Bulldogs top four events at Elite Eight Invitational

Ramona High School’s track and field teams won four events at the Elite Eight Invitational meet April 3 at Mount Miguel High School.

Senior Chelsey Cortez won the girls 3,200-meter run, sophomore Preston Johnson took first in the boys discus throw, senior Tyler Jordan had the top boys high jump, and the boys 4x400 relay team finished in front.

Ramona’s boys finished second among the eight teams in the meet while Ramona’s girls placed sixth.

“They exceeded my expectations,” said Ramona head coach Steve Albanese.

Cortez finished the race with a time of 11:27 and with a comfortable margin over second-place Madison Nocon of Steele Canyon, who had a time of 11:53. Johnson threw the discus 42 feet, 6 3/4 inches. Jordan cleared 6’4” in the high jump.

The 4x400 relay team of junior Zach Kovach, senior Walker Poortinga, senior Tim Wertz, and senior Ryan Morgan had a time of 3:34.74.

The Bulldogs’ boys 4x100 relay team of Seth Drake, Nate Lutu, Kovach, and Morgan finished second. Steele Canyon won that race with a time of 43.06 seconds while Ramona took 43.16 seconds.

“It was very close,” Albanese said.

In the individual boys 100-meter dash Kovach was second with a time of 11.14 seconds while Drake placed fourth at 11.24 seconds.

Cortez added a second-place finish in the girls 1,600-meter race to her win, completing the metric mile in 5:22.76. Lindsey Spieker was fifth in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:39.76.

Two other events saw Ramona take second and fifth. In the boys 400-meter run, Ryan Morgan utilized 49.87 seconds for his lap while Walker Poortinga posted a time of 51.32 seconds. The boys discus competition saw Logan Peterson execute a throw of 133’5” and Quinten Wright toss the discus 124’11”.

Jared Engler placed second in the boys pole vault with a distance of 12’0”. The girls pole vault saw Ali Geber finish fourth and Ashley Duck place fifth. Both cleared 6’6” with Geber obtaining the higher position due to fewer misses at lower levels.

Kovach was third in the boys 200-meter dash with a time of 22.73 seconds while Morgan’s time of 22.97 seconds gave him fifth place.

In the boys 3,200-meter run Alec Richardson set a 19-second personal record with a fourth-place time of 10:02. Chance Varnardo-Richardson was sixth at 10:07.

Dylan Blankenbaker set a 13-second personal record in the boys 1,600-meter run. His time of 4:26.63 put him in fourth place.

“That was a breakthrough race for him,” Albanese said.

Kayla Lawler took fourth in the girls discus with a throw of 88’2”.

Kendall Kohler was fifth in the girls 400-meter race with a time of 1:03.4. Sydney Manley cleared 4’4” to take fifth place in the girls high jump.

Quincy Watts took sixth in both boys hurdles races, completing the 110-meter competition in 17.13 seconds and the 300-meter event in 42.45 seconds. Erika Stinchcomb was sixth in the girls long jump with a distance of 15’3”. Caitlyn Choy placed sixth in the girls 100-meter dash at 13.24 seconds.

Ramona’s junior varsity hosted Del Norte High School, which does not have varsity sports, on April 1. The Bulldog boys won by a 97-39 score while Ramona’s girls prevailed by a 75-54 margin.