bronco Invite with a time of 3:28.65. The girls 4x400 relay team of Evan Escamilla, Kendall Koohler, Ruth Spitsbergen, and Tessa Balcom placed third at 4:29.12. The boys 4x100 relay team of Faddis, Drake, Head, and Morgan finished fourth at 43.65 seconds, only 1/100 of a second behind third-place Torrey Pines. The girls 4x100 relay team of Choy, Meador, Spitsbergen, and Kaitlyn Niedens also placed fourth after a time of 54.74 seconds.

The boys distance medley team placed seventh with a time of 11:16.58. Chance Varnardo-Richardson ran the 1,200-meter portion, Zach Kovak ran the 400-meter lap, Connor Jenson was Ramona’s 800-meter runner, and Reynolds anchored the Bulldogs with the 1,600-meter segment.

Lyndon Scott cleared 6’4” to place second in the boys high jump, and Scott was also eighth in the long jump’s open division at 19’6”. The long jump’s invitational division saw Laws take seventh at 19’2”. Chelsea Maurer cleared 7’7” to take sixth in the girls pole vault.

Drake was second in his 100-meter dash heat with a time of 11:15 seconds. Creswell placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles at 15.49 seconds.

Brittany Balcom had a time of 2:28.90 to place fifth in the girls 800-meter race and was eighth in the girls 1,600-meter run at 5:25.

The Bronco Invitational also included freshman 1,600-meter races. Blankenbaker took third in the boys metric mile at 4:42 while Lauren Cortez was fourth in the girls mile at 5:43.

“I think everything went well,” Verhoest said. “We really had a good day.”

The Bulldogs open Valley League competition today with a dual meet at San Marcos.

Advertisement

At a time when local news is more important than ever, support from our readers is essential. If you are able to, please support the Ramona Sentinel today.