Laguna’s Hofmeister qualifies for Masters

Laguna Beach High track and field junior Blake Hofmeister has qualified for today’s CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos College in the boys’ 3,200 meters.

Hofmeister ran the race in 9 minutes, 14.49 seconds at the CIF Southern Section Division III finals Saturday. That placed him fifth in Division III, and he took the last of 12 available spots for the Masters meet.

The top five finishers at Masters advance to the CIF State meet, scheduled for June 5-6 at Buchanan High in Clovis. Hofmeister can also advance to state by meeting the at-large standard, which is 9:12.57.

The other Breaker at the Division III finals was junior Tommy Newton-Neal, who competed in the 1,600 meters. Newton-Neal also finished fifth, in 4:24.44.

“” Matt Szabo