WESTLAKE — The Oaks Christian girls sprinters warm up on one side of the track and the boys distance runners wait for the cue to begin their run on the other side. In between them, plastic flooring is set up for the upcoming graduation ceremony.
“We try to pull them together occasionally,” Lions head coach Wes Smith said, “and make sure that they’re aware of what the other people are doing. As we run around the track, there’s a lot of camaraderie that goes on.”
The Lions’ girls 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams and the boys 4×800 relay team — as well as pole vaulter Pierce Britain — will be competing at the CIF State Track and Field Championships this weekend in Clovis and have a solid shot at reaching the podium.
Girls sprinters ready to repeat
The Oaks Christian girls 4×100 relay team has a chance to repeat as state champions. Senior Kyra Terry and junior Rayah Rodriguez are returning, while sophomore Chiara Baker and freshman Devyn Sproles have joined the group full-time. Bella Solaka and Caitlyn Norena are alternates.
“I like to follow the philosophy that the relay is always going to be comprised of the fastest, most reliable legs that can get the baton around the track,” sprints coach Brandi Prieto said. “So, it’s not necessarily set. It’s based on who’s reliable and who’s gonna be able to execute. And that’s interchangeable.”
Sproles has locked up the anchor spot in her first year on the team and has already clocked 11.7 seconds.
“We know she doesn’t like losing,” Rodriguez said.
The third leg could be critical in the 4×100 race, and Terry, a San Diego State commit, has been consistently successful in that position.
“Overall, I trust in the training,” Terry said. “And then focus on executing because ultimately, if we do execute, we’re gonna run those fast times that we need to and do what we need to qualify for finals.”
The 4×100 relay placed second at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet last week to qualify for the state meet, flying around the track in 46.12 seconds using their signature underhand sweep baton pass.
Prieto is making sure her runners are ready for anything at the state meet, especially since the 4×100 race is one of the most volatile events and features some of the fastest sprinters in the country.
“You never know how it’s gonna go, so you’re never sure,” Prieto said. “You’re never sitting there like, OK, we got this. (We tell them that) to make sure they’re prepared for anything to happen and to stay poised in that moment.”
The girls 4×400 relay team finished 11th at the Masters Meet to qualify for state. Rodriguez will run in both relays as well as the girls 400. Terry and Sproles are in both relays in addition to the 100 meters.
Boys 4×800 capitalizing on cross country success
Oaks Christian rode the momentum from winning its first boys cross country title right into the track and field season. Christian Yoder, Cooper McNee, Vin Krueger and Arize Nwosu all won a state title in cross country and are now looking at state success in the boys 4×800 relay.
“I knew that we had the potential to be this good,” said McNee, who will run at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in college. “However, the stars had to align. We all had to show up and do well, and at the end of the day, we all just ran as hard as we could throughout the season.”
Oaks Christian boys 4×800 relay runners Christian Yoder, Arize Nwosu, Vin Krueger and Cooper McNee will compete in the CIF State track and field meet after winning a CIF State title in cross country earlier this year. (courtesy Oaks Christian athletics)McNee and Yoder, who finished second and third, respectively, as individuals at the state cross country meet, sacrificed running the 3,200 to take part in the 4×800.
The two events are back-to-back in track meets, forcing them to make a decision.
“I think I always had in the back of my head that I wanted to run the 4×8 with the team because it’s a really fun event to run with our team,” McNee said. “We have this opportunity, so we might as well take it.”
The 800-meter distance is one of the most difficult to run because it requires both aerobic and anaerobic endurance. Smith said he always includes speed training as well as weightlifting in his coaching, so the transition from cross country to track season was relatively seamless.
Mentally, however, there’s a switch that has to be flipped.
“You’ve got to stay 100% locked in from the gun,” Yoder, a UCLA commit, said. “With cross country, you can kind of afford to make those mistakes. Since the race is so long, you can make it up. Especially with an 800, you cannot make those mistakes.”
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