California track and field defends home turf at Guy Rush Memorial

Senior Ryan Staton leads the Pintos charge to a fourth place finish in the boys 4x200 meter relay. California finished the relay with a time of 1:42.28
Senior Ryan Staton leads the Pintos charge to a fourth place finish in the boys 4x200 meter relay. California finished the relay with a time of 1:42.28

The California Pintos and Lady Pintos got to play the role of host last Tuesday as California High School for the Guy Rush Memorial Track Meet.

California put together another strong performance in front of its fans by winning 23 of the meet's 38 events.

On the Pintos side, junior Ian Miller took center stage and won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:12.46 and the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:08.28. Miller also took fourth place in the 400-meter dash, completing the dash in 55.54 seconds.

Senior Ryan Staton also took third place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.26 seconds, while freshman Tyler Oden took two fourth-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

Senior Eli Dunnaway won two medals, placing first in the long jump and second in the triple jump.

Freshman Lance Clevenger took fourth place in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 51.29 seconds, while senior Peter Dampf placed third in discus and senior DJ Schneider placed fourth in the javelin.

The Pintos' 4x400-meter relay team of Dunnaway, Miller, Brooks Volkart and Tim Tyner took third place with a time of 3.48.91.

For the Lady Pintos, freshman Kenzleigh Goans won both the 1,600-meter run in 5.41.53 and the 3,200-meter run in 12.07.23.

Freshman Allie Heather took third place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:45.23.

Junior Emma Braby had another stellar day with a first-place finish in the shot put, a second-place finish in the discus and a fourth-place finish in the javelin. Abby Braby took fourth place in the high jump, while freshman Kierstyn Lawson placed second in the long jump.

But it was the Lady Pintos' relay teams that won the day for California. The 4x100-meter relay team of Ella Percival, Brittney Johnson, Bennett Gatlin and Kierstyn Lawson placed third with a time of 58.16 seconds.

The 4x200-meter relay team of Lawson, Ella Percival, Paige Morris and Hailey Rademan placed second to Southern Boone with a time of 1.56.57.

The Lady Pintos' 4x400-meter relay team of Heather, Morris, Johnson and Lawson placed second behind Southern Boone with a time of 4.44.48.

But California got payback against Southern Boone by defeated them and New Bloomfield to win the girls 4x800-meter relay. The team of Heather, Morris, Goans and Emilia Collier won the relay with a time of 11.43.20.

In addition, California's cross county academic all-state team was announced by the school district.

Four members of the Pintos and the Lady Pintos made the academic all-state team. For the Pintos, the four members are Dunnaway, Miller, Hayden Hern and Andrew Reed. On the Lady Pintos team, Goans, Alayna Butts, Anika Miller and Hilary Roney were named to the all-academic team.

California's next meet is Thursday in the Tri-County Conference meet in Eldon.

photo Freshman Kenzleigh Goans took first place in the 3200m run and second place in the 1600m run on Tuesday night.
photo Freshman Kierstyn Lawson runs to the finish line in the Girls 4x100. California took third place in the relay.
photo California Cross Country Academic All-State Team: Boys (from left to right) - Andrew Reed, Ian Miller, Eli Dunnaway, Hayden Hern Girls (from left to right) - Hilary Roney, Kenzleigh Goans Not Pictured - Alayna Butts, Anika Miller (Submitted by Kenny Goans)