By Leonard COUTIN

The Burroughs Indians hosted its first track and field tri meet against the Falcons and the Tornados at its new memorial stadium on April 5.

The Falcons varsity boys and girls performed with precision, scoring against rival Indians and Tornadoes and taking many first and second placements, not only in the relays and sprints, but also in field events.

Although the meet is scored separately like a dual meet, the athletes race together at the same time in all the events. CV boys scored 101 to Burroughs 35, and 124 to Hoover’s 11.

“I am happy with how the meet went. We had quite a few [personal records] in events,” said CVHS head coach Mark Evans. “They did a great job with the facility … It was fun to be the first track meet on the new surface and refurbished stadium.”

The Falcon boys won the 4×100 relay 44.95.

Burroughs’ lead distance runner Anthony Monroy had a dual win both in the 1600m (4:22) and 3200m (9:46) with Falcon Gabe Collison running the lead in the 3200m during most of the race. Nick Beatty took second in the 1600m (4:31.06) with Aaron Esparza placing third (4:32).

Falcon Parker Averill had a triple win in the sprint 400m dash (53:31), the shot put (36-11½) and discus (110-6). Alex Damia had a close second to Averill in the 400m (53:37) and Adam Akopyan placed third (55:19).

Tyler Bradshaw once again won the pole vault (12-0) with teammate Logan Rodgers taking third (10-0) and Burroughs securing second (11-6).

A refreshing surprise was a win by Falcons Mike Duncan and Justin Springfield in the long jump, both jumping identical marks of 18-7. This is the second time this year distance runner Duncan has long jumped.

Thomas Hwang won the high jump (5-8). Falcon hurdler senior Josh Straschewski streaked through both the 110HH (15:00) and the 300H (41:31) with Falcon lead sprinter Justin Maturan winning the 100 (11:44). Springfield won the 200m (22.75).

The CV girls triumphed over both Burroughs 94 to 41 and Hoover 118 to 12 as well.

There was little doubt that the Falcons were serious about attaining tri meet victories. Starting off with a 50:38 in the 4×100 relay, the Falcon team of Claudia Sepulveda, Noel Wong, Emmy Walker and Kayleigh Carrillo took the victory.

The CV distance tripled with lead runner Cali King winning (5:25) and teammates Megan Melnyk (5:33) capturing second and Erika Johnson (5:36) securing third.

Sepulveda had a dual win in the 100H (16:63) and 300H (49:19).  Courtney Iannelo won the 400m (1:02.37) and teammate Ruby Hannah placed second (103:50).

Carrillo, who has been a lead supporter in points all season, again had a stellar victory winning both the 100m (12:31) and 200m (25:95) as well as anchoring both relays.

Senior Brooke Moultrie and frosh Haley Witzeman won the 3200 with identical time (12:19).

The top three slots in the high jump were taken by Falcons Emily Beglarian (5-0), Walker (4-10) and Grace Keller (4-8).

“Burroughs is a team we need to beat in cross-country so I am happy with how the distance athletes ran,” said Evans. “We had three boys under 5:00 in the 1600 for the first time. Aaron Esparza had a PR in the 3200 of 9:53. We competed very well in both the boys and girls distance races.”

Despite the strong performances, Evans was concerned about how the athletes will fare when retaking the field after spring break.

“Spring break is a tough time because we come back to our toughest league meet against Arcadia,” he said. “We will have practices all [break] week for those in town. Those on trips are expected to train.”

The new Burroughs Memorial Stadium was a welcome change for the athletes. Burroughs has patiently waited for the new stadium since the 1994 decision by the city council to tear down the former stadium. Finally the new state of the art facility was completed, and dedicated on Feb. 25. The facility will now be the home for Burroughs, Burbank and Bellarmine-Jefferson high school athletes. The long awaited stadium cost in excess of $12.1 million. A war memorial honoring fallen soldiers was placed at the entrance of the stadium.

The renovation project consisted of a new athletic field with artificial turf for football and soccer; a new all-weather track; areas for shot put, discus events for long jump, triple jump; ADA accessible bleachers; new lighting and a new scoreboard; concession facilities on both the home and visitor sides; new restrooms and storage, and a new parking lot with bus drop-off and refreshed landscaping.

  Leonard Coutin