La Verne Damien’s Zachary Shinnick posts top 400 time in the state track and field prelims

La Verne Damien High’s Zachary Shinnick knows that he is fast.

He has always known this. He just has not always had the opportunity to show it.

A hamstring injury in the Arcadia Invitational his junior year signaled an end to his viability as a postseason contender.

He has had minor bouts with a separate hamstring and ankle sprain this season, but nothing serious enough to sideline him for long.

Since the Baseline League Finals, Shinnick has felt like himself again, and he is happy to have one more chance to perform at the stadium that is referred to as “The Gateway to Track and Field.”

Shinnick dropped the top 400 meters time in the preliminaries of the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium on the campus of Clovis Buchanan High.

The senior completed his trek around the track in 47.14 seconds.

“It just makes this much sweeter,” Shinnick said. “I didn’t get a chance to run at state last year, and I thought that I could have run pretty well.”

The USC signee stated that he felt as though he was running by himself. It is a special class of athlete that can find himself or herself in such a position at the state meet.

“In practices, I run by myself,” he said. “This isn’t much different. I know I’ll get a good push in the finals tomorrow.”

Oak Park’s Robbie Otal has been as consistent as they come. Since the month of April, he has flirted with the 200-foot mark in the discus on a weekly basis.

He has surpassed that threshold on three separate occasions in the postseason, his latest coming in Friday night’s state preliminaries. His throw of 206 feet, 11 inches garnered him the No. 1 seed heading into the finals.

“This is my goal, to win a state title, since freshman year,” the Princeton-bound Otal said. “I’m finally in a position to do it, so I’m just going to go out tomorrow and get it done. There’s nothing stopping me now, and we’re just going to go out and kill it.”

Carson’s girls’ 400 relay team of Kenyla Miles, Saundria Martin, Jaylen Walker, and Kaelin Roberts established a state-leading time of 45.81 seconds in winning their heat.

Calabasas, the second-ranked girls’ 400 relay team in the state, was disqualified.

On the boys’ side, Rancho Verde’s state title hopes took a hit when its top-seeded 400 relay team was disqualified. The miscue occurred when anchor Isaiah Cunningham flew off his line, leaving his zone prior to the exchange with Carlton Johnson.

Rancho Verde was the heavy favorite to win the state meet. The Mustangs should remain the projected winner with their ability to score big points in the sprints and 1,600 relay.Cunningham rebounded to claim the top seed in the 100 (10.39) and the second seed in the 200 (21.20).

Agoura’s Tara Davis leaped to a new personal record in girls’ triple jump, posting a mark of 43 feet, 4 inches (1.0 meters per second wind). The Georgia signee is in rarified air. The national record is 44 feet, 2 1/4 inches, set by Ychlindria Spears of Luling, Texas, in 2001.

Davis also claimed the top spots in the 100 hurdles (13.31) and the long jump (20-8.25).

Oregon-bound Joseph Anderson (Upland – 13.44; 36.87) and LSU signee Jurnee Woodward (Vacaville – 13.44; 41.99) swept their hurdles heats.

Anderson said that his maturation process in the bigger meets has taught him to block out all the noise. He directs his focus solely to his race, and he understands that the field is trying to do the same.

“I just always have to keep in mind that no one is too far to get me,” he said of managing high expectations. “I just know that they’re coming and training hard, so I know that I have to train even harder.”

“When I’m expected to do big things, I just have to stay calm, focus on my race, and do everything that I was taught in practice.”

Woodward is the defending state champion in the girls’ 300 hurdles. She almost did not get a chance to race in the finals last year when she made a costly mistake. She fell over an early hurdle, but she was able to stay in her lane and recover to qualify seventh overall in the state prelims as a junior.

There were no such problems for Woodward on Friday night.

“The energy coming out here was basically geared towards qualifying with a fast time,” Woodward recalled of last year. “I was still kind of new. I was excited. I was like, ‘This is my year,’ and I messed up early on.

