Track And Field

BURBANK — The area saw its share of fine performances in track and field last season. Along with their share of individual league championships, a group of local athletes was also able to qualify for the CIF Southern Section preliminaries. However, only one competitor — Sadee Martinez of Burroughs — was able to advance to state competition, as she qualified in the girls’ 1,600 meter. With their share of accomplished athletes, the local schools could again send a contingent to the CIF Southern Section preliminaries.

NORWALK — Thanks to a much-needed last-second push, Sadee Martinez can look forward to heading to Sacramento. Martinez, a Burroughs High junior distance runner, needed every ounce of energy to cross the finish line and accomplish a remarkable feat. Martinez set a personal record of 4 minutes 58.82 seconds in the girls' 1,600 meters Friday at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos College in Norwalk to earn a spot in the coveted CIF State Track and Field Meet.

WALNUT — At this point in the track and field season, Burroughs High senior Sadee Martinez enters each race knowing it could be her last. With each week the competition becomes increasingly more difficult, and when blazing heat is added to the equation, continuing to prolong a season with solid races can become a dicey proposition. But Martinez was up the challenge on Saturday, as she battled through heat in the high 90s to finish in fifth place in the Division I girls’ 1,600-meters race in 4 minutes, 59.79 seconds at the Division I CIF Southern Section Track and Field Finals at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut.

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.

ARCADIA — With the recent reconfiguration of the Pacific League, there figured to be greater opportunities for the area high school track and field athletes to secure league championships. By the time day turned to night, many of them did Friday. Several athletes each won two individual events Friday night at the league's track and field finals at Arcadia High. In the girls' portion of the meet, Crescenta Valley's Claire Collison, Glendale's Rachelle Saturnino of Glendale and Burroughs' Taryn Campos each won a pair of events.

ARCADIA - It's safe to say Burbank High's Julia Newton lost sleep thinking about taking part in the Pacific League track and field finals. "Normal people would be nervous an hour before this meet," the sprinter said. "But for me, I was nervous about it for days. I've been thinking a lot about it. " Just a freshman, Newton showed no outward sign of jitters at Friday's event at Arcadia High, as she had a hand in two victories for the Bulldogs, placing first in the girls' 100 meters and running a leg on the winning Burbank girls' 4x100 relay team that set a school record.

The past few weeks, Sadee Martinez has been involved in an intense battle of endurance, desire and will. Although the junior Burroughs High track and field standout has had to compete against some of the finest female athletes in Southern California in the 1,600 meters, perhaps her toughest competition has come from within. "I always want to finish on top in races," Martinez said. "But what means more to me is that I am able to run the best that I can and that I'm able to get my [personal-record]

BURBANK HIGH — Although he has yet to began his freshman track and field season at Burbank High, Isaiah Amos has already taken part in a big race. Saturday, the freshman took part in the Run for the Dream Indoor Track and Field Invitational, held at the Save Mart Center in Fresno. Amos took part in the boys' 600-yard competition. Amos won his heat in 1 minute 18.18 seconds and finished with the ninth-fastest time overall out of 30 competitors. In his race, the freshman sat back in second place, about five meters off the leader, for the first two laps of the three and three-quarters lap race.

BURBANK — With Greg Dotson running some of the fastest times in the nation this season in the boys' 800 meters, many figured the Burbank High senior would go deep into the track and field postseason. However, the question persisted: Could another area athlete find continued success alongside Dotson? That question was answered Saturday in the CIF Southern Section Track and Field Championships at Cerritos College. Not only was Dotson able to do well and qualify for Friday's CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos College, but he will be joined at the competition by Burroughs High sophomore Anthony Monroy, who is moving on in the boys' 3,200.

ARCADIA — There were plenty of high points and one major disappointment with the Burbank High and Burroughs track and field teams Friday in the Pacific League finals at Arcadia High. The successes were led by the Indians' Shannon Kermah and Bulldogs' McKenzie Paul, who both captured league titles in two events. One of the most unexpected turn of events occurred with Burroughs' Anthony Monroy. Monroy, who advanced to the Masters Meet last season in the boys' 3,200 meters and wasn't able to train for a number of weeks because of an injured foot, failed to quality to the CIF Southern Section Division I preliminaries in the 3,200.

