W. Track & Field: Second place finish for the Falcons

Cerritos women's track and field placed second at the SoCal Championships
Cerritos women's track and field placed second at the SoCal Championships

Looking to clinch their fourth straight Southern California Championship, the Cerritos College women's track and field team came up short, as they finished in second place. Competing at San Diego Mesa College, the Falcons, who are also the three-time defending CCCAA State Champions, will look to defend their title next weekend at Bakersfield College. Cerritos finished the SoCal Championships with 178.50 team points, which was 24 points behind eventual champion Mt. San Antonio College, who had 202.50 points. The Falcons could have amassed many more points if they had been able to match their marks from the SoCal Prelims, while they missed out on scoring in the 400-meter relay when they were disqualified, and were one of the favorites to win the event.

Sophomore thrower Amber Hart (Narbonne HS) won both the shot put and discus, while she finished in second place in the hammer and is the defending state champion in the shot put. Also scoring a large number of points for the Falcons was versatile Michaela Banyi (Valencia HS), who earned points in three events, including the championship in the heptathlon. She also placed second in the javelin and fourth in the 100-meter HH. Freshman sprinter Keirra King (Long Beach Wilson HS), who is the lead runner on the 400-meter relay team, took third place in the 100 meters. Additionally, King ran the second leg of the 1600-meter relay team that came in third place, while also taking fourth in the long jump. She was expected to earn points for the team in the 200 meters, but false started.

Also winning events for the Falcons were Imani Jones (Mater Dei HS) in the triple jump (11.93 meters) and sophomore Mystasia Alexander (Lynwood HS), the defending state champion in the javelin (42.99 meters).

Below is a list of athletes that competed in the Southern California Championships.

NAME EVENT TIME/DISTANCE PLACE
Keirra King 100 Meters 11.86 3rd Place
Sicily Moore 100 Meters 12.66 8th Place
Kymberlynn Jackson 200 Meters 25.28 4th Place
Keirra King 200 Meters False Start  
Kymberlynn Jackson 400 Meters 57.41 6th Place
Glenn Nance 400 Meters 59.81 7th Place
Tyler Simpson 800 Meters 2:17.22 5th Place
Michaela Banyi 100-Meter HH 15.00 4th Place
Amani Briggs 100-Meter HH 15.24 6th Place
Jelani Minix 100-Meter HH 16.72 8th Place
Davina Pham 400-Meter IH 1:05.64 5th Place
Michaela Banyi 400-Meter IH 1:08.96 9th Place
King, Jones, Jackson, Moore 4x100-Meter Relay DQ  
Nance, King, Jackson, Simpson 4x400-Meter Relay 3:54.85 3rd Pace
Jelani Minix High Jump 1.65 Meters 2nd Place
Amani Briggs High Jump 1.55 Meters Tied 6th Place
Kymberlynn Jackson High Jump 1.50 Meters Tied 11th Place
Davina Pham High Jump 1.50 Meters Tied 11th Place
Keirra King Long Jump 5.43 Meters 4th Place
Kymberlynn Jackson Long Jump 5.35 Meters 6th Place
Jelani Minix Long Jump 5.06 Meters 10th Place
Michaela Banyi Long Jump 5.01 Meters 11th Place
Imani Jones Triple Jump 11.93 Meters 1st Place
Jelani Minix Triple Jump 11.74 Meters 2nd Place
Amani Briggs Triple Jump 11.31 Meters 5th Place
Amber Hart Shot Put 14.33 Meters 1st Place
Nanati Alailefaleula Shot Put 12.35 Meters 3rd Place
Mystasia Alexander Shot Put 12.12 Meters 4th Place
Tanya Reyes Shot Put 11.78 Meters 7th Place
Michaela Banyi Shot Put 11.04 Meters 11th Place
Amber Hart Discus 51.25 Meters 1st Place
Mystasia Alexander Discus 41.30 Meters 5th Place
Tanya Reyes Discus Foul  
Amber Hart Hammer 49.09 Meters 2nd Place
Tanya Reyes Hammer 47.90 Meters 3rd Place
Isabella Kress Hammer 37.83 Meters 15th Place
Nanati Alailefaleula Hammer 29.90 Meters 22nd Place
Mystasia Alexander Javelin 42.99 Meters 1st Place
Michaela Banyi Javelin 38.90 Meters 2nd Place
Darlena Robinson Javelin 25.72 Meters 12th Place
Kymberlynn Jackson Javelin 24.02 Meters 15th Place
Davina Pham Javelin Foul  
Michaela Banyi Heptathlon 4567 Points 1st Place
Davina Pham Heptathlon 4314 Points 2nd Place
Amani Briggs Heptathlon 4221 Points 3rd Place
Kymberlynn Jackson Heptathlon 4048 Points 4th Place
Darlena Robinson Heptathlon 3442 Points 9th Place
Mikaiella Vargas Heptathlon 2229 Points 13th Place