The Oakdale varsity girls finished the 2016 season the same way they began it; on top. For over a decade, the varsity girls track and field team at Oakdale has dominated the Valley Oak League. On Saturday, May 7 the varsity girls placed first at the VOL Championships at Sierra High School in Manteca. Seven teams could not slow down the powerhouse program, as Oakdale’s ladies scored a team total of 130 points. Kimball, with 104 points, came in second.
Oakdale’s big afternoon came both on and off the track. Seniors Hannah Chappell and Kai Tanner powered the Lady Mustangs in the throwing events in the field portion of competition. Both Chappell and Tanner left their lasting mark on the VOL Championship for the final time, as both took first place on the day in their respective events. Chappell claimed first place in the discus finals, tossing the disc 136 feet and five inches. In the same event, Tanner earned second with her 112 feet, seven inch throw. Oakdale had four finishes in the top five in the discus, as juniors Kyndall Vargas (107-7) and Deonna Osmundson (101-7) also had solid efforts. The Lady Mustangs had three top five finishers in the shot put, as Tanner set the standard at 39-04.50. Senior Bronte Lucero placed third on the day with 32-07.50 and Vargas took fifth with a 31-07.50 toss. Junior Mikayla Wong took second in the pole vault at 8-06.00.
Oakdale’s sophomores came through for the Lady Mustangs as well, as Cassie England finished first in the triple jump at 34-05.50 and Kayla Budine just behind her at 33-10.00 for second place. Budine’s busy day saw her place first in the 4x400 relay with teammates Marnelle Salie, Kyla Novotny and Sara Stevens; and fourth place individually in the long jump at 16-02.00. Stevens, Novotny and Salie took fourth through sixth in the 400 meter race as well. In the hurdles, senior Melody Johnson took a pair of top five finishes on the day. Johnson took second in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16.52 seconds and followed it up with a fourth place finish in the 300 meter hurdles in 49.67. In the high jump, junior Samantha Nickerson earned a second place finish at 4-08.00, just two inches off the leader. Senior Madyson Falconi finished the day in third place in the long jump with a 16-05.00 to complete Oakdale’s big day.
Varsity Boys
A fifth place tie with Central Catholic with 41 points is how the varsity boys finished at Sierra High School. Junior Michael Everett displayed his power to the VOL with a second place finish in the discus competition with a heave of 138-08 and also claimed a third place finish in the shot put with a toss of 44-11.00. Oakdale had a pair of high jumpers tie for third place with senior James Monges and junior Justin Crescenti both finishing at five feet eight inches in the contest. Senior Austin Burke took third place in the competitive triple jump at 41-08.00.
JV Girls
Like the varsity girls, Oakdale’s junior varsity took home first place honors. Oakdale had several freshmen and sophomore girls contribute to the championship, including Savannah Manning tying for first place in the 100 meter hurdles (18.88 seconds) and a second place tie in the 300 meter hurdles (55.14). Oakdale’s throws team remained on point even at the junior varsity level with freshman Hallie Morton taking first in the shot put at 30-05.00, while teammate Elizabeth Rushing took third in the event with a 25-09.50. The freshman Rushing also took second in the discus at 83-02. Oakdale had three freshmen finish one, two, three in the triple jump. Madison Carter (29-04.00); Carly Maaske (29-03.00) and Aubrie Szuagar (29-02.00) wrapped up the day for Oakdale.
JV Boys
In the biggest landslide victory of any of the Mustang teams, Oakdale’s junior varsity boys cleaned up at Sierra over the weekend. The team scored 140.5 points for first place, second place went to Central Catholic with 77. Like a blur, Cameron Cherry and Makai Harris took third and fourth in the 100 meter race. In the 200 meters, Cherry was edged out by less than a step by teammate Carson Frazee as Frazee finished at 24.60 and Cherry at 24.61 for a third and fourth place finish. In the grueling 3200 meter race, Oakdale’s Cade Middaugh placed second (10:26.03) with teammates James Forkner (10:34.73); Russell Pabalan (10:44.40) and Daniel Prado (10:44.55) finishing in third, fourth and fifth. Sophomore Zac Campbell displayed his speed in the hurdle events. Campbell took second in the 110 meters (16.78) and third in the 300 meter hurdles (46.08). Teammate Cameron Burke placed second in the 300 meters at 44.25.
