Moorpark College Men’s Track and Field placed second after hosting a five-way Western State Conference Mini Meet, missing the top spot by only 12 points. The women’s team was also in competition.
Allan Hancock, Citrus, College of the Canyons, and West LA competed at the conference opener at MC on Feb. 14. College of the Canyons came in first with 110 points, outperforming Moorpark College, which took second place with 98 points.
Moorpark athlete Kelly Gayton, 20, feels good about the new season.
“It’s been a while since I’ve ran,” says Guyton. “I’m excited.”
The track meet began with the jumping and vaulting events. Guyton jumped 16 feet, 3 inches and placed fourth in long jump. At the same time the men’s team was jumping and Kyle Elsea had a long jump of 20’11”, also placing fourth.
Holly Northrup placed second in the pole vault with a 7’0″ vault. The running events started shortly after where Whitney Anderson placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.86 second. Guyton was shortly behind, placing third with a time of 13.91 in the same event. In the men’s 100m, Daniel Wolverton placed third with a time of 11.84.
Moorpark thrower Brando Dutton, 19, is part of the field team, where scoring points is done not with speed, but with strength.
“I have to have a big year,” said Dutton after throwing. “I have to transfer.”
In field events Jimmy Pacifico placed first place in the hammer (53.37m), first in shot put (16.68m) and first in discus (46.76m). Colin Dunbar placed first in javelin (162-11), second in the hammer (52.30m), second in shot put (14.01m) and third in discus (42.23m).
In the women’s field events, Jennifer Jones placed second in discus (22.9m) and third in the hammer (19.41m). In the high jump, Kyle Elsea placed first after clearing 6’6″.
The men’s track and field team closed last season with a big win at the Southern California Regional Community College Championships at University of California San Diego. The women’s team had several qualifiers and also attended the meet.
The next track meet is Cerritos College Invitational being held Feb. 22-23.
