Aztecs Track & Field Claim Four Region Titles After Third Day at Region I Championships

The Pima Community College men's and women's track & field teams competed in the third day of the Region I Championships on Tuesday at Mesa Community College.

The Aztecs took home four region titles at the end of the day. The Aztecs men's team sits in second place with a score of 78. Mesa Community College is in first place with 96 points. The women's track & field team are also in second place with 79 points. Central Arizona College is in first with 107 points.

Sophomore Tyler Johnson (Snowflake HS) took first place and set a national qualifier in the process for the long jump. He finished with a jump of 7.23 meters (23-feet, 8.75 inches). Freshman Sam Shoultz (Corona del Sol HS) claimed the region championship in the high jump with a jump of 2.08 meters (6-9.75). Johnson and Shoultz each scored 10 points for the Aztecs team total.

The women's 4x800 relay team of sophomore Desire Montenegro (Sunnyside HS), freshman Katherine Loyd (Catalina HS), sophomore Kelsey Montano (Tucson Magnet HS) and sophomore Shalise Fernander (Flowing Wells HS) took first place and set a national qualifying time at 9 minutes, 35.13 seconds. Freshman Hannah Bartz (Mountain View HS) won the long jump region title with a jump of 5.91 meters (19-4.75). The relay team and Bartz each scored 10 points for the Aztecs.

In other men's competition, freshman Treyshon Malone (Yuma Catholic HS) took second place in the long jump and set a national qualifying mark at 7.15 meters (23-5.50). The 4x800 relay team of sophomore Amanuel Logo (Catalina HS), sophomore Ahmed Mohamed (Rincon HS), freshman Mohamed Abdikadir (Catalina HS) and sophomore Hugo Nieves (Sunnyside HS) placed second and set a national qualifier with a time of 7:51.61. Sophomore Brandon Ornelas (Ironwood Ridge HS) also set a national qualifier as he took second place in the javelin with a throw of 49.64 meters (162-10.50). Each of those finishes gave the Aztecs eight points.

Freshman Anas Ali (Catalina HS) earned a national qualifier in the 10,000 meter race. He took fifth place with a time of 34:42.03 and got the Aztecs four points.

Freshman Hailey Merriman (Flowing Wells HS) took second place in the pole vault and surpassed her previous national qualifying mark. She finished with a vault of 3.20 meters (10-6), an improvement from 3.05 meters. Sophomore Meghan Sweeney (Red Mountain HS) finished runner-up in the high jump with a mark of 1.61 meters (5-3.25). Freshman Samantha Felzien took second place in the 10,000 meter race with a time of 40:09.60. Merriman, Sweeney and Felzien each scored eight points for the Aztecs.

Sophomore Baylee Lakey (Cibola HS) improved her national qualifier in the hammer throw as she took fourth with a mark of 46.10 meters (151-8.75). She improved from her previous mark of 44.90 meters.

Other men's track & field finishes:

Reece LaFaye (Marana HS) – Third place in decathlon (5955 points) (six points)

Alan Leyva (Douglas HS) – Third place in long jump (22-5.25) (six points)

Isaiah Banks (Mountain Pointe HS) – Fourth place in long jump (22-4.50) (five points); Eight place in high jump (5-6) (one point)

Brandon Ornelas (Ironwood Ridge HS) – Fifth place in decathlon (5553 points) (four points)

Jack Gilliam (Kingman HS) – Seventh place in hammer throw (135-5.50) (two points)

Isaiah Kong-Delgado (Canyon del Oro HS) – Seventh place in high jump (5-6) (two points)

Steven Carter (Desert View HS) – Seventh place in decathlon (4939 points) (two points)

Armando Antonio Jr. (Desert View HS) – Seventh place in 10,000 meter race (36:34.54) (two points)

Other women's track & field finishes:

McKenna McGrath (St. David HS) – Third place in high jump (5-1.25) (six points); Fourth place in heptathlon (4129 points) (five points); Sixth place in long jump (17-10.75) (three points)

Jamie Holliday (Sahuaro HS) – Fourth place in long jump (18-1.75) (five points); Fifth place in high jump (4-11.50) (four points)

Juliette Cossey (Sandra Day O'Connor HS) – Fifth place in long jump (17-11) (four points)

Yaritza Ibarra (Catalina HS) – Seventh place in 10,000 meter race (43:05.27) (two points)

Elizabeth Deaton (Cienega HS) – Eighth place in 10,000 meter race (46:04.68) (one point)

The Aztecs have set 42 national qualifiers for the outdoor season.

The final day of the Region I Championships will be on Thursday at Mesa Community College. Events will begin at 5:00 p.m.

See complete results of the first three days of the Region I Championships on the Wing Foot Finish website