Jorge Trujillo of Rio Rico High School, left, and Parker Jeong of Nogales High School, right, are both headed for the state track meet next weekend in Mesa.
Jorge Trujillo of Rio Rico High School, left, and Parker Jeong of Nogales High School, right, are both headed for the state track meet next weekend in Mesa.
Five local athletes immediately qualified for the all-division state track and field championship, and several others are expecting bids following their performances at the divisional championships last weekend in Glendale.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association is rolling out a new format this season in order to hold a single state championship featuring the best athletes from around the state, regardless of their school size. Competitors qualified for the state meet, set for May 12-13 at Mesa Community College, with their showings at the divisional championships held last weekend.
According to a social media post from the Rio Rico High School Athletics Department, three Hawks – Jorge Trujillo, Cristian Doyle and Alex Johnson – all qualified with their finishes during the Division III championship meet held May 5-6 at Deer Valley High School in Glendale.
Two athletes from Nogales High School – Parker Jeong and Shahean Simon – earned automatic state meet bids at the Division II meet, also held May 5-6 at Deer Valley High, NHS Athletic Director Eric Sowle said in an email Monday morning.
In addition, Sowle said, girls team members Carolina Renteria and Gabiela Aguayo were candidates to receive bids upon consideration by the selection committee.
Jeong made the cut by finishing second in the D-II boys long jump, with a distance of 21-06.25. That was just a quarter-inch shy of the first-place finisher. Simon was third in the boys D-II pole vault, clearing the bar at 14 feet. He also finished sixth in the boys 110-meter hurdles.
State meet hopeful Renteria was fifth in both the girls D-II high jump (5 feet) and long jump (17-01.25). She also came in seventh in the javelin.
Aguayo was sixth in the girls long jump at 16 feet, 10 inches.
In the D-III meet, Rio Rico’s Trujillo was second in the boys 3200 meter run with a time of 9:24.62 and third in the boys 1600 meters at 4:26:16.
His RRHS teammate Doyle was third in the triple jump with a distance of 41-10.75. Johnson, the other Rio Rico qualifier, was sixth in the D-III boys javelin.
As a team, the Nogales High School girls were 18th among the 30 schools that competed at the D-II meet. The Nogales boys were 20th in a field of 32.
Other athletes from NHS who placed at the event included Kimberly Clark, who was 12th in the girls triple jump. Jorge Felix was 22nd in the boys 3200 meters, and the girls 4x800 relay team was 12th.
The Rio Rico boys team was 11th in a field of 33 at the D-III meet. Other Hawks who placed were Jose Hernandez (22nd in the 3200 meters), Jerman Solis (eighth in the boys long jump) and the Hawks 4x800-meter relay team (12th place).
Isabella Bravo of RRHS was ninth in the girls 3200 meters with a time of 12:04.80, and she finished 17th in the 1600 meter run. Tanzanite Carrasco was 19th in the 300-meter hurdles.
