He secured the gold on the opening day of the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters meet at Elk Grove High School with a leap of 47 feet, 11 ¼ inches on his last jump of the day. Regardless of his final placing, Pinder still qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation championships on June 1 and 2 at Buchanan High in Clovis, because his mark was better than the mandatory minimum of 46-6.
“It was just more of a personal thing. I wanted to jump as far as I could, and I’m really glad with how today went,” he said. “I’m just glad that I can consistently jump over 47, and hopefully I can go big at state.”
Pinder also placed 20th in the long jump (20-3¼).
For 12 other local athletes, the Masters meet was the end of the season. West junior Eddie Kaye said he was happy with how he finished.
Kaye was the only local runner who finished his races on Thursday -- the 400 meters (49.55) and 200 meters (22.69) -- well enough to make the top-eight that that competed in the championship heats on Friday, May 25.
He was especially pleased with his finish Friday in the 400, where he placed fourth (48.98) and was one place shy of the top-three that move on to CIF meet on June 1 and 2 at Buchanan High in Clovis. His time of is about three-tenths of a second shy of the at-large qualifying time. He also placed eighth in the 200 meter dash on Friday (22.93).
“I’m pretty happy with the season, because last year I was running 53 (in the 400), and to run a 48 shows I can cut my time down,” he said. “I left it all on the track and can look forward to next season.”
Kimball High junior Chloe Jenkins could already count two gold medals in her events at the Division IV-V on May 15 and 17 as a measure of success. Participation at the section meet, where she was 13th in both the 100 hurdles (16.28) and 300 hurdles (46.94), gave her a good look at the next level and something to aim for next year.
“The competition is a lot better, which I like. It’s nice to be challenged and pushed,” she said.
Also competing on Thursday was Tracy High junior Taylor Juarez, who placed ninth in the high jump (5-1). Juarez was over the bar on her third attempt at 5-3 but nudged it with her foot on the way down. While it was disappointing – she was aiming to jump at least 5-4, which she had reached repeatedly during the season – she also appreciated being among the section’s top competitors.
“All these girls here deserve to go on because they working just as hard as I am. Today I just couldn’t get that,” she said. “I’m grateful that I got to represent my school and that I got to be here today.”
Other athletes to compete for Kimball on Thursday included junior Jaleyah Douglass, ninth in the discus (113-09), senior Cara McClain, 20th in the discus (90-08), and junior Derek Van de Streek, 12th in the triple jump (43-11). Also competing for West on Thursday were junior Ernest Turner, 16th in the triple jump (43-0), and senior Nina Pritchett, who did not place in the discus after she fouled out.
Other athletes to compete on Friday included West seniors Elisha Mitchell, who placed 10th in the long jump (21-6). Tracy High athletes included senior Justin Woo, who placed ninth in the boys pole vault (13-6). Sophomore Nathan Arena competed in the boys pole vault but did not clear the opening height of 13 feet, and junior Kaitlin Mizuno competed in the girls pole vault but did not clear the opening height of 9-8. Kimball High sophomore Francesca Loayza placed 18th in the 3200, and Kimball’s Douglass was scheduled to compete in the girls shot put but was not at Friday’s event.
CIF Sac-Joaquin Track and Field
Masters - Trials and Finals
Thursday, May 24, and Friday, May 25
Elk Grove High School
Varsity girls
100m hurdles: 13 Chloe Jenkins (K) 16.28
300m hurdles: 13 Chloe Jenkins (K) 46.94
Discus: 9 Jaleyah Douglass (K) 113-09, 20 Cara McClain (K) 90-08, Nina Pritchett (W) foul
High jump: 9 Taylor Juarez (T) 5-01.00
Pole vault - Kaitlin Mizuno (T) NH
3200m - 18 Francesca Loayza (K) 11:35.87
Varsity boys
400m - 4 Eddie Kaye (W) 48.98
200m - 8 Eddie Kaye (W) 22.93
Triple jump: 1 Deon Pinder (W) 47-11.25, 12 Derek Van de Streek (K) 43-11.00, 16 Ernest Turner (W) 43-00.00
Pole vault - 9 Justin Woo (T) 13-06.00
Long jump - 10 Elisha Mitchell (W) 21-06.00, 20 Deon Pinder (W) 20-03.25
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