Track and field: TeWinkle boys wins 16th straight

Joseph Boo

CORONA DEL MAR - TeWinkle Junior High’s boys track and field team’s

streak is now eligible for a driver’s license.

The Trojans won an unprecedented 16th consecutive Newport-Mesa Junior

High track and field championships at Corona del Mar High Thursday.

TeWinkle’s 341 1/2 team points bested Ensign, which finished with 241.

TeWinkle had several record-breaking performances from its runners.

Panfillo Elias set two records in the “C” Division (5-feet-4 and under).

He posted the first sub-5:00 time in district history for the 1,600-meter

run, winning in 4:57.5. He also set another record in the 800 with a

2:17.4. And Elias had the best mark in the high jump with a 4-10.

The Trojans’ Geo Macias won the seventh-grade boys 400 and 1,600 in 58.0

and 5:19.7, respectively, and Alejandro Cahuantzi captured the 800 in

2:26. Macias, Cahuantzi, Adrian Jimenez and Mauricio Aguilera formed

TeWinkle’s victorious 400 relay team (52.6).

In the eighth-grade events, TeWinkle was paced by wins from Hugo Porfirio

in the 1,600 (5:07.9), George Zuniga in the 400 (56.6) and Ishmael

Sandoval in the 800 (2:18.1).

Ensign gave TeWinkle a good run behind eighth-grader Matt Encinias. He

won three individual events, the 100 (11.5), the 200 (23.7) and the long

jump (18-9 1/2). Encinias also anchored Ensign’s 400 relay team that

included Hector Campos, Brian Campos and Will Figueroa. The Seabees won

in 48.2, edging TeWinkle.

Ensign’s “C” boys 400 relay team won in 51.5. That squad featured Will

Guzman, Patrick Riley, Conrad Williamson and David Riley. Patrick

captured two events, the 100 (12.7) and the 200 (26.0).

Ensign’s girls team won two divisions and captured the overall

competition with 240 points. The Seabees were paced by Ashley Harrison,

who won three events in the “C” Division. She set records in the 100

(13.28) and the 200 (27.37).

Harrison also won the high jump (14-0) and anchored Ensign’s victorious

400 relay team, which included Megan Dias, Jennifer Porterfield and Dana

Owad. The Seabees won in 55.45.

In the eighth-grade girls division, Lauren Paul placed first in the 1,600

(6:03.0) and was the runner-up in the 800 (2:44.03) behind teammate

Jillian Whitfield (2:43.28).

While TeWinkle boys continued an epic streak, Harbor Day broke one by

winning the seventh-grade girls division. It is the Seahawks’ first girls

title of any kind since 1987.

Harbor Day was led by Melissa Swigert, who shattered two records. She

took first in the 100 (13.03) and the 200 (26.69). She also won the long

jump with a 14-0. Harbor Day also got solid performances from Marissa

Scott, who won the 800 in 2:42.75.

Corona del Mar won two girls 400 relays. The seventh-graders set a

district record with a 55.86. That team comprised of Nicole Merk, Tunisha

Senaratne, Vanessa Fallon and Jennifer Anderson.

CdM’s eighth-grade girls 400 relay team won in 56.27. The Sea Kings

featured Sarah Claster, Beth Nelson, Carmen Luna and Katja Eadington in

that event. Nelson won two individual events, the 100 (13.72) and the 200

(28.09).

For the TeWinkle seventh-grade girls, Kiley Hall set a district record in

the 800 with a 1:04.78 and Becca Harris won the shot put with throw of

31-0.