“Maturity came this year with me. I was like, ‘Calm down a little. I know you’re excited, but you have to execute your race.’”

CIF State Preliminaries

Qualifiers for Finals

100 – 1. Isaiah Cunningham (Rancho Verde) 10.39; 2. Asani Hampton (Yucaipa) 10.46; 3. Javelin Guidry (Vista Murrieta) 10.49; 4. Kazmier Allen (Tulare) 10.53; 5. Christian Moore (Oaks Christian) 10.50; 6. Daniel Kamulali (Sierra Canyon) 10.53; 7. Gino Long (San Leandro) 10.55; 8. Blake Hennesay (Santa Margarita) 10.57; 9. Myles Webb (Oaks Christian) 10.64

200 – 1. Asani Hampton (Yucaipa) 21.19; 2. Isaiah Cunningham (Rancho Verde) 21.20; 3. Quoi Ellis (Mt. Carmel) 21.30; 4. Christian Moore (Oaks Christian) 21.24; 5. Myles Webb (Oaks Christian) 21.40; 6. Andrew Franco (Whitney) 21.51; 7. Rasaun House (Rancho Verde) 21.53; 8. Christopher Hill (Rancho Cucamonga) 21.53; 9. Clinton Spellman (Enterprise) 21.66

400 – 1. Zachary Shinnick (Damien) 47.14; 2. Zion Bowens (Long Beach Poly) 47.45; 3. Karson Lippert (La Costa Canyon) 47.76; 4. Andrew Franco (Whitney) 47.82; 5. Myles Ellis (Antelope) 47.89; 6. Parris Samaniego (Vista Murrieta) 47.99; 7. Solomon Strader (Trinity Classical Academy) 48.08; 8. Billy Bowens (Las Lomas) 48.57; 9. Nico Bland (Oakland Tech) 48.59

800 – 1. Alex Scales (Bellarmine) 1:53.88; 2. Xavier Weaver (Franklin Eg/SJ) 1:54.83; 3. Jett Charvet (Heritage) 1:55.01; 4. Jose Cruz (McClatchy) 1:54.35; 5. Jake Lamb (Glendora) 1:55.0; 6. Jason Gomez (Westmont) 1:55.19; 7. Ian Irish (Palos Verdes) 1:54.36; 8. Moises Medrano (Highland) 1:55.04; 9. Andrew Scherf (Clovis) 1:55.43; 10. Ryan Wilson (Claremont) 1:54.39; 11. Isaias De Leon (De La Salle) 1:54.66; 12. Shannon Turner (Eagle Rock) 1:54.80

1,600 – 1. Luis Grijalva (Armijo) 4:14.40; 2. Ryan Renken (Claremont) 4:16.03; 3. Trad Berti (Paso Robles) 4:14.62; 4. Elias Opsahl (Redlands East Valley) 4:16.64; 5. Jarett Chinn (Poway) 4:14.94; 6. Liam Anderson (Redwood) 4:16.79; 7. Owen Bishop (Claremont) 4:14.97; 8. Solomon Fountain (Great Oak) 4:17.24; 9. Jorge Estrella (Andrw Hll/CC) 4:16.21; 10. Hayden Hansen (Buchanan) 4:17.55; 11. Ban Taylor (Arroyo Grande) 4:18.02; 12. Cristian Gomez (Reedley) 4:18.37

110HH – 1. Joseph Anderson (Upland) 13.44; 2. Deion Lightfoot (Kimball) 13.77; 3. Cameron Samuel (Rancho Verde) 13.94; 4. Shawn Bettencourt (Golden Valley) 13.90; 5. Malik Flowers (Miller) 13.93; 6. Anthony Easter (Roosevelt) 13.94; 7. Adrian Aguirre (Pittsburgh) 14.01; 8. Jose Rubio (Los Alamitos) 14.04; 9. De’varriea Oles (Long Beach Poly) 14.16

