On Saturday at Moorpark High School, the Culver City High girls will try to run their way into the history books when they chase the school’s first CIF Championship in track and field. The boys will also be represented, but it’s the girls’ team that has a chance to walk away with the top trophy.
The Centaurs will put it all on the line Saturday in the Division 2 CIF Track and Field Finals. “Our athletes have been training and working so hard,” said the boys head track and field coach Jahmal Wright last Tuesday. “They are all peaking at the right time. I am expecting Culver City track athletes to be at their best on Saturday. I am crossing my fingers and coach Demus and I are praying that our girls’ team can bring home a CIF title, but we are going to take it one event at a time.” LaShinda Demus is the girls head coach.
Last Saturday at Venturahigh school in the Division 2 prelims Culver City got off to a rocky start when the boys 4X100 relay team was disqualified for passing out of the zone. “We started off with a tough relay exchange. I thought that relay team had a good chance to go to the finals, but things happen,” said Wright. “Once I got over the relay problem, I was very pleased with the rest of the track meet.”
Wright was upbeat because after that the Centaurs started to click. The girls ran the fastest 4X100 time when the team of Sanaa Belleard, Leena Powell, Imaaan Minwalla and Morgan Maddox ran 47.81. Then Joelle Trepagnier (55.39), Maddox (55.73) and Powell (56.33) placed first, second and third in the 400 meters.
In girls 200 meters Maddox (24.53) and Trepagnier (24.62) placed first and second. The girls finished the day placing third in the 4X400-meter relay with a time of 3:56.61. Running on that relay team was Zakeyah Ross, Maddox, Powell and Imaan Minwalla.
The boys that will be running in the finals are Kaiden Whitt, who placed fourth in the 100 meters in 10.76, sixth in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 14.71 and he placed eighth in the 300 hurdles at 40.63. Kingston Waring placed seventh in the 300 hurdles. The boys 4X400 relay team placed seventh with at time of 3:28.40. The runners on that team were Dontay Mayrant, Waring, Joaquin Bell-Andrade and Kaleb Dawson.
All the names that are mentioned in this article will be competing in the CIF Finals on Saturday at Moorpark High School.