Valley Loses a Battle of Numbers in Track Final

A decision by conference coaches earlier this season to award points to the top six finishers in each event may have cost Valley College a conference track and field championship Friday.

Previously, first place was worth five points, second place three and third place one. This season, Mountain Valley Conference coaches decided that a 10-1 point system would be used; 10 points for first, 8 for second, 6 for third, 4 for fourth, 2 for fifth and 1 for sixth.

With that in mind, Trade-Tech entered six competitors in the hammer throw final, which was held two weeks ago at the conference preliminary meet. Valley entered none. Trade-Tech swept all six places using hammer throwers and distance runners.

Distance runners?

“All they had to do was throw the thing three feet,” meet spokesman Mark Borgononi said. “Points are points. They couldn’t lose.”

And they didn’t. Trade-Tech had swept the 10,000 meters run and won five of six places in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the preliminary meet to amass 85 points going into Friday’s finale at Valley. Antelope Valley had eight and Valley none at the preliminary meet.

On the strength of its big lead, Trade-Tech held on to win the conference championship Friday with 214 points. Defending champion Valley rallied to second with 167 and Antelope Valley finished third, compiling 104 points. Southwest was fourth with 55.

“They won because they had strength in numbers,” Borgononi said.

Valley sprinter Benjamin Green, who won both the 100 and 200 meter races Friday, was named the conference’s male athlete of the year.

Felicia Scaggs of Valley was named the female athlete of the year. Scaggs won the 400-meter run and the 200 meters to lead the Valley women to their second straight conference championship. In the women’s competition, Valley had 269 points, Antelope Valley had 94 and Southwest had 10.

Valley’s Trudi Johnson and Gretchen Lohr each earned two conference titles. Johnson won 100-meter hurdles in 15.41 and the 100-meter run in 12.73. Lohr, who is in her first season of competition track, won the 5,000-meter run in 17:47 and the 1,500-meter run in 4:55.75.

Seven conference records were either established or broken at the meet.

Trade-Tech’s Zeb Zepeda established a men’s record in the first-ever hammer throw, heaving 85-4. Lohr established a record in both the 1,500 and 5,000 meters and Antelope Valley’s Tammy Caston established a record in the women’s triple jump, leaping 16-7 1/2.

Valley set a record in the 400-meter men’s relay with a time of 42.41. In the men’s steeplechase, Trade-Tech’s Carlos Navarro set a record with a time of 9:35.08. In the 110-meter high hurdles, Valley’s Raymond Brooks set a record with a time of 15.71.

Antelope Valley’s Austin Jordan was named the conference coach of the year.