300IH – 1. Anthony Easter (Roosevelt) 36.74; 2. Joseph Anderson (Upland) 36.87; 3. Cameron Samuel (Rancho Verde) 37.32; 4. Jose Rubio (Los Alamitos) 37.41; 5. Deion Lightfoot (Kimball) 36.83; 6. Blake Hennesay (Santa Margarita) 36.95; 7. Qwintin Workman (Temecula Valley) 37.44; 8. Aidan Christensen (Los Osos) 37.70; 9. Jeremiah Ruger (Great Oak) 37.80

400 relay – 1. Oaks Christian 41.09; 2. Oaks Christian 41.09; 3. Paraclete 41.56; 4. Gahr 41.31; 5. Dorsey 41.63; 6. Vista Murrieta 41.69; 7. Mission Viejo 41.75; 8. Yucaipa 41.75; 9. Hamilton 41.77

1,600 relay – 1. Roosevelt 3:15.63; 2. Harvard-Westlake 3:16.50; 3. Long Beach Wilson 3:17.32; 4. Rancho Verde 3:16.30; 5. Loyola 3:16.80; 6. Dorsey 3:17.51; 7. Las Lomas 3:18.70; 8. Clayton Valley 3:19.02; 9. Maria Carrilo 3:19.03; 10. Los Altos 3:19.87; 11. Central 3:20.06; 12. Enterprise 3:20.46

HJ – 1. Sean Lee (Trabuco Hills) 6-5; 2T. Jake Grimsman (Vista del Lago) 6-5J; 2T. Parker McDonald (J. Serra/CC) 6-5; 4. Earnest Sears (Alemany) 6-5J; 5T. Jacob Veres (Clovis North) 6-5J; 5T. Seth Krauss (Liberty) 6-5J; 5T. Josh Outten (Exeter) 6-5J; 8. Isaias Hunter (Lathrop) 6-5J; 9T. Steven Marquez (El Centro) 6-3; 9T. Destin Flucas (Cerritos) 6-3; 11T. Jacob Furbee (Morro Bay) 6-3J; 11T. Daylon Hicks (Clayton Valley) 6-3J

LJ – 1. Matthew DeRoos (Tri-City) 24-4.25; 2. Bryan Thompson (Rancho Verde) 23-6.75; 3. Sanjay Kettels (St. Mary’s) 23-6.25; 4. Jalyn Jackson (Eastlake) 23-4; 5. Khalid Hunter (Chaminade) 23-1.25; 6. Malcolm Clemons (St. Mary’s) 23-1; 7. Caleb Roberson (Upland) 23-1J; 8. Jamil Douglas (Long Beach Poly) 23-1J; 9. Collin Sample (Rancho Buena) 22-11.25; 10. Anthony Reyes (Elsinore) 22-9; 11. Malcolm Wesley (Santa Ana Valley) 22-7.75; 12. Bralyn Lux (The Kings Ac) 22-5.75

TJ – 1. CJ Stevenson (Great Oak) 47-7.5; 2. Brian Nnoli (San Marcos) 47-4.5; 3. Myles Massey (Hesperia) 47-3.5; 4. Tyrese Dedmon (Antelope Valley) 47-2.75; 5. Arrun Palacio (Dorsey) 46-11.5; 6. Johnathan Shaw (Dublin) 46-7.25; 7. Ethan Westemeier (Acalanes (46-3.75; 8. DeAndra McDaniel (Natomas) 46-2.75; 9. Shomari Somerville (Clovis North) 46-1.25; 10. Reece Smith (Oak Park) 46-0.5; 11. Jalyn Jackson (Eastlake) 46-0.25; 12. Malcolm Clemons (St. Mary’s) 46-0.25

