Fifteen High Desert athletes qualify for finals during CIF-SS Track and Field Prelims
Fifteen athletes from the High Desert are moving on to the CIF-Southern Section Track and Field Divisional Finals after qualifying from different preliminary meets.
Three athletes from Serrano High School were among the seven area qualifiers from the Division 2 Prelims.
Odis Hamer had the best showing of the trio of qualifiers from Serrano. The star football player recorded a throw of 148-feet-4-inches, which was good for fifth place in the boys discus.
Academy for Academic Excellence, Adelanto, Oak Hills, and Silverado will be represented by two athletes at the Divisional Finals hosted by Moorpark High School.
At the Division 4 Prelims, Academy for Academic Excellence’s Elijah Lovett qualified for the finals in two events. Lovett, who earlier in the school year placed 11th at the CIF State Cross Country Championships, led all boys runners in the 800 race with a mark of 1:58.16.
Lovett also qualified in the 1,600 run by finishing third overall and first in his heat, with a time of 4:25.57.
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Oak Hills is the lone school from Division 1 that will be sending two athletes to next week’s finals. At the prelims, hosted by Trabuco Hills High School, Oak Hills’ Quran Clayton finished first in his heat, and third overall in the boys 110 hurdles, posting a time of 14.63.
The CIF-SS Divisional Finals will be held on May 11. Here’s a full list of the other local athletes that will be competing there.
Division 1
Khali Ratcliffe, Hesperia — Ratcliffe is moving on after taking sixth place in the boys' shot put with a throw of 52 feet 2 inches.
Noah Walker, Oak Hills — Walker recorded a mark of 6-foot-2-inches in the boys' high jump, which was good for ninth place.
Division 2
Gauge Thompson, Serrano — Thompson is moving on after taking sixth place in the boys' 400 dash with a time of 49.15 seconds, which was second in his heat.
Heavenly Alexander, Adelanto — Alexander recorded a mark of 5-foot-1-inch, which was tied for fourth place in the girls high jump.
Jonah Wilson, Serrano — Wilson ended up tied for eighth place in the boys high jump with a mark of 6-foot-1-inch.
Ryan Basnight, Adelanto — Basnight placed sixth in the girls 100 hurdles with a time of 15.76 seconds, which was second in her heat.
Sauzhane Johnson, Silverado — Johnson finished eighth overall and second in her heat in the girls' 100 hurdles with a time of 16.06 seconds.
Ta Ron Thompson, Silverado — Thompson placed fourth in the boys' shot put with a throw of 49 feet 5 inches.
Division 3
Cruz Torres, Excelsior — Torres is the lone local athlete in Division 3 to move on after taking eighth place in the boys' shot put with a throw of 49 feet 3.25 inches.
Division 4
Caprice Caasi-Freire, Academy for Academic Excellence — Caasi-Freire took ninth place in the girls' long jump with a mark of 15 feet 9 inches.
Rebekah Idencio, University Careers, and Sports Academy — Idencio recorded a throw of 100-feet-11-inches, which was good for ninth place in the girls' discus.
Serwaah Sarpong, Silver Valley — Sarpong finished second in her heat and sixth overall in the girls' 300 hurdles with a time of 48.18 seconds.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: 15 High Desert athletes qualify for the CIF-SS Track and Field Finals
