By Joe Snyder
Serra High’s boys’ track and field landed several athletes on the Daily Breeze All-South Bay team.
Highlighting the Cavaliers was freshman Wesley Ace and junior Otis “Tre” Harrison. Ace, already ranked one of the top freshman sprinters in California, was selected to the 100-meter team. Ace ran as fast as 10.78 in the 100 as he looks at even better things over the next three seasons.
Ace was also a member of Serra’s mostly very young 4×100-meter relay team that captured the Del Rey League championship and CIF-Southern Section Division IV championships. The Cavaliers, that also included Camron Harrison-Wilcot (also a freshman), Duvay Williams and Harrison recorded their season-best time of 42.01 in the Southern Section Division IV finals on May 11 at Moorpark High, and narrowly missed the cut for the Masters Championships that was at the same place a week later.
Harrison also won the boys’ 300-meter intermediate hurdles at 38.82 in the divisional finals, but it was also not quite fast enough to advance to the Masters.
The two keyed Serra to a third-place finish as a team, behind champion Calabasas Viewpoint (57.5 points) and runner-up Ventura Foothill Tech (33) with 31 points.
Also making all-area was Gardena senior Jay’len Sparks who captured the CIF-Los Angeles City Section 110-meter-high hurdles clocking 14.51 seconds and defeating second place sophomore Jayden Rendon from Carson (14.62) on May 17 at El Camino College. Sparks’ performance in the CIF-State Prelims, however, was a disappointment due to a red card rule that did not allow him to set the starting blocks at his comfort. He finished his heat at 15.0, far short of making the finals as his rival, Rendon, recorded a 14.11 at the prelims on May 24 and took eighth in the finals at 14.31. Rendon placed second in his bigger event, the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 37.59 on May 25 at Buchanan High in Clovis.
Rendon’s performances earned him the South Bay Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year. He has a personal best time of 37.57 in the 300 intermediates a day earlier at the prelims.
The Colts, meanwhile, had junior Kameron Hurst and sophomore Craig Walker make all-area in the 100 and Hurst in the 200. Torrance sophomore Nicolas Obinga also made all-South Bay in the 100 and 200. Both were on Carson’s 4×100 relay team that also made all-area.
Also making all-area for Carson was junior long jumper Jerald Marlin-Evangelista who has a personal best of 22 feet, nine inches.
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ECC softball run ends in Super Regional loss
El Camino College’s softball team enjoyed a very good season finishing at 31-14 overall and in second place, behind Walnut Mt. San Antonio College, in the South Coast Conference with a 16-5 mark.
The Lady Warriors advanced to the Southern California Regional playoffs and began at home by sweeping Moorpark College, 3-0 on May 3 and 10-1 on May 4.
That put El Camino into the Super Regionals at Mt. SAC where it lost in three games. The Warriors began with a 5-1 loss on May 10, then edged the Mounties 4-3 on May 11, but was shut out in the decisive game 7-0 later that day. It was the Warriors’ fourth super regional appearance since 2015 and their 31 wins was the most since 37 in 2019.
ECC had two players make the 3CFCA All-Southern California team in freshman Emma Garcia and sophomore Mala Martin. Both played in all 45 games for the Warriors. Garcia had 57 hits, 23 stolen bases with a .500 on-base percentage. She scored 34 runs, had seven doubles, one triple and one home run. She made first team. Garcia graduated from Santa Fe High in Santa Fe Springs last year.
Martin, a sophomore from Warren High in Downey, totaled 52 hits for a .366 batting average. She had 11 doubles, drove in 36 runs, stole 16 bases, and scored 32 runs.
El Camino is head coached by Jessica Rapoza, who was in her ninth season. During this past season, Rapoza already recorded her 250th coaching win at ECC.
