M. Track & Field: Falcon athletes take the top two spots at the Cerritos Decathlon

Falcon athletes took the top two spots at the Cerritos Decathlon
Falcon athletes took the top two spots at the Cerritos Decathlon

Competing in the two-day Cerritos Decathlon, a pair of Falcon athletes finished in the top two spots. Freshman Jacob Haley (Irvine HS) compiled 5636 points for the 10-event decathlon, with freshman teammate Niko Mancini (Broadalbin-Perth, NY HS) in second place with 5428 points. A third Cerritos entry, sophomore Venture O'Neal (West Torrance HS), placed fourth with 4700 points.

Leading after the first day, Haley pulled even further ahead on the second day with his time of 16.52 in the 110-meter HH, which earned him 675 points. But that lead was shaved off when his discus throw of 26.51 meters only added 396 points to his total, while Mancini earned 624 points when he recorded a distance of 38.02 meters. The lead was now only 206 points after the eighth event, as Haley cleared 3.00 meters (357 points) in the pole vault, with Mancini earning 406 points for the 3.20 meters he cleared.

The drama continued to build when Mancini closed to within 149 points after he posted a 576 point effort in the javelin (49.13 meters), with Haley only amassing 519 points with his throw of 45.26 meters. With just the 1500 meters remaining, Haley was able to hold off Mancini when he crossed the finish line in 4:45.50, while the time of 5:04.77 by Mancini secured him a second place finish.

Mt. San Antonio College's Andrew Aguillar spent the day chasing the two Falcons, but had to settle for third place over the two days with his 5345 points. His foul in the long jump was Aguillar's downfall, as he didn't earn any points in the event. The best event for O'Neal was the shot put, where he collected 565 points with his throw of 11.31 meters, which was the second best of all entries.

The rest of the Falcons are currently competing in the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational.