By PETE SIMONCINI - Sports Correspondent

Under cool and mostly windless conditions in the Corral on Thursday, March 30, the Oakdale Mustang track and field program continued to excel during this 2023 season. Only the junior varsity girls came up short against the visiting Manteca Buffaloes, and then by the slim margin of 53-47, with the Buffaloes garnering several points in the sprint events. Otherwise, the Mustangs were dominant.

The Varsity boys, despite a strong Manteca effort in the sprint races, were able to defeat the Buffaloes by the score of 75-60.

“It was a good win for the Mustang boys,” said head coach Dave Bacigalupi.

Leading the way for the varsity boys were the distance runners. Senior Caleb Cavanaugh won both the 400- and 800-meter middle distance events. Junior Jackson Oliveira won the 3,200-meter run and senior Dax Daley won the 1,600 run as the Mustangs earned victories in each of the non-sprint events. Sweeping the hurdles races (110-meter high and 300-meter low) was junior Cameron Guthrie. On the field side of the varsity boys’ meet, Mustangs Grant Gardner (triple jump), Aiden Vargas (pole vault), and Tyler Cooley (high jump) all earned victories, with several teammates earning second and third place points.

The varsity girls continued their torrid pace this season by amassing 111 points to 25 for Manteca. Senior Kylie Nunes stormed to easy victories in the 200-meter dash, the 300-meter low hurdles, and ran key legs in the Mustangs’ victories in the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x400 meter relay. Complementing Nunes was Lynsey McPhee, who won the 100-meter dash, the triple jump and, like Nunes, ran a leg of the victorious 4x400 meter relay team. On the middle distance and distance side of the meet, senior Kassidy Fmura completed an impressive hat trick by winning the 800-meter run, the 1,600-meter run, and the 3,200-meter run, all by significant margins. Finishing second to Fmura in remarkable fashion in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs was freshman Brady Evans.

Assistant distance coach Vic Moreno noted in discussing Evans, “We are working on her to run cross country in the fall to strengthen her already excellent skills.”

Another Brady, Brady Wiley, won the 400-meter dash and ran a leg on the 4x400 meter relay team.

In the field events, the Mustangs continued with strong performances in the weight events as Hayden Morton won the discus throw and Memphis Carr won the shot put. Veteran Brookelyn Baba continued her notable season to date by winning the high jump and running a leg of the 4x100 meter relay.

Rounding out the Mustang team victories against Manteca was a 73-50 victory over the Buffaloes by the junior varsity boys.

On Thursday, April 6, the Mustangs play host to the always tough Sierra Timberwolves starting at 3:30 p.m. in the Corral. They will then have a week-long hiatus as Oakdale High School students and staff enjoy the 2023 Spring Break.