The Saddleback women’s track & field team had its third-best finish in program history after finishing ninth at the Southern California Regional Finals on Saturday, May 13, at Cerritos College. The Gauchos will send a handful of athletes to the state finals next weekend in Sacramento.
Saddleback had four athletes earn points in the finals, with Anna Gillis, Rachel Oberschelp, Angel Vallier and Amanda Amundson guiding the Gauchos to a 24-point finish.
Gillis, a freshman, was a workhorse, managing to score points in two separate events with a second-place finish in the discus and a fourth place finish in the hammer. The San Clemente High graduate winged the discus 41.62 meters, coming within 0.04 meters of the lead throw of the day by Cerritos’ Ailinisilose Willaims. It was 0.25 short of her personal-best at the prelims last weekend and sets her up for a potential top-5 finish at state.
Gillis also fired out of the gate quickly in the hammer throw with an opening throw of 44.83 meters. It was her longest throw of the season and was good enough for fourth place in the event. The throw also moved Gillis into 11th place in the state this season.
Gillis also fired out of the gate quickly in the hammer throw with an opening throw of 44.83 meters. It was her longest throw of the season and was good enough for fourth place in the event. The throw also moved Gillis into 11th place in the state this season.
Another earning points in two events was Vallier, who finished seventh in both the 800-meters and 1,500-meters. The 2015 Mission Viejo High graduate posted a time of 2:19.87 in the 800-meters, which was her fourth-fastest time of the year and 1.72 seconds off of a personal-best. Her time of 4:49.42 in the 1,500-meters was 4.65 seconds faster than her time in the prelims last weekend after posting a season-best time of 4:43.08 earlier in the year.
Her time of 4:49.42 in the 1,500-meters was 4.65 seconds faster than her time in the prelims last weekend after posting a season-best time of 4:43.08 earlier in the year.
Oberschelp was part of an exciting finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, with the top four finishers crossing the tape within 1.18 seconds of one another. The Capistrano Valley High graduate had a time of 11:27.95, which was her top time of the year.
One other Gaucho earning points was Amundson, who finished in eighth place in the pole vault. The 2016 Dana Hills High graduate connected on her second try from 3.0 meters for her best vault of the year.
Saddleback’s ninth-place finish marked the fifth time in the past seven seasons the Gauchos have finished in the top-10 at the Southern California Finals. The Gauchos will compete for the last time this season at the CCCAA State Finals this weekend at American River College in Sacramento.
GAUCHOS ANNOUNCE COMMITMENTS
Sophomore Irma Ealy announced earlier this month that she will play basketball at Our Lady of Lakes University in San Antonio, Texas. The Saints play under the NAIA umbrella as part of the Red River Athletic Conference.
Ealy was one of the more consistent players on the team in 2016-17, averaging 11 points and seven rebounds-per-game. She led the team in shooting percentage (50.2) while finishing second in blocks (29) and third in rebounds (216) and free throw percentage (70.3).
Ealy scored in double-figures 17 times in 31 games, including seven in a row in December. She had a season-high 28 points against MiraCosta College on Dec. 9, 2016, when she was 12-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Our Lady of Lakes finished 24-9 in 2016-17 and made it all the way to the NAIA National Tournament, falling to The Master’s University on March 15 (85-83).
Ealy joins teammates Janae Omusi (Kennesaw State), Kiazha Ginwright (Stillman) and Laura Tapia (Bethesda) in committing to four-year universities.