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Oakdale Hosts Fourth Annual County Clash
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Off and running in the womens 4x100 relay in the County Clash are Kayla Budine, right, handing the baton off to teammate Madyson Falconi. The Lady Mustangs took fourth in this event and finished third overall as a team. DENNIS D. CRUZ/THE LEADER

 

The Corral looked more like an Olympic venue on Friday, March 18 when over 20 schools showed up for the fourth annual County Clash at Oakdale High School. The Mustang varsity girls placed third overall with a total of 80 team points, 15 behind first place Pitman. Oakdale’s boys team tied for tenth with 31 points.

 

Girls

In the field competitions, Oakdale’s Kai Tanner took first place in the well represented shot put. Senior Tanner threw for 40-03.05 feet. Also placing in the top 10 were senior Bronte Lucero with a seventh place heave of 33-07.25 and junior Kyndall Vargas placing ninth with her toss of 31-05.50. Senior and Alabama-bound Hannah Chappell took first place in the discus finals. Chappell’s massive throw of 146-07 feet went more than 22 feet further than the second place finisher. Chappell has been recognized by the Sportsmen of Stanislaus Club for the second consecutive year as a nominee for the Outstanding Athlete Awards Prep Division for Female Athlete. The ceremony will be held on Wednesday, April 6.

Other notable Lady Mustang performances included: junior Samantha Nickerson took fourth place in the high jump with a leap of 4-10.00 feet; junior Mikayla Wong claimed first place in the pole vault at 8-06.00 feet. Sophomore Kayla Budine placed fifth in the long jump with a 15 foot leap. Senior teammate Madyson Falconi finished just four inches behind her to finish in sixth place. Budine also finished fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 32-10.25. Sophomore Cassie English took fourth in the same event with an impressive 33-00.25 leap. The Lady Mustangs took fourth in the 4x100 relay, senior Melody Johnson took fourth in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 17.26, junior Kristin Aguilar placed fourth in the 3200 meter race and junior Kyla Novotny finished fifth in the 400 meters final.

 

Boys

Although it was a rough day for the Mustangs, Oakdale did have some shining stars in the event. Senior Kyle Brown took third place behind two Turlock runners in the 800 meters finals with a time of 2:04.99; senior Matt Vandagriff cleared the 13 foot bar to place second in the pole vault, senior Austin Burke placed sixth in the triple jump with a 39-05.50 finish, senior James Monges tied for fifth place in the high jump (5-08.00), sophomore Jorge Barajas displayed his power with a fifth place finish in the discus (129-02).

Oakdale will next travel to Sierra for a Valley Oak League meet against the Timberwolves. The meet is set for 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 24.