Hosting the Cerritos Invitational on Friday, the Cerritos College women's track and field team turned in even more marks that have automatically advanced them to the Southern California Prelims, which is less than a month away. The Falcons excelled in the sprinting events, as well as the hurdles and field events, which included a pair of first place finishes. Next up for the team will be the South Coast Conference Prelims, which will take place at Falcon Stadium on April 23.
In the 100 meters, the pair of Kenyla Miles (Carson HS) and Kierra King (Long Beach Wilson HS) tied for second place with a time of 11.75, which automatically qualifies them for the SoCal Prelims. Their 400-meter relay teammates, Alona Davis (Bellflower HS) and Mahlaya Salter (Diamond Ranch HS) finished with top 10 times on the day at 12.12 and 12.16, respectively. The quartet also teamed up to win the 400-meter relay race with a clocking of 46.00, which is also an automatically qualifying time. Miles (24.61) and Davis (24.82) also finished in fifth and sixth places, respectively in the 200 meters.
Freshman Alia Scott (Vista HS), the school record-holder in the 400-meter IH (59.98), won the event on Saturday with a speedy time of 1:00.77, while her time of 14.72 put her in fifth place in the 100-meter HH. The long jump produced three of the top five finishers, with King taking second place with a distance of 5.49 meters, with freshman Justice Smith (Highland HS) in third place at 5.44 meters. Sophomore Imani Jones (Mater Dei HS) also competed and posted a sixth place distance of 5.32 meters. The 800 meters saw sophomore Monica Bautista (El Rancho HS) post a third place time of 2:25.92.
Smith also moved into fourth place on the college's all-time top five list in the triple jump when she leaped 12.09 meters, which earned her a second place finish. Sophomore thrower Nanati Alailefaleula (Long Beach Millikan HS) was a second place finisher in the shot put with a distance of 11.63 meters, while also adding a third place result in the discus (35.02 meters) and a hammer throw of 41.11 meters, which netted her a fourth place finish.
Photos by Daryl Peterson
