Prep Track: Redwood’s Bayon siblings, along with Tam, AW runners take gold

Redwood High senior Antonio Bayon and sophomore Julia Bayon were both triple-winners, while Tam and Archie Williams athletes battled it out for dominance on the track during Saturday’s North Coast Section Redwood Empire track and field championships in Fortuna. The top qualifiers advance to next Saturday’s NCS Meet of Champions in Dublin.

Athletes from Redwood, Tam and Archie Williams high schools shared the long bus ride to Fortuna on Friday, but were ready to challenge each other on Saturday. Tam High senior Nate Wanger won the 400 in a split-second duel with Archie Williams High sophomore Devin Singh. Wanger finished in 50.7 seconds, with Singh crossing the line  in 50.82 seconds.

The Red-tailed Hawks’ Caeden Gardner won the 800 in 1 minute, 55.2 seconds to finish just ahead of the Peregrine Falcons’ Will Mulliken (1:56.83).

Mulliken won the 1600 (4:15.23), ahead of Tam senior Gilby Fillat (4:19.77), who placed second. Falcons senior Ian Sharp won the 3200 (9:26.47), with Tam teammates Finn Harrington (9:35.28) and Marco Zink (9:36.67) finishing third and fourth, respectively.

Antonio Bayon earned gold in the 110 hurdles, high jump and pole vault. Bayon brought his best with a PR of 14.81 seconds to win the 110 hurdles, ahead of second- and third-place finishers Shea Sorcher (15.67) and Kiernan Connollly (15.92), both of Tam. Sorcher won the 300 hurdles with his best run of the season in 40.29. Falcons junior Nick Ferguson took third (41.14), with Novato’s Benjamin DePalma fourth (41.49), both with career-best times.

Bayon’s winning mark of 14 feet, 3 inches in the pole vault was better than Tam senior William Freas (13’3”), who took second. Freas had beaten Bayon in their past two head-to-head competitions.

Bayon unleashed a PR of 6’7” to win the high jump, with San Marin senior Cody Urban second (6’2”). Marin Catholic’s Kyree Marshall finished in a three-way tie at 6’1” and placed fourth. Marshall was second in the triple jump with a PR of 42’4”.

San Marin senior Trent Jepma placed third in the discus (159 feet, 5 inches) and seventh in the shot put (43’8.5”). Redwood senior Holden Turner was fourth in the shot put (45’2.5”).

Tam High’s foursome of Dexter Burnett, Cooper Hatch, Gardner and Wanger won the 4×400 relay (3:24.99). The Falcons’ quartet of Archer Diehl, Sean Chamberlin, Leo Berberich and Reid Cross took second in the 4×800 relay.

Redwood’s Marco Cleary took third in the 200 and fourth in the 100. Cleary ran the 100 with a PR of 10.72 seconds, while San Marin’s Leo Mattiuzzo placed eighth with a PR of 10.93. Cleary ran the 200 with a PR of 21.98 seconds, followed by Nate Wanger (22.23), Mattiuzzo (22.29) and Marin Catholic’s Reece Barrett (22.44) who finished 5-6-7, respectively.

Redwood Empire Girls Track

The Giants’ Julia Bayon ran her best to win both the 100 and 200 meter events, and helped her Redwood team to a first-place finish in the 4×100 relay at the Redwood Empire meet. Bayon won the 100 with a personal-best 11.83, ahead of second-place Milena Taschian of Terra Linda, who ran a PR of 12.25 seconds. San Marin senior Sicily Grasso took fourth (12.57).

Bayon ran the 200 with a PR of 24.42 seconds, with Grasson third (25.44), followed by Terra Linda’s Chloe Madrid (25.47) and Tam’s Johanna Friedrichsdorf (25.62) in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Friedrichsdorf placed second (57.33) in a split-second finish in the 400. Tam’s Emma Gardner ran a 2:16.17 time to take second in the 800.

Bayon and Redwood teammates Jaden Vangorder, Jenna Beauchamp and Rachel Towns won the 4×100 relay (48.89). Tam won the 4×800 relay (10:02.84), with Plum Lee, Margaux Kloville, Estella Wong and Gardner.

Archie Williams High’s Ani Stieg claimed second place in the 1600 (4:55.79) and third in the 3200 with a PR of 10:43.94.

Redwood sophomore Annalise Horn won the long jump (17’3.25”) and triple jump (35’10”), while teammate Arlie Peterson took second in the high jump (4’8”). Novato senior Audrey Kobayashi (109’2”) took fifth in the discus.

CCS Trials

San Rafael’s Ellie McCuskey-Hay, competing for St. Ignatius College Prep, qualified for the Central Coast Section finals in four events. She anchored the winning 4×100 relay team to a school-record 47.11-second finish at Saturday’s trials in Gilroy.

McCuskey-Hay, who also runs for Marin Waves Track Club, won the 100 (11.74) and placed second in the 200 (24.52). She placed fifth in the long jump (17’6.75”).