Jason Roascio in the 200, Frankie Martinez in the discus and the
boys’ 4×400 relay team each fell short of their season-best marks
at the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Friday in Clovis,
and fell short of advancing to Saturday’s finals as well.
CLOVIS
The emotional high of graduation didn’t carry over to the CIF State Track and Field Championships for the San Benito track team on Friday.
Jason Roascio in the 200, Frankie Martinez in the discus and the boys’ 4×400 relay team each fell short of their respective season-best marks at the state meet in Clovis, and each fell short of advancing to Saturday’s finals as well.
“They made it to state,” San Benito boys coach Iran White said. “It’s been a year, a season, filled with really big meets, and they were kind of — I don’t want to say burnt out — but it was tough will all the injuries at the end of the season.
“They did the best they could.”
Roascio clocked a 22.15 in the 200 meters to take seventh in his heat, 25th overall — short of the 21.30 recorded by Jared Pickering of San Diego’s Rancho Bernardo High, which was the last qualifying time to advance to Saturday’s final round.
Remontay McClain of the Southern Section’s Covina High had the fastest recorded time in the 200 on Friday when he clocked a 20.85.
McClain won Saturday’s final as well with another 20.85-second dash.
Meanwhile, Roascio and the boys’ 4×400 relay team of David Kret, Felipe Davila and Jordan Belton recorded a 3:26.08 to take sixth in their heat, 24th overall.
The last qualifying time in the 1,600-meter relay belonged to Roosevelt of the Southern Section, which recorded a 3:16.97, while the Southern Section’s Serra earned the top time in 3:08.42 — a new state-meet record and just 1.02 seconds off the national record.
“We do a lot of come-from-behind runs. But at state, we kind of got caught at the end,” White said. “It’s difficult to have people push you. The faster teams took off.”
Serra of Gardena won Saturday’s final as well, recording a 3:08.72.
Additionally, senior Frankie Martinez — who, along with Felipe Davila and 4×400 alternate Jeremy Chase, graduated earlier in the day — made his final appearance for San Benito in the discus event. He delivered a throw of 126-01, and finished in 26th place.
Jeremy Hines of the San Joaquin Section’s Jesuit High grabbed the final qualifying spot toward Saturday’s final when he recorded a 171-08, while Willy Irwin of Clovis East finished in first with a throw of 208-10.
Irwin earned the top spot on Saturday, too, with a throw of 207-08.
“Last year he missed it. But this year he made it,” White said of Martinez, who missed qualifying to the state meet last season by a little more than three feet.
Martinez will be one of just a few graduating seniors from next year’s team, which White feels could make some noise in the Central Coast Section.
“We’ve got some strength returning,” he said. “It looks great.
“Of course, we’ll need to be more healthy.”
