Three individual titles and strong finishes in the relay races and field events gave the South Pasadena High girls’ track and field team the boost it needed at Moorpark High on May 11 during the CIF Southern Section Track and Field Championships.
Tigers senior Mia Holden won two Division III titles and junior Abigail Errington captured one CIF crown herself as South Pasadena finished runner-up in the girls’ team standings, reaching the podium in a field of 29 schools.
“We did it with neighborhood kids and that always feels a little better,” said South Pasadena coach C.B. Richards of the Division III podium finish. “These girls went to school together — in middle school and things like that — so it’s kind of cool when they come together and win such a great thing, especially at the end of the year for our seniors.”
South Pasadena scored 65 points to finish second behind JSerra, which won the Division III team title with 76 points. The Tigers outscored Oaks Christian, which placed third with 62 points, and Rio Hondo League rivals La Cañada, which finished fourth with 60 points.
“At South Pas track, we always try and peak at the championship time of the year and we definitely did that at this meet,” Richards said.
Holden, a senior bound for UCLA, won the CIF crown in the 100-meter and 300 hurdle races. The senior clocked in a personal-record, title-winning time of 14.43 seconds in the 100 hurdles and captured the 300 hurdles championship in 42.81.
Errington outpaced JSerra junior Anne Elise Packard for the title in the 1,600 with a CIF-winning time of 4:51.40. Packard came in second at 4:51.69. Errington also raced the 3,200 and placed runner-up in a time of 10:28.90. The junior finished behind JSerra sophomore Summer Wilson, who won the title in 10:24.51.
With their top finishes, Errington and Holden qualified for the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet and will return to Moorpark High on May 18. The top six finishers at Masters will travel to Buchanan High School in Clovis to compete for the 104th CIF State Track & Field Championships beginning May 24.
Masters Meet qualification is determined by the top-12 finishes throughout all four divisions, with two alternates in place in case an athlete bows out. Holden’s finish in the 300 hurdles was the second-best time in the event across all divisions, while Errington’s time in the 3,200 was the fourth-best in the entire Southern Section.
In other Tigers girls’ individual events, junior Jacqueline Sides competed in the 400 race, finishing sixth in a personal-best 58.23. South Pasadena junior Saidbh Byrne competed alongside Errington in the 3,200 and finished fourth in a time of 10:54.92, a personal record.
Tigers junior Avery Taylor also raced the hurdle events with Holden. Taylor finished sixth in the 100 hurdles in 15.72 and fourth in the 300 hurdles in 46.93.
“Those are big points,” said Tigers distance running coach Mike Parkinson. “… We ended up scoring 12 more points, so that was great. To have everybody step up like that was spectacular.”
Sides and Holden teamed up with senior Lyla Keller and sophomore Naya Holden for the 4×100 relay race and finished fourth in 48.26. Sides and Mia Holden also ran in the 4×400 relay with junior Perri Koo and freshman Kara Wang and placed fourth in 3:59.89.
Two Tigers athletes competed in the girls’ field events as South Pasadena senior Simone Assaf and junior Kezia Gavlak both participated in the long jump competition. Assaf placed eighth with a leap of 16 feet, 9 ¾ inches, while Gavlak finished ninth with a 16-7 ¾ mark.
Meanwhile, a handful of Tigers competed in the boys’ division and were led by senior Keeran Murray, who entered the finals following three days of illness, according to Parkinson. The senior finished third in the boys’ 800 with a Masters-qualifying time of 1:53.01, a school record in the event.
“I’m expecting that his season is over. There’s no way he can qualify for Masters – being one of the top 12 times – after being sick in bed and couldn’t even go to school,” said Parkinson of Murray. “And somehow, not only does he manage to get there, he warms up still feeling terrible, gets into the race and gets third.”
Murray was also part of the boys’ 4×400 relay team, which consisted of junior Peter Dickinson, freshman Dylan Revuelta and junior Logan Vargas. The Tigers quartet finished sixth in the race with a time of 3:23.98. Individually, Dickinson ran the 300 hurdles and finished seventh in 40.53.
On the field, junior Omar Soufi finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 50-11. Tigers junior Leonard Kwak participated in the pole vault and placed ninth with a 12-7 mark.
Soufi will serve as an alternate at the Masters Meet, while Murray and the boys’ 4×800 relay team will join Holden and Errington as automatic qualifiers.
Cathedral High won the boys’ CIF Division III title scoring 97 points. South Pasadena placed 13th overall with 16 points.
First published in the May 17 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
