SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Blake Rodriguez led a contingent of Vanguard men's track and field athletes with a second place finish in the javelin on day one of the 2023 Golden State Athletic Conference Championships Thursday.
The senior posted the best finish for the men in the scoring events, coming in second place with a top throw of 48.27m (158-04). He picked up eight of 22 points the Lions scored that afternoon, which puts the Blue and Gold fourth overall out of eight teams.
The Master's led with 114 points after day one, followed by Arizona Christian in second with 59. Host Westmont is in third with 51 points. After Vanguard, Menlo (10 points), Hope International (8), OUAZ (3) and Jessup (3) round out the pack.
Rodriguez accounted for two more points as he finished second in the discus with a best mark of 35.48m (116-05).
In other field events, Nolan Torres finished seventh in the pole vault at 2.90m (9-06.25). He picked up two points.
On the track, Anthony Kennen and Anthony Hernandez both finished sixth in their respective events to tally three points apiece. Kennen ran 33:14.20 in the 10,000 meters, while Hernandez posted a 9:50.98 in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Isaiah Feaver, Justin Ramirez, Payton Kubalsky and Cooper Anderson represented the Blue and Gold in the 4x800 relay, placing fifth in 8:43.45. The fifth place finish resulted in four more points for VU.
Through five events in the decathlon, Justin Bartlebaugh tallied 2,430 points for second place. He finished third in the 400 meters (54.10) and fourth in the long jump (5.31m).
Lots of activity on the track in the preliminaries netted solid results for the Lions, who sent a number of athletes to Friday's finals.
Chase Mars, the favorite to win the 100 and 200 meters, did not disappoint. He had the fastest times in both races, finishing in 10.66 in the 100 and 21.57 in the 200. Gemaal Britt also advanced to the 100 finals with his 11.31 time, while Terence Williams finished second in his heat (22.68) to qualify for the 200 finals.
Williams had a huge performance in the 400 meter prelims. He shattered his previous personal-best of 50.53 by more than a second, finishing first overall in 49.19 seconds.
In the 110 meter hurdles, Chris Watson broke 15 seconds for the first time in his career. His time of 14.94 seconds was tops in his heat – and good for second overall. He obliterated his previous PR of 15.56.
Also qualifying for finals was Feaver in the 800 meters. He placed second in his heat and fourth overall with a time of 1:58.40.
What Was Said?: "Terence Williams and Chris Watson had exceptional performances in advancing to the finals with big PR's," said Head Coach Bryan Wilkins. "We're proud of our athletes for performing at a high level and supporting each other in this competition."
What's Next?: The final day of the GSAC Men's Track and Field Championship begins Friday with the hammer at 10:30 a.m. The running portion of the program starts at 12:40 p.m. with the 4x100 relay.
