The sport of track and field is alive and well at Westside Union Elementary School, where over 50 boys and girls competed at some point this spring.
In the end, a handful of the top 3 finishers qualified for the Valley Youth Championship on May 9 in Madera.
Dozens of schools from as far south as Bakersfield up to Merced were on hand at Matilda Torres High School, where the Pioneers were led by Samantha Moran Tizoc, who placed seventh in 11–12 girls 1,500 meters with a personal best time of 5 minutes, 43.89 seconds. She even tried her hand at a shorter distance, turning a 1:12.28 in the 400.
A pair of Pioneers also turned fast laps in the 11–12 boys 400, with Mauricio Guzman-Lopez posting a 1:08.72 and Lawson Mitchell right there at 1:09.55.
Those two also paired up with Bryan Calderon and Daniel Buenrostro in the 4×100 relay, capturing a top-10 finish with a blistering 57.51. That time, along with all the other results, were personal bests for the burgeoning Westside sprinters.
To reach the valley championships, the Pioneers needed to finish in the top 3 during the 80th Jim North Memorial Junior Olympics this April at Merced College Stadium.
“Mrs. (April) Mitchell and Mrs. (Claudia) Perez put in the work to make this such an amazing and memorable experience,” principal April Latta said.
Club leaders expressed immense pride in the team’s work ethic and grit, adding that these motivated students are already setting goals for next year and proving that the future of Westside Running Club is incredibly bright.
