Cecilia Nicolas became the 3,000-meter steeplechase California champion at the California State Championships at Cerritos College on Saturday. Teammate Angela Martinez took third place.
Slideshow Media Credit: Richard Kontas
Nicolas also broke Glendale’s previous record in the event by finishing in 11:06.26. Martinez finished the race in 11:19.
The Lady Vaqueros were squeezed out of a second place finish by just three points, which came down to the wire in the final women’s event, the pole vault. Laney College became State Champions with 78 points while Cerritos and Riverside both tied for second place with 50 points.
“Our girls did a fantastic job today,” said Head Coach Eddie Lopez. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t have enough athletes in the field events or else we would have most likely finished much higher.”
Grace Zamudio finished in second place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:12. Nohemi Martinez came in sixth place in 18:21. Angela Martinez finished in eighth with a time of 18:23.
Vladimir Diaz, the only competitor for the Glendale men’s team, battled his way in the final lap for a fourth place finish with a time of 9:34 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final.
“I’m very proud of myself because I didn’t expect that I would make it to the State Championships,” said Diaz, 19. “The race was very competitive from beginning to end so I’m ecstatic that I finished fourth in the entire state for this event.”
Slideshow Media Credit: Richard Kontas
Alyssa Selve, team captain of the Lady Vaqs, finished in sixth place in the 1,500-meter final with a time of 4:47.
“I’m bummed about my race,” said Selve, 19. “I normally finish this distance faster but after being sidelined for seven weeks due to an injury, I think I did a good. The team overall did awesome today so there is still a reason to be excited.”
Lillia Asserian took sixth place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.73. Justice Shank finished in seventh place with a 1.60-meter jump in the high jump final.
“We are a close team and we proved it today by giving it our best,” said Selve.
Lopez had high praise for the Lady Vaqs. “The women’s team had an unbelievable season,” said Lopez. “This was the best sophomore group of athletes that I’ve ever coached. It’s going to be very hard to replace Selve, Nicolas and Angela and Nohemi Martinez for next year.”
The Lady Vaqs had a strong showing at the final weekend of the Southern California Championships held at San Diego Mesa on May 12. The Lady Vaqs took second place for the first time in school history.
Shank became the So Cal high jump champion with a jump of 5-feet-7-inches, which broke the previous Glendale record held by Bianca Howard in 1996.
In the steeplechase final, Angela Martinez took second place with a time of 11:21.15 and Nicolas finished third in 11:21.30.
In the 1,500-meter final, Selve took fourth place in 4:42.05 and Zamudio finished seventh in 4:45. In the women’s 800-meter final, Asserian finished third with a time of 2:16.
In the women’s 5,000-meter run, Zamudio took second place with a time of 18:08.
Angela Martinez finished fifth in 18:24.35 and Nohemi Martinez came in sixth in 18:25.53. Nicolas took seventh with a time of 18:32.93.
