Rio Mesa Recovers to Capture Title

Rio Mesa High failed to score a point in the boys’ 100 and 200 meters in the Pacific View League track and field finals at Hueneme High on Friday, but that didn’t prevent the Spartans from rolling to their second consecutive league title.

Rio Mesa, ranked No. 6 in the region by The Times, totaled 119 points. No. 7-ranked Hueneme had 92 points and Camarillo had 58.

Hueneme got victories from junior Julian Gooden in the 100 (wind-aided 10.79), senior Keary Colbert in the 200 (wind-aided 21.90) and junior Patrick Wetzel in the 400 (51.18). The Vikings also won the 400 relay in 42.84 and the 1600 relay in 3:24.77, but they lacked Rio Mesa’s overall depth.

Senior Brian Tillquist led the Spartans to a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 110 high hurdles with a wind-aided 15.56 and senior Diran Balekian led them to a 1-2 finish in the 300 intermediates with a time of 41.79.

Rio Mesa’s other victories came from senior Chris Muller, who ran 1:59.40 in the 800, freshman Phillip Reid, who clocked 10:03.37 in the 3200, and senior Mike Alexander, who leaped a wind-aided 21-8 in the long jump.

Junior Porchea Carroll of Rio Mesa won four events in the girls’ meet to lead the No. 2-ranked Spartans to a 139-102 victory over defending champion Camarillo.

Carroll, the state leader in the 100 at 11.60, won that event in a wind-aided 12.35, the 200 in a wind-aided 25.60, the 400 in 58.88 and the long jump in a wind-aided 18-8 1/2.

Senior Lisa Wygant of No. 7-ranked Camarillo won the 100 high hurdles in a wind-aided 15.79, the high jump in 5-2 and the triple jump in a career-best 36-2 1/2. She ran on the Scorpions’ winning 1600 relay team that clocked 4:13.50.

Pacific League finals--Junior Anita Siraki of Hoover won her second consecutive titles in the girls’ 1600 and 3200, but finished second to senior Janelle Del Soldato of Crescenta Valley in the 800 at Arcadia High.

Siraki, defending Southern Section Division I champion in the 1600 and 3200, won the former in 5:12.93 and the latter in 10:46.0.

Del Soldato won the 400 in the league finals last year, but her 2:14.40 clocking in the 800 bettered her previous best of 2:17.23 and gave her a solid margin of victory over Siraki, who ran 2:15.62.

Channel League finals--Josh Spiker and Clark Goodwin of Ventura each won two individual events at Santa Barbara City College.

Spiker, defending state champion in the 3200, ran 4:14.89 in the 1600 and 9:34.03 in the 3200 to win his second consecutive titles in those events.

Goodwin, defending Southern Section Division II champion in the 400, won that event in 48.30 and the 200 in 22.38.

Goodwin also anchored the Cougars’ 400 and 1600 relay teams to victories in 43.60 and 3:25.84.