ARCADIA - It's safe to say Burbank High's Julia Newton lost sleep thinking about taking part in the Pacific League track and field finals. "Normal people would be nervous an hour before this meet," the sprinter said. "But for me, I was nervous about it for days. I've been thinking a lot about it. " Just a freshman, Newton showed no outward sign of jitters at Friday's event at Arcadia High, as she had a hand in two victories for the Bulldogs, placing first in the girls' 100 meters and running a leg on the winning Burbank girls' 4x100 relay team that set a school record.

MEMORIAL FIELD - When Burbank High junior track and field athlete Dennis Palacio ran the 110-meter high hurdles as a freshman, he fell and injured his back. He ran the race only one time since, finishing last. That was until Wednesday, as Palacio was informed the day before that he would be taking part in the event in a Pacific League meet against Burroughs at Memorial Field. With no practice, along with taking part in three additional events, Palacio looked to conquer his hurdle nemesis against the Indians.

ARCADIA — It might have been an ominous omen when the Burbank High girls' track and field team was disqualified in the 4x100-meter relay to open Thursday's Pacific League tri-meet against Arcadia and Pasadena. With both the Bulldogs and Apaches undefeated going into what was likely the battle for the league championship, Burbank could ill afford to give up any points. But as it turned out, the one event meant little in the final standings. With a wealth of depth, host Arcadia was able to sweep the girls' and boys' contests, as both of its squads remained unbeaten in league competition.

Track and field runner McKenzie Paul probably surprised some in the Pacific League when she captured a league championship in the girls' 800 meters three years ago as a sophomore. She continued to impress during her junior year in 2010 when the Burbank High standout secured her second straight title in the race. As a senior this past season, the pressure was on Paul, as she was the heavy favorite to again take home a championship in the 800. The senior didn't disappoint, she pulled off the impressive and rare triple by taking first place in the league finals at Arcadia High.

This is the second in a four-part series looking back on the sports accomplishments of the four local high schools over the past school year. This installment is Burbank High: ¿ League championships were hard to come by during the 2010-11 campaign for the Bulldogs teams. In fact, no Burbank squad was able to claim a Pacific League title. The football team came closest, staying in contention for a crown late in the season. However, the Bulldogs lost their final game of the regular season to place third.

BURBANK — As a wide-eyed 8-year-old in 2008, Dallas Cortez was memorized watching the Beijing Summer Olympics on TV. In particular, the Burbank resident was glued to the men's sprinting events and the exploits of Jamaica's Usain Bolt. Bolt ended up winning individual gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter races, as well as helping the Jamaican team capture gold in the 4x100 relay. All three races were won in world-record time. It was after watching that spectacle when Cortez decided he wanted to be a sprinter, and hopefully follow in the footsteps of his idol, Bolt.

ARCADIA — There were plenty of high points and one major disappointment with the Burbank High and Burroughs track and field teams Friday in the Pacific League finals at Arcadia High. The successes were led by the Indians' Shannon Kermah and Bulldogs' McKenzie Paul, who both captured league titles in two events. One of the most unexpected turn of events occurred with Burroughs' Anthony Monroy. Monroy, who advanced to the Masters Meet last season in the boys' 3,200 meters and wasn't able to train for a number of weeks because of an injured foot, failed to quality to the CIF Southern Section Division I preliminaries in the 3,200.

BURBABK — Burbank High senior McKenzie Paul looks to be on track to accomplish an impressive triple. The past two seasons, Paul — the 2010 All-Area Female Cross-Country Runner of the Year — has captured back-to-back Pacific League championships in the girls' 800 meters. She will get a chance to pull off the trifecta at the league finals at 5 p.m. Friday at Arcadia High. In the league preliminaries last Friday at Arcadia, Paul earned the top qualifying spot in the 800 and bested the second-place finisher by more than four seconds.

LA CRESCENTA — With the Pacific League finals scheduled for later in the month, many track and field athletes are heading down the home stretch in search of refining their strategies to possibly get there. That proved to be the case during Wednesday afternoon's league tri-meet between Glendale, Burroughs and host Crescenta Valley. Among those who stood out were Bob Anderson of Crescenta Valley, Glendale's Mike Davis and Danitza Eyo of Burroughs. Each won two events for their respective squads in a meet that concluded just before sundown, but it was the Falcons who swept through the opposition as a team.