By Tadzio Garcia
High Jump standout Jill Schmidt took to the sky placing first at last Saturday’s All Comers meet at Mt. San Antonio College, which kicked off the track and field season.
The upcoming season promises to be a challenging one and, based on last Saturday’s results, the Huskies are poised to make a good showing.
ELAC will next compete in the Cerritos Invitational, 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday at Cerritos College.
Other top Husky performers at Mt. SAC included Shawnta Barnes, Iris Abrego, Raquel Acosta, Olivia Reyes, Michael Abarca, Ricardo Preciado, Garret Carillo and Rob Felton.
“The meet was a tune-up for South Coast Conference teams,” said Coach Jason Tena-Encarnación.
“We are a young team but what was most impressive is that we had success with teams that outnumbered us,” said Tena-Encarnación.
“We established our presence in our conference.
“We will move forward with a lot of expectations,” said Tena-Encarnación.
One area where expectations are high to produce winning results is in the high jump. Schmidt, a sophomore, will be one of our top competitors, jumping 1.6 meters to win the high jump event at Mt. SAC.
She is also ranked one of the top three high jumpers in Southern California according to GoCollegeTrack.com, which is the community college system website for track & field and cross country.
Right behind her is Barnes, who tied for second in the high jump at 1.55 meters.
Preciado, who placed six, and Kevin Bosch were among the men’s high jump finalists.
The Huskies also sent athletes to the final heats of the triple jump, long jump, 880 meter run, 400 hurdles, 4 x 400 men’s relay, javelin and the shot put event.
Elias Rocha, who is new to track and field, made the finals in the pole vault. “I learn a lot from the coaches and have high expectations for my progress,” said Rocha.
The final meet before post season will be the South Coast Conference finals on Friday, April 29 at Weingart Stadium which will be the first time ELAC hosts the event in eleven years.