The first annual Redondo Nike Track Festival was held at Seahawk Bowl on the Redondo Union HS campus, with a full compliment of 25 schools. Under a clear sky and slightly cool temperatures, the racing conditions were ideal, if occasionally a slight bit breezy. Featuring boys and girls varsity and frosh/soph athletes divided into Open and Championship races for each event, the competition was fierce and exciting.
There were 1,486 individual and relay team starters vying for the 10 scoring places in each event. This scoring method was intended to better determine the top dual meet teams with the greatest depth to their talent. For scoring purposes the results of the Open and Championship events were combined, with the top 10 places over all earning points.
The top three placers in the Championship events took home custom metals and the winners received custom designed event-logo backpacks. The Top 5 finishers in the multi-heat Open Events were awarded metals.
The meet results with splits for the Redondo athletes can be found by following the Meet Results link to the right, or by clicking here. The Dystat version of the results can be found by clicking here.
Long Beach Poly Wins Both Varsity Titles, Plus Girls Frosh/Soph
Perennial track powerhouse Long Beach Poly won team titles in both the Boys and Girls Varsity, as well as the girls Frosh/Soph division. Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks took the Boys Frosh/Soph title.
Top 5 teams in each category are listed below:
| Varsity Girls | |
|
1) Long Beach Poly
|
229 |
| 2) Redondo Union | 112 |
| 3) Paramount | 98.5 |
| 4) Thousand Oaks | 94 |
| 5) Notre Dame-SO | 66 |
| Varsity Boys | |
| 1) Long Beach Poly | 171 |
| 2) Notre Dame-SO | 120 |
| 3) Paramount | 98 |
| 4) Thousand Oaks | 77 |
| 5) Redondo Union | 74 |
| Frosh/Soph Girls | |
| 1) Long Beach Poly | 113 |
| 2) West Torrance | 113 |
| 3) Thousand Oaks | 103 |
| 4) Paramount | 97.5 |
| 5) Redondo Union | 92 |
| Frosh/Soph Boys | |
| 1) Notre Dame-SO | 198.5 |
| 2) Long Beach Poly | 93 |
| 3) Redondo Union | 90 |
| 4) Paramount | 80 |
| 5) Lakewood | 64.5 |
Fast Times, Top Marks and Loads of PRs: Carpe Diem, at Full Steam
Some great double and triple performances were had by our Seahawks.
In addition to Evan Malone-White’s 4:19.35 1600, he also lead off the Distance Medley Relay with a 3:16.80 1200, and ran a 52.34 leg on the 4X400.
Kayla Ferron added to her 2:18.99 800 with a Distance Medley Relay 800 split in 2:32.90, plus a leg on the 4X400 in 63.94.
Cara Ulizio followed up her 5:06.68 1600 with a 5:15.08 anchor leg in the Distance Medley Relay, mentioned above as 13th best in the state this year, not to mention the 62.74 split she turned in on the 2nd place 4X400 relay team.
Taylor Bongiovanni had a huge PR in the discus with a 136′ 11″ throw for third place, and also had a 45′ 9.5″ PR in the shot put.
The Girls Varsity 4X100 relay team of Shelby Bassman, Kayla Patterson, Haley Miller and Ruby Davis easily won their Open division race with a 50.56 time that would have taken 3rd in the Championship race, which was won by Long Beach Poly in the number two time in the state this year. All 4 went on to compete in additional events. Shelby, Ruby and Haley came back in the 100 with 12.97, 13.16 and 13.35 times respectively, with Ruby and Haley also long jumping 15′ 1.25″ and 15′ 6.25. But Haley wasn’t finished yet, as she then went 32′ 5.5″ in the triple jump. Kayla came back to win the Open division 400 in 62.25 for a big PR.
Brenna Sopp put in a trio of 400 meter races by taking 5th in the Championship 400 in 62.31, contributing to a 4th place finish in the 4X400 with a 63.96 split, and a 2nd in that 13th best in state Distance Medley Relay with a 62.59 split.
Olivia Loveland took 4th in the Championship 400 in 62.21, then 6th in the 300 Hurdles in 51.88, and finally contributed nicely to the 4X400 team’s 2nd place finish with a 63.91 split on lead-off.
After the above mentioned 4:30.60 10th fastest sophomore 1600 in the state, Garrett Klatte ran a 2:04.13 split in the Distance Medley Relay.
An especially tough set was put in by Tyler Caracoza who won the Open division 1600 in a 4:33.65 PR, then returned to take 5th in the Championship 3200 with a 9:44.73 PR.
The Boys Frosh/Soph 1600 Championship race was a real Bay league show-down. Will Tait broke the 4:40 barrier with a 4:39.29 for 3rd place with Bay League runners taking 1st through 6th. Will and Seahawk brothers Tomohiro and Takehiro Yamaya were 3 of the 4 the freshmen to place in the top 18 spots, and all 3 set new PRs.
Beyond all this, there were many more excellent times and marks achieved by our Seahawk athletes.
A DJ, the Nike Photo Booth, Great Food and a Lot More…
This wasn’t just a great track invitational that ran on time, except for when it ran ahead of schedule, but also a festival of fun things to do, great food to eat and merchandise to buy.
A DJ provided the day’s sound track over the stadium sound system. Event sponsor Nike preformed running gait analysis, and set up a photo booth with props and accessories so everyone could pose for crazy, wacky pictures with their friends. Road Runner brought lots of running gear to sell at rock-bottom prices. The track booster club sold souvenir t-shirts and such that could be customized with heat press logos and designs. And they also ran a snack bar & grill that could rival the best gourmet lunch trucks in LA.
A Job Well Done
The full impact of organizing and running the inaugural event of a major track & field invitational like this takes a few days to settle in. It was a huge task, certainly the biggest event we have ever pulled off. But the experience that the booster club volunteers have accumulated over the past few years added up to a confident team of parents and alumni that know what needs to be done and how to do it. The dedication and detail-minded efforts of Susan Ryan, Dave Dill, Cathy and Rick Herold, and many others, set the ground work for everyone else to be able to do their best. And in the days following the meet, congratulatory calls and emails came in, confirming that the meet was an indeed an incredible success, a grand event envisioned by Head Coach Bob Leetch, and executed accordingly. This wasn’t just track & field, this was Redondo track & field.
Wear red, be loud, go Seahawks!
Doug Boswell
RUHS Track Booster Club
Timing ~ Results ~ Splits ~ Records ~ Stats
Way to go Kayla