Cal State San Marcos

Bits and pieces from the local sports scene:   Local 8-year-old wins California all-around championship : Resident Dylan Young can already call himself a state champion — and he’s only 8. Young, who attends Gymnastics Olympia in Van Nuys, won the Level 5 all-around title at the State Gymnastics Championships on March 14-15 in Riverside. He won the all-around crown with a score of 90.350, finishing ahead of Brandon Hsu of New Hope Gym (89.300)

CLOVIS — If nothing more and nothing less, Western Nelson proved he could run among the best of the best — both on Saturday and throughout an ultra-successful senior campaign. Running for the first time in the CIF-State Track and Field Championships, the Indians standout flirted with the frontrunners in Saturday night’s 3,200-meters race, but inevitably finished 16th in 9 minutes 6.68 seconds. “I put myself in a position to do good, but I didn’t really do that good,” Nelson said.

Keeping up with area athletes competing in college . Western Nelson (Burroughs High, 2009) Cal State San Marcos men's cross-country : The former Indians standout earned All-America honors and helped the Cougars to a second-place finish at the 2011 National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championships on Nov. 19. The Cougars came into the race at Fort Vancouver, Wash. as the No. 8 team, but finished the season at No. 2 after the runner-up finish. San Marcos returned to the podium for the first time since a fourth-place place finish in 2003.

Bits and pieces from the local sports scene . Former Burroughs athletes have solid results : A group of former Burroughs High runners ended their collegiate seasons with fine performances. Jonathan Alpizar , a 2008 Burroughs graduate who runs for Cal State San Marcos, placed ninth in 25 minutes 48 seconds over eight kilometers at the AII-Big West Conference Championships in San Diego. In addition, he was 121st (26:45) at the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championships in Vancouver, Wash.

BURBANK — Just as Anthony Monroy was getting ready to take part in the most important race of his life, the heavens seemed to open up. "It seemed like just before the race the rain started coming down hard," said Monroy, a junior cross-country runner at Burroughs High. "And during the race the rain got pretty bad. " Despite the precipitation, the wet weather couldn't dampen Monroy's spirits Saturday at the CIF-State Cross-Country Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Keeping tabs on local athletes competing in college. Rishonda Napier (Bellarmine-Jefferson High), freshman, guard, Southern Illinois women's basketball) : The former Guards star has been getting playing time out of the gate in her first season on the collegiate level. Napier made an instant impact in her first college action Nov. 2, as the Salukis earned an 82-57 win over Central Methodist in an exhibition game at home. Napier poured in 20 points in the win. In addition to leading the team in scoring, Napier also dished out nine assists with just three turnovers and pulled down seven rebounds.

Give Burroughs High distance runner Western Nelson his share of credit. The senior has done something no other Indians boys’ runner has been able to accomplish, as he has qualified for state competition in both cross-country and track and field during the same school year. Only former teammate, Sadee Martinez — who accomplished the impressive double in 2007 — has been able to advance to both competitions. In fact, Nelson and Martinez are the only two individuals to accomplish the feat in city history.

Bits and pieces from the local sports scene. Former Burroughs track and field performers end season with solid results : A group of former Burroughs High athletes finished their respective track and field seasons with some solid performances. Western Nelson , a junior at Cal State San Marcos, placed 40th in the men's marathon in 3 hours 6 minutes 19.90 seconds at the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 26 in Marion, Ind. Nelson, an All-American in cross-country, qualified for the marathon by finishing sixth in 1:11:34 at the Surf City Half-Marathon in Huntington Beach in February.

Bits and pieces from the local sports scene.   Former Burroughs runners do well in recent events : A host of ex-Indian standout athletes found success in a number of invitationals last weekend. At the Occidental Distance Carnival on March 12 at Occidental College, Daniel Anderson of the University of California San Diego placed second in the men’s Section 1 800 meters in 1 minute, 53.53 seconds. Also at Oxy, Vivian Ochoa of Glendale Community College placed 12th in women’s Section 2 1,500 (5:01.

CLOVIS — If nothing more and nothing less, Western Nelson proved he could run among the best of the best — both on Saturday and throughout an ultra-successful senior campaign. Running for the first time in the CIF-State Track and Field Championships, the Indians standout flirted with the frontrunners in Saturday night’s 3,200-meters race, but inevitably finished 16th in 9 minutes 6.68 seconds. “I put myself in a position to do good, but I didn’t really do that good,” Nelson said.