PV – 1T. Seth Wilmoth (Ponderosa) 15-4; 1T. Jered Espanola (James Logan) 15-4; 1T. Tate Curran (Redondo Union) 15-4; 4. Michael Magula (Marina) 15-4J; 5T. Ryan Fegan (Newport Harbor) 15-4J; 5T. Lance Huber (Del Oro) 15-4J; 7. Noah Hurley (College Park) 15-4J; 8. Enzo Sison (Bellarmine) 15-4J; 9. Tiber Seireeni (Harvard-Westlake) 14-10; 10. Ryan Winters (Rancho Bernardo) 14-10J; 11. Kevin Ward (San Diego) 14-10J; 12. Thomas Johnstone (Los Gatos) 14-10

SP – 1. Jonah Wilson (Clovis) 61-3.75; 2. Kyle Tsu (Marina) 60-11.75; 3. Jacob Wilson (Buchanan) 60-11.25; 4. Daniel Viveros (Liberty) 60-5; 5. Kylan Wilborn (Notre Dame) 58-10.75; 6. Parker Jenks (Marysville) 58-4.25; 7. Iffy Joyner (Pittsburgh) 57-0; 8. Tommy Brown (Mater Dei) 55-11; 9. Cameron McCants (Bear Creek) 55-9; 10. Jake Arnold (Marina) 55-8.75; 11. George Harris (San Diego) 55-3.5; 12. Josh Johnson (Valley View) 53-8.25

DT – 1. Robbie Otal (Oak Park) 206-11; 2. Jeffery Williams (Clayton Valley) 196-11; 3. Jonah Wilson (Clovis) 196-8; 4. Josh Johnson (Valley View) 188-10; 5. Jacob Wilson (Buchanan) 184-10; 6. Carlos Aviles (Ventura) 179-7; 7. Christian Lavalle (Mission Viejo) 175-2; 8. Iffy Joyner (Pittsburgh) 175-0; 9. Garrett Kocab (Serrano) 172-3; 10. Eric Werner (Granite Bay) 171-11; 11. Corbin Chronister (Liberty) 171-3; 12. Tarab Ansari (Lynbrook) 168-2

GIRLS’ TRACK AND FIELDCIF State PreliminariesAt Clovis Buchanan HighQualifiers for Finals

100 – 1. Jasmin Reed (Serra) 11.51; 2. De’Anna Nowling (Calabasas) 11.52; 3. Ariyonna Augustine (Long Beach Poly) 11.57; 4. Aaliyah Wilson (Stockdale) 11.75; 5. Kierra King (Long Beach Wilson) 11.56; 6. Kennedy Williams (Redondo Union) 11.70; 7. Emerald Bowens (Redlands East Valley) 11.75; 8. Jazmyne Frost (Serra) 11.76; 9. Kirsten Carter (Santa Rosa) 11.78

200 – 1. Ariyonna Augustine (Long Beach Poly) 23.58; 2. Kaelin Roberts (Carson) 23.61; 3. Jasmin Reed (Serra) 23.68; 4. Sarahvaughn King (Armijo) 23.79; 5. Kirsten Carter (Santa Rosa) 23.86; 6. Maliyah Medley (El Toro) 23.88; 7. Jalyn Harris (Rancho Cucamonga) 23.89; 8. Kiera King (Long Beach Wilson) 23.90; 9. De’Anna Nowling (Calabasas) 24.0

400 – 1. Shae Anderson (Norco) 53.73; 2. Alexis Surrell (Newark M) 53.90; 3. Kaelin Roberts (Carson) 53.96; 4. Maliyah Medley (El Toro) 53.92; 5. Carolyn Wilson (Oaks Christian) 54.04; 6. Tierra Robinson-Jones (Bishop O’Dowd) 54.81; 7. Jalyn Harris (Rancho Cucamonga) 55.09; 8. Sarahvaughn King (Armijo) 55.19; 9. Emily Costello (Vista del Lago) 55.78

