DHS’ Rock wins state vault; he and Halsted set marks
CLOVIS — Ian Rock won the pole vault, breaking his own school record, and Trevor Halsted shattered a 39-year-old Davis High standard in the 3,200 meters as a small garrison of Blue Devils dazzled at the state prep track and field championships at Buchanan High on Saturday.
Rock, whose 16-01 standard was set in April, came back to beat everybody in California with a vault of 16-02. His effort handily topped Connor Stark of Oak Park and Adam Bragg of El Toro (Orange County). Stark’s best vault was 15-10, while Bragg finished at 15-06.
Rock also finished sixth in the long jump, but that’s another story …
Halsted, who qualified mid-pack at 9:14.45 in winning last week’s Masters meet at Sacramento City College, came home in 8:51.96 and finished third. Favorite Elias Geydon of Loyola (Los Angeles) won in 8:50.03, but Halsted gave the Devil gathering something to cheer about again.
Into the final lap, Halsted decided to take the lead and kicked out 20 yards ahead of the pack. Geydon and Sam Pons of South Pasadena, however, passed him near the finish line. Pons ran 8:50.69.
But for local fans, the big news in the marathon was Halsted’s time: A personal best by more than 18 seconds, it shattered Steve Martin’s 1972 school standard of 8:55.4.
“Trevor made a really bold move. He ran that seventh lap in 62 seconds and had a pretty good final one at 64. But this was a historic race. Trevor was right there at the end, and we’re so glad he got the record,” DHS coach Spencer Elliott said late Saturday night.
Brian De La Mora, the brilliant Blue Devil who is slated to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, came home in a personal-best time of 9:02.92. It was good for 16th and beat his previous top effort by almost 12 seconds.
In the girls 3,200, Harper Junior High ninth-grader Sophie Meads — another Masters champion — ran her second consecutive sub-11-minute race (10:58.2) and finished 16th.
Simi Valley freshman Sarah Baxter went 10:13 to win the event, but Meads again out-distanced Sac-Joaquin Section competitors Cassidy Daley of Lodi (24th) and Granite Bay’s Brooke Holt (25th).
“Sophie, for being such a young runner in such a big race, did another terrific job,” Davis distance coach Bill Gregg explained. “The second sub-11 is quite an accomplishment.”
In addition, Gregg liked Halsted’s decision to take matters in hand with about 700 yards to the wire.
“I’m sure he thought with that strategy he could win the race, so ‘might as well take the lead.’ I think that’s a record that will stick around a long time,” Gregg added of his runner who also owns the 1,600 mark at DHS (4:14). “And that time for Brian (De La Mora) was a huge improvement.”
The pole vault victory, brought an emotional end to Rock’s stellar career.
“After I realized I had won, I was kind of in a daze,” Rock told The Enterprise. “It was a perfect, perfect way to end my high school career. I owe so much to my coaches Rick Harper, Leo Sacramento and Spencer.”
On Friday, the Blue Devil 4×400 relay team (Spencer Bowen, Vinny Herthel, Lee LeVerrier and Alec Zavala), second in the region, ran a 3:22.35 to finish 21st, failing to qualify for the Saturday finale.
About the long jump and Rock … He was a victim of bad timing. The senior was in the thick of things in both events — but both were running simultaneously on opposite sides of the facility.
Rock made 15-feet in his third try, barely staying alive in the vault. His attention divided, Rock and Sacramento talked things over and the Duke-bound future decathlete bowed out of the long jump at 22-01.75, passing on his last three attempts.
Notes: Rock was the only winner from the Sac-Joaquin Section on Saturday, but Elk Grove’s Nick Martinez (38.0) finished third in the 300-meter hurdles. Fairfield hurdler Deja Pugh was sixth in the 300 and seventh in the 100 and Jesuit’s solid throw expert Stephen Boals was sixth in the discus and fifth in the shot put. … Buhach Colony’s Rebecca Hammar had a 143-07 toss for fourth in the discus and Vacaville’s Breanna French (137-04) was fifth. … Rock said he’ll pass on next week’s Golden West Invitational but plans on competing in July’s Nike Invitational at Eugene, Ore. Halsted, Meads and De La Mora are expected to take a bye next week, too, according to Gregg. … Long Beach Poly won both the boys and girls crowns. Last year, Jesuit took the boys title.
— Reach Bruce Gallaudet at bgallaudet@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8047. View galleries and purchase prints of Blue Devil sports photos at http://davisenterprise.zenfolio.com
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=51662
Posted by Bruce Gallaudet
on Jun 4 2011.
Last Login: Tue 22 May 2012 11:46:20 PM PDT
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