The Varsity Track & Field team represented well at the 2019 Mission League Finals on Wednesday (Apr. 17) at Notre Dame HS, with Loyola taking home first place in five events (four individually) and securing top-five finishes in 12 others on the day. A handful of Cubs also qualified for the upcoming CIF Division I Prelims next month as a result of their performances in Sherman Oaks.
Individually, two field events were won by Loyola seniors, with Will O’Brien ’19 winning the pole vault (14-09.00) and Christian Sides ’19 taking the long jump (22-07.25). The Cubs dominated the pole vault after O’Brien was joined in the top three by senior counterparts Declan Dooley ’19 (2nd) and Colton Anderson ’19 (3rd). Galo Medina ’19 was Loyola’s highest finisher in the triple jump with a leap of 41-06.50. Full field event results and placements are below:
Pole Vault:
1. Will O’Brien ’19 (14-09.00)
2. Declan Dooley ’19 (13-06.00)
3. Colton Anderson ’19 (12-08.00)
5. Adam Orozco ’21 (11-06.00)
Long Jump:
1. Christian Sides ’19 (22-07.25)
7. Jalen McAlpin ’19 (20-00.00)
10. Lincoln Dibattista ’19 (19-04.75)
Triple Jump:
4. Galo Medina ’19 (41-06.50)
7. Michael Jones ’20 (39-11.00)
8. Lincoln Dibattista ’19 (38-10.50)
On the track, the 4x400m relay team comprised of Ceyair Wright ’21, Mason Ratkovich ’19, Jeremy Davis ’19 and anchor Andrew Arth ’19 crossed the line in first with a time of 3:17.40, good for the second fastest mark recorded in the state of California this season. Additionally, the 4x100m relay team of Wright, Arth, senior Christian Sides ’19 and Davis placed fourth at 42.48.
4x400m Relay:
1. Ceyair Wright ’21, Mason Ratkovich ’19, Jeremy Davis ’19, Andrew Arth ’19 (3:17.40)
4x100m Relay:
4. Ceyair Wright ’21, Andrew Arth ’19, Christian Sides ’19, Jeremy Davis ’19 (42.48)
Two more races were won by a pair of distance runners, with the senior Ratkovich taking the 800m title (1:53.84) and junior Anthony Stone ’20 winning the 1600m (4:19.48). Konnor Paris ’19 followed closely behind Ratkovich in the 800, taking second with a time of 1:54.18. In the 3200m, Cub runners occupied finishes 2-5 as senior Ethan Stauber ’19 led the way with a time of 9:35.46.
800m:
1. Mason Ratkovich ’19 (1:53.84)
2. Konnor Paris ’19 (1:54.18)
6. Arjun Vadgama ’21 (2:02.91)
1600m:
1. Anthony Stone ’20 (4:19.48)
4. Roberto Ruelas ’19 (4:27.66)
5. Gus Marshall ’20 (4:31.08)
3200m:
2. Ethan Stauber ’19 (9:35.46)
3. Vinnie Giachini ’19 (9:49.97)
4. Anthony Stone ’20 (9:57.03)
5. Roberto Ruelas ’19 (9:59.35)
Other results from the sprinting and hurdling corps included top three finishes from Wright (200m), Arth and Davis (400m) and junior Evan Cantrell (300m Hurdles). The sophomore Wright set two new PRs in the 100m and 200m races.
100m:
5. Ceyair Wright ’21 (10.89)
200m:
3. Ceyair Wright ’21 (22.06)
400m:
2. Andrew Arth ’19 (48.39)
3. Jeremy Davis ’19 (49.59)
110m Hurdles:
6. Paul Houston ’19 (15.98)
300m Hurdles:
2. Evan Cantrell ’20 (40.31)
6. Tyler Ratkovich ’20 (41.31)
Loyola concluded the regular dual meet season with a record of 5-1 overall and will now look to the postseason and CIF Prelims, which will take place in early May. Before that, however, the Cubs will compete at the Mt. SAC Invitational on Saturday (Apr. 20) at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.