Ligons repeats in 800 meters, Phantoms add 4x800 relay victory to strengthen presence at state meet; Engelhardt prevails in 1,600, leads Ventura to girls 4x800 triumph, with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s Johnson and Garden Grove Pacifica’s Lewis both sweeping shot put and discus

By Pete Marshall for DyeStat

MOORPARK, Calif. – It seems like Cathedral High in Los Angeles is trying to corner the market on boys 800-meter runners.

Not only did Cathedral win the boys 4x800-meter relay in 7 minutes, 42.19 seconds at Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High, but their best middle-distance runner, Washington commit Ambodai Ligons, didn’t even run on that relay, instead winning the 800 in 1:51.39.

“You can’t count us out. We just get the job done,” said Cathedral’s Giovanni Moreno, who ran the first leg of the 4x800 relay.

Ligons won the Masters crown in the 800 last year and was intent on winning again.

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“I wanted to come out here and defend the title, run a good race and pull all those guys to make it to state,” Ligons said.

In most events, the top six finishers at the CIF Southern Section Masters qualify for next week’s CIF State Championships at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis, plus additional finishers who meet the qualifying standard. The lone exception is the 4x800, where only the top four CIF Southern Section teams advance to state finals, provided they meet the standard.

All events will be competed in the state prelims Friday and state championships Saturday with the exception of the 4x800 and 3,200, which are contested Saturday.

Some competitors at Moorpark were merely concerned about meeting the qualifying standard to make it to state, while others felt winning Saturday could give them a competitive advantage next week.

There were few double individual winners Saturday, with exceptions being Sherman Oaks Notre Dame junior Aja Johnson and Garden Grove Pacifica senior Zach Lewis, who won the girls and boys discus throw and shot put events, respectively.

Johnson won the Masters shot put for the third straight year, tying her PR set at last year’s Masters when she threw 46 feet, 10 inches (14.27m). She won the discus for the first time, with a throw of 145-6 (44.36m) which is not a season best, but does continue her stretch of winning every discus competition she has competed in this year. 

Lewis won the shot put with a mark of 62-0.50 (18.91m), while taking the discus with a 180-foot mark (54.86m) in his last of six throws. He qualified for state in the shot put for the third year in a row and discus for the second straight season.

“In both my discus and my shot, there was definitely more,” Lewis said. “I missed a few things on my technique. Discus today was a little rough on the first few throws, but I started getting a little more confidence and I was able to throw 180. In shot put, I was going in with confidence that I would qualify for state. Once I hit my mark to qualify, I went for it and I got a PR.”

While those were the only two individual double winners, there were other cases where an individual finished in the top three in two events.

Vista Murrieta senior Alyssa Alumbres won the triple jump with a PR of 40-4 (12.29m) and finished second in the long jump at 19-1.25 (5.82m).

Long Beach Wilson junior Kaylin Edwards won the 300 hurdles (42.03) after finishing second to Marlborough senior Fallyn Gowans in the 100 hurdles by a 14.02 to 14.11 margin.

“Our coaches teach us, one race at a time,” Edwards said. “So when I’m done with a race, it’s over and I get ready for the next race. I feel like I need to take the hurdles, sometimes I get choppy.” 

Long Beach Millikan’s Jason Parra didn’t win either of his events, but was third in the 1,600 (4:10.92) and second to Dana Hills’ Evan Noonan in the 3,200 (8:48.56 to 8:49.92). He will drop the 1,600 for state to focus on the 3,200. Noonan only ran Saturday in the 3,200.

“If I’m being honest, I was a little disappointed with that (1,600) race,” Parra said. “I at least wanted to come in second. My big goal was to beat (Ibzan Felix of Beckman, the winner), because he barely got me last week.

“Last year, (Noonan) beat me pretty bad on the last lap. I was surprised I was able to go with him … It wasn’t as bad as last year.”

Said Noonan: “Knowing some guys are doubling, I know it’s very hard to come back to be a factor in the two mile. … I knew it was going to come down to that kick, I could tell he was looking at me like, ‘We’re going to go.’”

One of the CIF-Southern Section boys track stories this spring has been the strength of freshman sprinters and that was on display again Saturday.

Bishop Alemany ninth-grader Demare Dezeurn won the 100-meter dash in 10.36 seconds, while fellow freshman Benjamin Harris of Long Beach Poly was second in 10.43.

In the 200 meters, Long Beach Poly freshmen Julius Johnson and Benjamin Harris were second and third behind senior winner Jeremiah Harris of Roosevelt (21.22).

“I wasn’t expecting to win,” Dezeurn said. “I was expecting to finish through the line and move on. I’m really happy with the time. It’s a school record.”

It was a rough day for Rancho Cucamonga's boys 4x100 and 4x400 relays, which were disqualified for infractions in both races.

Other boys Masters champions included: Notre Dame’s 4x100 relay (41.27) and sophomore JJ Harel (high jump, 6-10), Culver City’s 4x400 relay (3:13.78), Murrieta Mesa’s William Bright (110 hurdles, 13.92), Northview’s Dylan Ochoa (400, 47.01), Beaumont’s Daniel Agbelusi (300 hurdles, 37.56), King’s Jaden McKee (pole vault, 16-6/5.03m), Great Oak’s Nicolas Alexis (long jump, 23-1/7.03m), and Villa Park’s Blythe Dahl (triple jump, 46-8.50/14.24m).

Other girls Masters champions included: Calabasas 4x100 (45.71), Long Beach Wilson’s 4x400 (3:43.72) and Loren Webster (long jump, 19-3.25/5.87m), Ventura’s 4x800 (9:02.57), Sadie Engelhardt (1,600, 4:45.05) and Valentina Fakrogha (high jump, 5-8/1.73m), St. Mary’s Academy’s Madison Mosby (400, 53.17), Serra’s Mia Flowers (100, 11.46), Newport Harbor’s Keaton Robar (800, 2:07.01), Chaparral’s Keelan Wright (200, 23.48), Corona Santiago’s Rylee Blade (3,200, 10:15.00), and Vista Murrieta’s Aspen Fears (pole vault, 13-3/4.04m), who became the only female athlete in Southern Section history to win the event three years in a row.