800 – 1. Alyssa Brewer (California) 2:09.12; 2. Cathilyn McIntosh (Del Oro) 2:09.84; 3. Sakura Roberson (La Jolla) 2:10.46; 4. Malina Yago (Marymount) 2:10.13; 5. Jacquelyn Hill (Etiwanda) 2:11.13; 6. Mikaela Romanini (Bakersfield) 2:11.55; 7. Mari Friedman (Santa Cruz) 2:10.36; 8. Kiley McCarthy (Carlsbad) 2:11.26; 9. Melissa Tanaka (Long Beach Poly) 2:11.58; 10. Erica Schroeder (San Marcos) 2:11.17; 11. Camille Hines (Palos Verdes) 2:11.64; 12. Avi Wilson-Perteete (St. Mary’s) 2:12.04

1,600 – 1. Maddy Denner (Oak Ridge) 4:51.29; 2. Emily Skahill (St. Francis) 4:52.47; 3. Olivia O’Keefe (Davis) 4:51.55; 4. Rylee Bowen (Sonoma Academy) 4:52.78; 5. Haley Herberg (Capistrano Valley) 4:51.61; 6. Annie Boos (Claremont) 4:52.86; 7. McKenna Brown (La Costa Canyon) 4:51.72; 8. Amber Jackson (Forest Lake) 4:52.94; 9. Alex Stout (Pacific College) 4:51.73; 10. Hannah Tobin (El Toro) 4:53.11; 11. Evelyn Mandel (Great Oak) 4:54.75; 12. Jessica Riedman (La Costa Canyon) 4:57.33

100HH – 1. Tara Davis (Agoura) 13.31; 2. Kaylah Robinson (El Cerrito) 13.36; 3. Jurnee Woodward (Vacaville) 13.44; 4. Breanna Bernard Joseph (Roosevelt) 13.72; 5. Jada Hicks (Upland) 13.72; 6. Allie Jones (San Marcos) 13.81; 7. Shante Robinson (Mira Costa) 13.81; 8. Danae Dyer (Temecula Valley) 14.12; 9. Asia Smith (Mission Hills) 14.25

300IH – 1. Shante Robinson (Mira Costa) 41.94; 2. Jurnee Woodward (Vacaville) 41.99; 3. Shae Anderson (Norco) 42.17; 4. Breanna Bernard Joseph (Roosevelt) 42.87; 5. Sadye Peschke (Bella Vista) 43.14; 6. Samantha Seaton (Westlake) 43.56; 7. Alia Scott (Vista) 43.67; 8. Nyree Brown (Segerstrom) 44.11; 9. Malia Avila (Walnut) 44.26

400 relay – 1. Carson 45.81; 2. Serra 46.39; 3. Bishop O’Dowd 46.80; 4. Santa Margarita 46.57; 5. Upland 46.90; 6. Rancho Cucamonga 46.91; 7. Carondelet 47.12; 8. Kennedy-Richmond 47.73; 9. Edison/SJ 47.82

1,600 relay – 1. Sheldon 3.46.47; 2. Quartz Hill 3:46.66; 3. Armijo 3:48.98; 4. Dana Hills 3:46.67; 5. Bishop O’Dowd 3:46.78; 6. St. Mary’s 3:48.62; 7. Carson 3:49.25; 8. Santa Margarita 3:49.65; 9. Bonita 3:51.34

HJ – 1T. Emily Garner (Woodbridge) 5-4; 1T. Delaney Peranich (St. Ignts) 5-4; 1T. Kallie Given (Los Alamitos) 5-4; 1T. Chinenye Agina (Sanger) 5-4; 1T. Katie Hurst (Fortuna) 5-4; 1T. Cassie Ackerman (S. Lrnz) 5-4; 1T. Abigail Burke (Riverside Poly) 5-4; 1T. Iesha Hamm (Stockdale) 5-4; 9. Victoria Plummer (Moorpark) 5-4; 10. Cassidy Palka (Oaks Christian) 5-4J; 11. Margaret Redfield (Gunn) 5-4J; 12. Kendall O’Farrell (Encinal) 5-2 jump off

