May 3, 2022

The CAC Women's and Men's Track and Field Teams kicked off The Region 1 Championships at Mesa Community College on Tuesday.  The meet, which hosts all the junior colleges in the State who have a track and field team, typcially produces some impressive performances leading into the NJCAA National Championship.  

However, the first event that starts the meet was not held on Tuesday, rather it starts a week prior.  This is when CAC received the men's and women's first points of regionals. 

Obinna Nwankwo competed in the Decathlon, which was held on 4/25 and 4/26.  Obinna secured 2nd place honors, totaling 5187 points.  More importantly, he contributed 8 points heading into the bulk of the events on Tuesday.  Saria Oliver competed in the Heptathlon those same two days and placed 7th overall earning 2 points for the Vaqueras in the process. 

On Tuesday, it was time for the distance and a few of the field events to shine as each member of the distance portion of the men's and women's teams scored points for CAC.  

The first event on the track was the women's 3000 meter steeplechase.  Lisbet Porras (11:59.91) and Anette Carrasco Cota (12:20.60) represented the Vaqueras by placing 2nd and 4th place overall.  Contributing 13 points in the event.  Mesa secured 23 points as they had 4 competitors in the top 8.  Lisbet, who has previously qualified for Nationals in the steeplechase, ran a personal record and ran the 11th fastest time in school history.  

Next up were the men, who were 4 deep in the 3000 meter steeplechase.  The group was led by Davin Soto (10:07.88, 2nd Ovr) who was a hair ahead of Benjamin Morfin (10:07.99, 3rd ovr).  Both Vaqueros secured 14 points but the event was not over as Kyle Partin (10:26.05) and James Fincher (10:34.54) placed 5th and 7th overall netting 6 more points.  The foursome garnered 20 points for the men's team in that single event.  

The Vaqueros and Vaqueras secured 2nd place in the 4x800, contributing 8 points each.  The team of Joseph Carlson, Hayden Gelder, Joseph Meagher, and Christian Franklin ran an impressive 7:44.93 which is the 11th fastest time in school history and currently gives them the 4th fastest time in the nation.  Vaqueras; Jaedyn Brown, Bella Gallo, Anette Carrasco Cota, and Beatrice Keditukei posted a 10:13.78 good enough for 14th all time at CAC. Paradise Valley won the men's event while Mesa won the women's 4x8.  

The last scoring event for the track was the 10000 meter race.  The grueling 6.2 miles on the track is typically where most schools defer having runners compete but CAC is not like most schools.  Lisbet doubled up for the day, running in the 10k just 2 hours after running the steeplechase.  Not only did she win the event, but helped the Vaqueras net 10 points in the process.  Jaedyn, who competed in the 4x8 40 minutes earlier, also competed in the 10k and claimed runner up honors, respectively.  Both ladies helped the Vaqueras by contributing 18 points. 

The men were led by Alazar Getahun (3rd overall). A few places back were his teammates Davin Soto (5th), and Salat Ibrahim (6th). The trio scored 13 points for the Vaqueros.  "All in all it was a solid day for my group" Stated Cross Country Coach Jon Harmon.  "We needed to set the tone for the team and represent the program to the best of our ability.  Scoring 80 points total for both teams on the distance side, and on the first day, is in my opinion representing the program well."  The next program with as many points in distance events was Mesa (62) and Pima (40).

The Throws and Jumps events also heavily contributed to the scoring on Tuesday.

Kaise Ugeh (37.95m) earned 8 points by claiming runner up in the javelin.  Her teammate Princess Kara (35.61m) placed 8th overall and nabbed a point in the process.  

The trio of Zamesha Myle (5.55m), Juvonna Cornette (5.21m), and Saria Oliver (4.80m) helped the Vaqueras score 15 points.  The highlight came from Zamesha who won the event, securing 10 points.  Juvonna placed 5th and Saria 8th, respectively.  

For the men jump events: Ousman Jagne (2nd ovr), Jaelan Stewart (3rd ovr), and Godwin Charles (7th ovr) earned 16 points total.  Also contributing 2 points was Ryan Brandt (3.81m) in the pole vault. 

The second and final day of the Region 1 Championships is Thursday, 5/5 at Mesa Community College.  The first event is slated to start 6:00pm.  For Day 1 results click here.