Johnson, Stone Shine at Section Masters Track

Sheldon High School will have a big one-two punch in Taron Johnson and Cameron Stone when the Huskies roll into Clovis this week for the CIF State Track and Field Championships at Buchanan High School.

The Sheldon pair was solid in the finals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters’ meet Friday at Elk Grove High School. Stone, who had the best time in the 400 meters not only in the Section this season but also in the State, comfortably won the gold medal with a time of 47.17 seconds.

“I felt I did really good and executed my race,” Stone said.

Sheldon's Cameron Stone gets set in the blocks for the 400 meter run

His teammate Johnson finished second twice in two different races in the Section Masters’ finals. In the 100 meters he finished behind Nate Jones of Tracy by only .003 of a second.

“I stumbled coming out of the blocks,” Johnson explained. “Otherwise I would have won that race.”

Jones official time was 10.786 seconds, Johnson’s 10.789 seconds.

A little while later in the finals of the 200 meters Johnson found himself nosed out once again. He crossed the finish line behind Aspyn Walton of Woodcreek by .006 of  a second.

“I feel good, “ Johnson said. “I feel blessed and am happy I get the chance to go to State.”

Walton’s time was 21.821 seconds while Johnson’s mark was 21.827 seconds.

But, the Johnson/Stone duo along with Sheldon’s 4x100 meter relay squad and the 4x400 meter relay squad could score several points in the State Meet.

The 4x400 relay squad, which included both Stone and Johnson along with Marcus Beloney and Steven Edwards, won the Masters’ gold medal in a time of 3:16.16.

The same group placed second in the 4x100 relay Friday in a time of 42.27 seconds. Woodcreek won that race in a time of 41.29 seconds, the best mark thus far this year in California in that event.

The top three finishers in each event along with anyone besting a set time or mark in any event at the Masters qualified for the state track and field meet.

Another local boy that made it to State was Monterey Trail’s Jahmar Sexton. The senior placed second in the 300-meter hurdles in a personal best time of 38.64 seconds.

“Today my coach told me to get out fast and beat Austin Carter to the first hurdle,” Sexton said. “I beat him to that first hurdle and throughout the race I was trying beat him at almost each hurdle. I almost did it.”

Sexton was second behind Carter of Folsom who also won first place in the 110-meter hurdles. He will be the lone Monterey Trail representative at State.

On the girls’ side of the Section Masters’ meet Elk Grove senior Jazmine Smith almost pulled off a double win. She took first in the 400-meter run with a time of 56.80 seconds and later placed a close third in the 200-meter dash.

“That wind was something,” Smith said about a brisk breeze that was constantly blowing in the face of the competitors all evening. “I had to dig, I had to dig, but I wanted this more than ever. I have been training for this a long time.”

Smith was also a part of the 4x400 meter relay squad that took second place at the Masters’ meet. She along with Tierra Leisure, Haley Grieger and Arianna Daniel ran that race in 3:51.17.

Franklin’s girls’ track team did quite well at the Masters’ event, too. The 4x100 meter relay squad qualified for state by winning that race in a time of 47.57 seconds.

Chinyere Dike placed third in the 100 meters dash with a mark of 12.18 seconds. The Franklin junior said she ran well, but could run faster this week in Clovis.

“I think I ran pretty good (Friday) because my hamstring has been hurting all week,” she said. “I’m pretty happy I made it to State. I am hoping I will get to 11.9 (seconds) at state, break 12 (seconds).”

In field events Tais Marinho-Gomes of Cosumnes Oaks qualified for the State meet with a second place finish in the triple jump. Her best leap was 38 feet, 5.75 inches.

Also qualifying was her teammate, Mishaye Venerable, who placed third in the long jump.

Franklin’s Jorden O’Neal also made it to State by placing second in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, one-half inch. Interestingly, O’Neal marked that score on her second jump and decided to pass on her next four attempts, even though it cost her first place at the Section Masters.

“I just wanted to qualify for the State meet and then get ready for the 4x100 meter run,” O’Neal said. “I could have tried (to win the Section Masters) but next week I’ll push to win it.”

Another Elk Grove resident, Kayla O’Brine of St. Francis High School placed second in the girls’ discus with a toss of 135 feet. 

St. Francis' Kayla O'Brine (photo courtesy Steven Shaff)

“It is very exciting and I am excited to move on,” said O’Brine, who will throw at UC-Santa Barbara next year. “I came in wanting to throw 135 and I did just that. It was nice to auto qualify before finals. It was a relief and it brought tears to my eyes to go again.”

O’Brine qualified in both her sophomore and junior seasons for State..

Other locals who competed in the Masters meet but did not place nor qualify for State:

Michael Anderson (Cosumnes Oaks) 19^th in the boys’ 1600 meter run

Grace Hepworth (Pleasant Grove) 6^th in the girls’ 100 meter hurdles

Alex Van Dyke (Cosumnes Oaks) 4^th in the boys’ 400 meter run

Natsumi Mcgee (Cosumnes Oaks) 6^th in the girls’ 400 meter run

Amari Smith (Franklin) 7^th in the girls’ 400 meter run

Jordan Booth (Franklin) 7^th in the boys’ 100 meter dash

Amari Jones (Sheldon) 5^th in the girls’ 100 meter dash

Xavier Gaulman (Sheldon) 7^th in the boys’ 800 meter run

Kendall Herod (Cosumnes Oaks) 12^th in the girls’ 800 meter run

Marcus Beloney (Sheldon) 6^th in the boys’ 200 meter dash

Natsumi Mcgee (Cosumnes Oaks) 5^th in the girls’ 200 meter dash

Chinyere Dike (Franklin) 7^th in the girls’ 200 meter dash

Amari Jones (Sheldon) 8^th in the girls’ 200 meter dash

Isabella Dobson (Elk Grove) 9^th in the girls’ 3200 meter run

Pleasant Grove 5^th in the boys’ 4x400 meter relay

Franklin 6^th in the girls’ 4x400 meter relay

Elk Grove 6^th in the girls’ 4x100 meter relay

Phillip Fayne (Franklin) 11^th in the boys’ high jump

Alexis Mariland (Monterey Trail) 8^th in the girls’ triple jump

Detrice Adams (Monterey Trail) 11^th in the girls’ triple jump

Janessa Moses (Sheldon) 15^th in the girls’ shot put

Isabella Marini (Elk Grove) 17^th in the girls’ shot put

Mia Daniels (Pleasant Grove)  21^st in the girls’ long jump

Emelda Malm-Annan (Monterey Trail) 9^th in the girls’ discus

Teddy Nguyen (Cosumnes Oaks) 4^th in the boys’ long jump