Track and Field: Inland Empire athletes continue to fall off the map

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The Southern Section took another hit Friday night in the boys’ triple jump, specifically the Inland Empire, again.

Chris Bernard of Corona Santiago came into the CIF state preliminaries as the state leader in the event at 49 feet 6 inches, but he only went 47-1 1/4 and missed qualifying for Saturday’s final by a quarter inch. If you remember, the Sharks also fell apart in the meet-opening 400 relay.

But he wasn’t alone. Nick Ross of Vista Murrieta, No. 5 in the state coming in, finished 12th. At least he’s still alive in the high jump.

Oh, and Emmanuel Ngula of Vista del Lago, ranked No. 4 in the state in the 800, couldn’t match that effort and failed to qualify.

As the Inland Empire blogger, I’m feeling a bit embarrassed.

--Dan Arritt