W. Track & Field: Throws and relays lead Falcons at invitational

Women's Track & Field competed at the Ron Kamaka Invitational at Mt. San Antonio
Women's Track & Field competed at the Ron Kamaka Invitational at Mt. San Antonio

At the Ron Kamaka Invitational on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College, the Cerritos College women's track and field team were led by their throws and relay team. The Falcons, who have had one of more dominant throws program in the state for the last 15 years, had 11 total top five finishers, while the team's 4x400-meter relay squad came in first place. Next up for the team will be the Cal State Long Beach Invitational next weekend.

Highlighting the throws results was the first place finish for sophomore Andrea Villalta (Norwalk HS), who turned in a SoCal qualifying distance of 39.93 meters (121' 2"), which was 10 feet farther than her closest competition. The Falcons also took second through fifth place in the hammer, and were led by sophomore Milika Burdett (Cypress HS), who posted a distance of 40.39 meters (132' 6"), while sophomores Natalie Bailey (Mayfair HS) and Dimitra Vitogiannis (Downey HS) came in third place (38.06 meters) and fourth place (33.63 meters), respectively. Freshman Emily Ortiz (Tustin HS) cracked the top five with her best throw of 33.23 meters.

The discus saw Vitogiannis come in first place with a distance of 36.83 meters (120' 10"), which was three feet ahead of Ortiz, who came in second place at 34.33 meters. Burdett finished ahead of all other community college entries in the shot put, with a throw of 11.09 meters (36' 4 3/4"), which put her in second place overall. Sophomore Jessica McLennan (Warren HS) placed third on the day at 10.75 meters.

The 4x400-meter relay team of sophomores Zharia Taylor (Long Beach Poly HS/University of Southern Mississippi). Crystal Nguyen (Fountain Valley HS), Alona Davis (Bellflower HS) and Elena Mack (El Camino Real Charter HS) recorded a first place time of 4:05.88. Davis, who ran a leg of the Falcons 2019 state championship relay team, also competed in the 200 meters and finished in fourth place at 25.18, while Mack came in sixth place at 25.52. 

Below is a list of Falcon athletes that finished in the Top 20 of their respective events.

NAME EVENT TIME/DISTANCE PLACE
Jasmine Soto-Castro 100 Meters 12.98 13th Place
Crystal Nguyen 100 Meters 13.07 16th Place
Alona Davis 200 Meters 25.18 4th Place
Elena Mack 200 Meters 25.52 6th Place
Jasmine Soto-Castro 200 Meters 26.75 20th Place
Elena Mack 400 Meters 58.57 5th Place
Leslie Juarez 800 Meters 2:33.98 5th Place
Megan Feitz 800 Meters 2:35.61 6th Place
Ariel Alvarez 800 Meters 2:35.98 7th Place
Lila Palmer 800 Meters 2:36.42 8th Place
Diana Raya Perez 800 Meters 2:36.77 9th Place
Kimberly Ibarra 800 Meters 2:43.88 12th Place
Delilah Chavez 800 Meters 2:48.70 15th Place
Megan Feitz 1500 Meters 5:02.65 7th Place
Diana Raya Perez 1500 Meters 5:21.56 16th Place
Zharia Taylor 100 Meter HH 16.30 9th Place
Alyssa Zabala 100 Meter HH 17.07 13th Place
Amaya Nolan-Gieskes 100 Meter HH 18.26 14th Place
Zharia Taylor, Crystal Nguyen, Alona Davis, Elena Mack 4x400-Meter Relay 4:05.88 1st Place
Amaya Nolan-Gieskes High Jump 1.30 Meters 7th Place
Zharia Taylor Long Jump 4.94 Meters 10th Place
Andrea Alvarado Long Jump 4.76 Meters 14th Place
Alyssa Zabala Long Jump 4.36 Meters 20th Place
Milika Burdett Shot Put 11.09 Meters 2nd Place
Jessica McLennan Shot Put 10.75 Meters 3rd Place
Dimitra Vitogiannis Shot Put 10.60 Meters 5th Place
Natalie Bailey Shot Put 9.83 Meters 7th Place
Zharia Taylor Shot Put 9.17 Meters 10th Place
Dimitra Vitogiannis Discus 36.83 Meters 1st Place
Emily Ortiz Discus 34.33 Meters 2nd Place
Jessica McLennan Discus 29.91 Meters 5th Place
Milika Burdett Discus 24.94 Meters 11th Place
Milika Burdett Hammer 40.39 Meters 2nd Place
Natalie Bailey Hammer 38.06 Meters 3rd Place
Dimitra Vitogiannis Hammer 33.63 Meters 4th Place
Emily Ortiz Hammer 33.23 Meters 5th Place
Andrea Villalta Javelin 39.93 Meters 1st Place