Perseverance pays off for Metro standouts at state track and field meet
CLOVIS, Fresno County — St. Ignatius junior Prince Babalola-Buchango and Pittsburg pole vaulter Khaliq Muhammad drew from the long term.
Montgomery-Santa Rosa distance runner Hanne Thomsen and St. Mary's-Berkeley jumper Kira Ganta Hatcher were motivated by painful moments earlier in the day.
And De La Salle-Concord sprinter Jaden Jefferson was inspired by his own record performance.
What all had in common Saturday were individual championships at the 105th running of the CIF State Track and Field Championships at Veteran's Stadium on the campus of Buchanan High School.
On a sweltering, muggy 100-degree day in the Central Valley, the quintet topped a banner day for Metro Area athletes, who piled up 55 medals in one of the nation's top track and field meets.
Babalola-Buchango collected three, finishing fifth in the 100 meters and second in a blistering 110 high hurdles field, before 'putting on the gas and not letting anyone stop me' to capture the 200 title in a lifetime best of 20.79 seconds.
The 6-foot-3, 170-pounder bettered his previous best of 20.88 in Friday's trials to the delight of a loud contingent of 30 fans rooting on the popular junior who planned to start a football camp the following day.
' I've been running track for seven years now and every year I've made a championship final,' Babalola-Buchango said. 'But I never won one. I was yearning for a win. I placed second and fifth earlier in the day and I told myself, 'It's my time.'
'So yes, this means everything to me.'
Muhammad not only won his first pole vault after finishing second last year and placing as a freshman, but he broke the meet record as well, clearing 17 feet, 10 ½ inches, breaking the mark of 17-10 set in 2019 by Sondre Guttormsen of Davis. He beat the rest of the field by 16 inches.
When he cleared the meet record, the crowd of nearly 8,000 roared and Muhammad, whose sister won two state titles, was swarmed and congratulated by teammates.
'When I cleared it for about five seconds I thought 'I can't believe this,'' Muhammad said. 'But then I remembered I put 12 years of hard work into this. I always expect to do well. Even set records.'
More urgent and exhaustive speed work that included running open 100s, 200 and 400s contributed to late-season surge. This was the fifth straight week Muhammad broke the 17-foot barrier.
Said Pittsburg coach Aaron Alantorre: 'He seemed really locked in and prepared for the moment.'
Hatcher definitely wasn't locked in after fouling on her three preliminary long jumps in Saturday's finals, after qualifying second Friday in trials. The normally upbeat junior let out a scream, and immediately fell into a flood of tears after her third scratch, which eliminated her from the competition.
But she regrouped and, nearly three hours later, was atop the medal stand with a winning triple jump of 40-5.
'It was really hard,' Hatcher said of her three fouls. 'I was really sad for a pretty long time. But I got a good pep talk from my coach and parents and that boosted me. I realized if I stayed sad I wasn't going to do well in my next event.
Said St. Mary's coach Jeff Rogers: 'Honestly, it was like putting Humpty Dumpty back together again emotionally. Kira is an awesome, positive girl and great competitor. It was an amazing comeback performance.'
So, too, for Thomsen, who ran a nearly perfect 1,600 only to be edged at the line by Santiago's Braelyn Combe — 4:35.64 to 4:35.69, the second- and third-best times in the country this year. A slight stumble near the finish line might have cost the Stanford-bound star the title.
Two hours later, Thomsen found herself in the same position with another Santiago runner, Rylee Blade. Even though Blade was fresher, Thomsen found another gear down the stretch, breaking the state-meet record to win in 9:48.98 for her second 3,200 state crown (she also won as a freshman).
Jefferson pulled off perhaps the most stunning 100-meter runs in Friday's prelims, breaking the state record with a 10.01 run, breaking the California mark by 0.19.
'It was a perfect race,' said Jefferson, a top junior football recruit who has committed to North Carolina, of Friday's effort.
But the trials showing wouldn't have meant as much without following through on Saturday, which he did by grinding out a victory in 10.27, just ahead of Servite-Anaheim sophomore Benjamin Harris. Jefferson earlier ran a strong second leg to help De La Salle set a PR while placing fourth in the 4x100 relay (40.80). Later he finished fourth in the 200.
'It feels great to be a state champion,' Jefferson said. 'All the hard work and dedication came to light. It's truly exciting to be in the record books.'
Jefferson, who last week set a North Coast Section record by winning the Meet of Champions in 10.30, said he wasn't surprised by the 10.01 finish. The warm conditions helped.
'Even though we PR'd on the (4x100 relay) the guys were kind of down because we were capable of winning,' Jefferson said. 'That added fuel to my 100, plus I wanted to bring home a first-place medal back to the school.'
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