Eight Warriors qualify for NCS Meet of Champions

Two earn  second place finishes for DN

Adan Rodriguez of Del Norte High competes in the pole vault at the Northcoast Section Redwood Empire Championships in Rohnert Park on Saturday. Rodriguez took seventh with a vault of 11 feet. San Francisco Giants pitches against the Oakland Athletics on Friday at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Submitted photo

Competing at the NCS Redwood Empire Championships in Rohnert Park, the Warriors had two team members earn second place finishes.

In the girls shot put, junior Morgan Laney threw for 38.3 feet to come in second. Senior Brandon Kakitsuka took second in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.20 seconds.

The top seven finishers in each event qualified for the Meet of Champions, which is one step away from a berth in state. The event begins on Friday.

Last year, Del Norte sent five participants to Berkeley.

“It’s nice to have so many kids qualify,” head coach Robyn Parker said.

This included two sophomores and three juniors. To Parker, it’s good to see the younger kids step up and do well.

A surprise qualifier was sophomore Adan Rodriguez, who  placed seventh in the pole vault with a successful attempt of 11 feet.

Former pole vault coach Dave Bokor has worked with Rodriguez the past several weeks, which has helped him greatly, Parker said.

Mark Standring, left front, takes off after receiving the hand-off from teammate Brandon Bloyd, back, during the 4x100 meter relay event at the NCS Redwood Empire Championships on Saturday in Rohnert Park.Submitted photo

Parker said that with such tough competition at the event, team members knew coming in they had to give exceptional performances if they wanted to move on in the NCS.

“With the competition it challenges them and makes them push themselves to be better,” she said.

Junior Jennifer Goacher qualified by finishing in sixth in the 100-meter dash and in seventh in the 200-meter dash.

She also qualified in the girls 4x400 meter relay along with teammates Nichole Fugate, Katelynn Rowe and Zara Gastineau. The team finished in third place with a time of 4:10.37.

Fugate, a senior,  took fourth place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.23 seconds.

Rowe finished in seventh place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.98.

Junior Kylee Bruder qualified for Berkeley by taking seventh in the high hump, finishing with a height of 4.10 feet. She narrowly missed qualifying in the pole vault with an eighth place finish.

The Warrior girls finished in 10th place out of 24 teams with a score of 19. The boys came in 20th place.

Starting on Wednesday, The Triplicate will profile the Warriors who have qualified for Berkeley.