2015: San Diegans Close With a Rush
Five bests in the state meet, nine in the season’s final two weeks and some competitive efforts in the finals at Clovis Buchanan High allowed area tracksters to finish on a strong note.
Weak in the flat races as compared to the rest of the state and with only one sprinter in the state’s Top 10, San Diego Section athletes still earned 13 medals and scored 57 points. By comparison, the Section had eight medals and 38 points in 2014.
Oceanside, with strong performances by Charles Lenford and Jordan Miller, was fifth in team scoring with 23.
Lenford’s powerful performance in the discus produced a gold medal. He opened with a 189-foot, 11-inch throw that blew out the competition and finished with a 195-4, sixth longest in section history.
Lenford, a junior, will lead the cast of returnees already thinking about 2016. Medal-winning underclassmen also included Nia Akins, Dani Johnson, Laulauga Tausaga, and sophomore Kiley McCarthy.
Junior Tanner Batthika didn’t make it past the long jump trials but his 24-2 long jump in the Section finals ranks among the leaders in his event.
San Diego Section athletes in the state Top 10, with rankings in parenthesis:
GIRLS
| EVENT | NAME | SCHOOL | MARK | STATE | NAME | SCHOOL |
| 100 | Suzie Acolatse (4) | Mission Hills | :11.46w | :11.24w | Francis | Oxnard Rio Mesa |
| 200 | Acolatse (7) | :23.69 | :22.68w | Williams | Westlake Village Oaks Christian | |
| 800 | Kiley McCarthy (7T) | Carlsbad | 2:08.85 | 2:07.09 | Schroeder | Santa BarbaraSan Marcos |
| Nia Akins (9) | Rancho Bernardo | 2:09.07 | 2:08.44 | Smith | Clovis North | |
| 100 Hurdles | Dani Johnson (10) | Cathedral | :13.88 | :13.17 | Graham | Corona Eleanor Roosevelt |
| 300H | Johnson (3) | :41.34 | :40.73 | Graham | ||
| Leah Molter (7) | Valhalla | :42.32 | ||||
| Shot Put | Laulauga Tausaga (3) | Mount Miguel | 48-3 ½ | 53-5 ½ | Bruckner | San Jose Valley Christian |
| Discus | Tausaga (4) | 156-7 | 182-8 | Bruckner | ||
| 4×400 Relay | Cathedral (6) | 3:47.63 | 3:43.33 | Inglewood St. Mary’s College |
BOYS
| EVENT | NAME | SCHOOL | MARK | STATE | NAME | SCHOOL |
| Shot Put | Lenford (4) | Oceanside | 61-8 | 72-0 | Katnik | Bellflower San John Bosco |
| Discus | Lenford (1) | 195-4 | 194-8 | McMorris | Santa Ana Mater Dei | |
| Pole Vault | Tristan Zawadski (8T) | Patrick Henry | 15-7 | 16-3 ¼ | Laut | El Dorado Hills Oak Ridge |
| High Jump | Cedell Morris (6T) | Steel Canyon | 6-9 | 7-0 | Burke (1T) | Lemoore |
| Holmes (1T) | Roseville Oakmont | |||||
| Thomas (1T) | Mountain View St. Francis | |||||
| Long Jump | Tanner Batthika (4) | St. Augustine | 24-2 | 24-10 ½ | Vann | Oxnard Rio Mesa |
| Jordan Miller (6) | Oceanside | 24 ½ | ||||
| Triple Jump | Miller (4) | 48-4 | 49-9 ¾ | Brooks | Kingsburg |