M. Track & Field: Former athletes compete at USATF Championships

Ameer Webb reached the semifinals of the 200 meters at the USATF Outdoor Championships
Ameer Webb reached the semifinals of the 200 meters at the USATF Outdoor Championships

Competing at the USATF Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State University from June 26-28, Cerritos College was represented by three former men's track and field athletes. The meet in Northern California was the final stop on the 2014 USATF Outdoor CHampionship Series.

In the 200 meters, former Falcon All-American Ameer Webb, who was a three-time state champion before winning an NCAA Indoor Championship at Texas A&M University, competed, as did former Cerritos state champions Gabriel Hilbert and Daniel Herrera. Hilbert, who graduated last year from Cal State Long Beach, competed in the 800 meters, while Herrera, a senior at UCLA, ran in the 1500 meters.

Webb finished 13th in the prelims with a time of 20.70 to qualify for the quarterfinals, where his time of 20.74 put him in 14th place. He did not advance to the championship round. As a senior at Texas A&M in 2013, Webb defended his 2012 NCAA Indoor championship in the 200 meters with a 2013 world-leading time of 20.42 seconds. In the prelims, held an hour earlier, Webb set the world-leading time for 2013 with a 20.37 clocking that broke the Aggie school record. As a member of the Falcons in 2010-11, Webb won the 100-meter and 200-meter state championship in 2011 after capturing the 200-meter title his freshman season. He still holds the school record in both the 100 meters (10.16) and 200 meters (20.33).

Gabriel Hilbert Hilbert (pictured right), who concluded his career with the 49'ers by winning the Big West championship in the 800 meters with a career-best time of 1:48.99, was the 16th and final qualifier when he eclipsed his lifetime best time with a clocking of 1:48.03. His semi-final time of 1:49.70 put him in 12th place, but did not advance to the finals. As a sophomore for the Falcons in 2010, Hilbert won the state championship in the 800 meters with a school-record time of 1:50.84.

Daniel Herrera As for Herrera (pictured left), he competed in the 1500 meters and saw his time of 3:44.40 earn him 14th place, but missed competing in the semi-finals, as the top 12 advanced. In his junior season with the Bruins, Herrera was an NCAA qualifier in the 1500 meters. While the Cerritos in 2011, he won the state championship in the 5000 and 10,000 meters after placing second in both events as a freshman.

Ameer Webb photo courtesy of Texas A&M University
Gabriel Hilbert photo courtesy of Cal State Long Beach
Daniel Herrera photo courtesy of UCLA