Handful of area athletes expected to qualify for state track meet at Saturday's Masters championships
Although certainly anything can happen, especially in a sport where events are often decided by inches and fractions of a second, there are only a handful of Kern County athletes that will be favored to finish in the top 3 at Saturday’s Central Section Masters Track and Field Championships at Clovis-Buchanan.
That finish would qualify for next week’s two-day CIF State Championships at the same venue.
Heading into Masters, just 11 area athletes are top-3 qualifiers. Last year, 18 individuals qualified for state.
This year’s favorites include Liberty senior Bella Turner, the reigning BVarsity All-Area girls track and field athlete of the year.
Turner swept the 100 and 300 hurdles in last year’s Masters and then medaled in both at state the following week with a pair of ninth-place finishes.
This year, Turner is the low qualifier in both with a 14.52 in the 100 hurdles and 43.53 in the 300.
Bakersfield High sophomore Jalen Ford is favored to win the boys 100 and 200 after cruising at the Division-I meet last week. Ford’s 21.12 in the 200 is the fourth-fastest in the state this year. He qualified with a 10.48 in the 100.
Frontier senior Brycen Tablit, who qualified for state in the 100 last year, has the second-fastest qualifying time in the event among locals this year at 10.70.
Golden Valley hurdler Ruben Delgado also is expected to win two events after posting the low-qualifier in the boys 110 (14.19) and 300 (38.40) hurdles last week.
Vincent Carnegie of Stockdale, who qualified for state in the boys 100 and 300 hurdles last year, figures to advance again in at least one, if not both events. His time in the 300 (38.65) is the second fastest and he has the fifth-best time in the 110 of this weekend’s field.
Highland senior Mia Torrecillas is the favorite to win the girls 3200 after posting a 10:49.85 in last week’s divisionals. Torrecillas qualified for state in the 1600 last year after competing in both events as a sophomore in 2022. She has the fifth-fastest qualifying time in the 1600.
Bakersfield High’s Kyndall Hannible and Liberty’s Nicole Bridges are others hoping to make a return trip to state.
Hannible placed 10th at state in the long jump to just miss earning a medal last year, and has the top mark this year heading into the Masters at 18-1.
Bridges qualified in the 800 last year, and has the lowest qualifying time this year with a 2:14.4. She is ninth fastest in the 1600. Stockdale’s Hannah qualified third in the 800 with a 2:17.03.
Shafter sophomore Joslyn Pierucci has the third-best throw in the girls discus, with Frontier’s Kai Wilkins carrying the third best mark in the boys high jump with a 6-4.
Three relays qualified for state last year, but this year only the Frontier girls 4x400 team is a favorite to advance as the No. 2 qualifier for Masters with a 3:55.20.
