There is nothing like a school winning its first state title in any sport that brings smiles and wonderful memories.
And, this certainly was the case for the Pomona boys, who won the Class 5A championship at the state track meet, held May 19-21 at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood.
Pomona, coached by Jeff Donnel, compiled a winning 94.50 points. Fountain-Fort Carson finished second with 79 points, followed in third by Hinkley with 39.4. In the process, the Panthers came through with three state titles.
Pomona's Danny Williams won the triple jump with a 47-3 effort, beating William Ross of Palmer, who went 46-2 . He helped the Panthers get started May 19 with his second-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 22-9 1/2 behind David Cunningham of Highlands Ranch who leapt 22-9 .
Pomona's Jake Moretti won the shot put with a throw of 54 feet, 10 inches to get the victory over Hinkley's Quasean Smith, who threw 52-8 .
Pomona then won the 400 relay with Jeremy Gonzales, Miles Matulik, Adam Eckhardt and Max Borghi carrying the baton and running a time of :42.33. Second-place Rangeview clocked in at :42.4.
"I'm so proud of how well the boys were able to perform with our 12 kids," said Donnel. "Every one of them had a PR, set a school record or just out-performed their previous meets. It's a great bunch of kids and they took their hard work right to the track. It was so fun and I just want to congratulate them on their effort."
Williams was certainly pleased with his effort in both events, but more so in the triple jump.
"I just wanted to win so bad," said Williams. "I was so motivated after finishing second in the long jump. Second in the long jump made me happy, but this triple jump was my last high school event. I'm not sure where I will go to college, but I do want to compete. Overall, it was great for our whole team."
Moretti also felt high after his shot put victory.
"It was a great team win as we all go well together," said Moretti. "We got the competitive edge and we just expected the best. You just can't go in and back off. I'm certainly happy with my individual efforts."
It was a joyous foursome that came through for Pomona's relay victory.
"It's just hard to find something to say," said Miles. "We all worked hard and we were never in a mindset to give up."
"We have a lot of trust in each other and we were able to pull it out," Gonzales said. "All the hard work has paid off for us, and to be here with this win is just remarkable."
Teammates Borghi and Eckhardt agreed.
"This is almost unbelievable," said Borghi. "We have a great family and one with great nerves."
"I was nervous, but the good effort by all of us paid off," Eckhardt said.
Borghi also finished second in the 100 meters (:10.99) behind Fountain's Christian Lyon (:10.8). He placed third in the 200 meters (:22.07), again just behind Lyon (:21.67).
Ryan Marquez finished third in the 300 hurdles (:39.34), an event won by Hinkley's Angel Heredia, with a time of :37.88.
For Marquez, the progression over the past three seasons was great.
"I went from 15th to 10th to third in the hurdles over the last years," said Marquez. "It was good success. All of us worked hard and I'm proud of what we have been able to accomplish. We improved each week and it has certainly paid off."
Pomona placed second in the 800 relay on May 20 behind Fountain-Fort Carson, running 1:27.55 to Fountain's winning 1:25.96. Carrying the baton for the Panthers again were Gonzales, Matulik, Eckhardt and Borghi.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Pomona-wins-state-title,213976
No comments:
Post a Comment