On Friday May 9, the boys and girls track and field team competed in the 58th Moore League finals competition, placing first in both divisions. Poly won 16 out of the 20 running races with a noteworthy performance by the girls, who topped the podium for all twenty races.
Starting off the day was the 4x100m relay, which Poly won in both the boys and girls division.
The 1600m was won by freshman Melissa Tanaka and junior Anthony Palazzo, who won with times of 5:17.05 and 4:27.42, respectively.
Junior Mar’yea Harris and freshman Kaelin Roberts won the 400m race. Harris edged out Wilson’s Kemonie Briggs by .05 seconds, finishing in 47.68 seconds. Roberts finished in 55.25 seconds.
The girls hurdles was led by seniors Ebony Crear and Kymber Payne. Crear finished ahead of Payne in both the 100m and 300m hurdles. Both have been neck-and-neck throughout the entire season, placing first and second in many tournaments. On the boys side, senior Juan Ward finished third in the 110m hurdles and second in the 300m hurdles.
The 800m run was won by senior Janice Lane and junior Chris Polk. Polk was behind for most of the race, but had a strong final lap and won in 1:54.56.
Senior Ariana Washington swept her premier sprinting races, the 100m and 200m, having been Moore League champion in these races since 2012. Washington finished the 100m in 11.50 seconds and the 200m in 24.20 seconds. Washington is one of the fastest sprinters nationwide, having competed in the Youth World Track Championships last summer.
In addition, Poly had strong performances in the field events. Seniors Tierney Russell and Niki Withers finished second and third in high jump. Senior Vincent Calhoun won the high jump and placed second in the long jump. Junior Onyx Gaston won both the girls long jump and triple jump, while senior George Sayles won the triple jump.
These victories marked the 19th and 14th league championship for the boys and girls, respectively. They were also a fitting farewell to esteemed track coach Don Norford, who is retiring this year.
The track team hopes to advance to the CIF state meet on June 6-7, where the girls aspire to earn another title. The girls are some of the fastest in the nation, posting leading times in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay, and hurdles events. The boys have the potential to perform strongly in the post-season as well, with one of the fastest 4×400 teams in the state and a strong 4×100 relay as well.
The team competed at CIF prelims on May 17, but could not be covered due to press constraints. CIF Southern Section finals will be held the following Saturday on May 24.
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