A group of runners in red jumpsuits stretched on the ocean-blue grass of an endzone and turned their heads in unison at the sound of a starting gun towards a handful of sprinters, their silhouettes flickering through the maze of competitors awaiting their events in the Cerritos Opener, where the Lancers won two events this past weekend.
Brendon Doyle set the Lancers fastest time this year (48.90) in the men’s 400 meter, winning the event overall by almost half a second. The time was also a personal best for Doyle, per directathletics.com
The other event winner was Miles Johnson, who rose above the competition in the high jump achieving a height of 1.90 meters.
Martin Swan placed fourth in the 200m dash (22.24) and third in the 110m hurdles (14.87). Sophomore Kalen Marshall placed sixth overall in the 200m and third overall in the 100m dash. the event and third overall in the 100m dash (11.03, won heat).
Freshmen Kessa Rychlick and Alexandria Castanzo were the two women who competed in multiple events for the Lancers. Rychlick ran the 400m in 1:03:85, winning her heat and placing 11th overall. She placed at the bottom of her heat in the high jump, with a height of 1.40m.
Costanzo did not hesitate when asked which events she competes in: “I’m an all-around athlete. . . I like to do hurdles, I like to do jumps, I like to do sprints.” she said.
Costanzo placed 7th in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 2.90m. She scratched out on all three jumps in the long jump, stepping further than the legal limit before jumping.
Distance running emerged as a weakness this weekend, as no Lancer, man or woman, finished in the top-15 in a distance of 800m or longer. In the men’s 1500m, all three Lancers competing placed 41st or worse in a field of 58 runners. Often, PCC runners appeared trapped into the middle of the pack by other runners, as these races do not have lane restrictions.
“You lead and you don’t have that problem!” said assistant coach Patt Williams as he addressed a runner stuck in traffic.
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