LJ – 1. Tara Davis (Agoura) 20-8.25; 2. Nicole Warwick (Modesto) 19-9.75; 3. Jonon Young (Carson) 19-9; 4. Kali Hatcher (St. Mary’s) 19-3; 5. Olayinka Braimah (Peninsula) 19-1.25; 6. Zhane Smith (Long Beach Poly) 19-0.75; 7. Jaala Downes (Lincoln) 18-11; 8. Haleigh Batty (Cabrillo) 18-10.25; 9. Katherine Jackson (Rodriguez) 18-9.25; 10. Samantha Seaton (Westlake) 18-8.25; 11. Micah Fulton (Muir) 18-7; 12. Noelle Schiller (Westlake) 18-5.5

TJ – 1. Tara Davis (Agoura) 43-4; 2. Allanah Lee (Castro Valley) 41-10; 3. Zhane Smith (Long Beach Poly) 40-11.5; 4. Arianna Fisher (Silver Cr) 40-10.75; 5. Micah Fulton (Muir) 39-10; 6. Kayla Commons (Golden Valley) 39-9.25; 7. Kali Hatcher (St. Mary’s) 39-8.75; 8. Alyssa Lengtat (Davis) 39-6.5; 9. Emily Garner (Woodbridge) 39-3.25; 10. Anneke Moersdorf (San Luis Obispo) 38-10.25; 11. Hana Johnson (Bishop O’Dowd) 38-9; 12. Jazlynn Shearer (Silver Cr) 38-8.25

PV – 1T. Brooke Tjerrild (Clovis North) 12-6; 1T. Rachel Baxter (Canyon) 12-6; 3. Erin Gerardo (Santa Margarita) 12-6J; 4T. Kayla Myers (Poway) 12-6; 4T. Laurel Wong (Santa Catalina) 12-6J; 4T. McKenna Caskey (Mater Dei) 12-6J; 7. Kate Thomas (Santa Margarita) 12-6J; 8. Julia Wang (Las Lomas) 12-6J; 9. Jacqueline Ahrens (Peninsula) 12-6J; 10. Elizabeth Funk (Clovis West) 12-6J; 11. Lauren Ross (Tamalpais) 12-0; 12T. Brigette Grau (Mira Costa) 12-0J; 12T. Gabrielle Avila (Presnttn) 12-0J; 12. Emily Coombs (Orange Lutheran) 12-0J

SP – 1. Pamela Amaechi (Lincoln) 47-5.5; 2. Ashley Anumba (Los Osos) 45-4; 3. Hannah-Sophi Hall (James Logan) 45-0.5; 4. Faimalie Sale (Los Alamitos) 43-11.25; 5. Jocelynn Budwig (Fowler) 43-0.5; 6. Alicia Viveros (Liberty) 43-0; 7. Alladia Patterson (Louisville) 42-9.25; 8. Taylor Crockem (Chino) 42-0.75; 9. Alaysha Green (El Toro) 41-9; 10. Nu’u Tuilefano (El Camino) 41-8; 11. Natalie Ramirez (West Ranch) 41-7.25; 12. Cari Acosta (Buchanan) 40-10.75

DT – 1. Pamela Amaechi (Lincoln) 174-7; 2. Ashley Anumba (Los Osos) 170-8; 3. Jocelynn Budwig (Fowler) 168-6; 4. Hannah-Sophi Hall (James Logan) 155-8; 5. Erica Grotegeer (Wheatland) 153-1; 6. Alicia Viveros (Liberty) 149-4; 7. Felicia Crenshaw (Costa Mesa) 146-10; 8. Faimalie Sale (Los Alamitos) 146-8; 9. Cari Acosta (Buchanan) 143-5; 10. Gabby Sanchez (Canyon/CC) 139-9; 11. Alladia Patterson (Louisville) 139-6; 12. Emily Donovan (El Camino Real) 138-10

andrew.turner@latimes.com

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