CHICAGO MARIST TRACK AND FIELD

On Saturday, April 29, 2006, 58 Chicago Public High Schools competed for the right to go to the City Championships. In Relays, only the top 8 schools advance to the Finals on May 5, 2006 at Hanson Stadium (12 schools for 4x800m Relay). In Sprints and Hurldes, only the top 8 athletes advance to the Finals. In Field Events, only the top 12 athletes advance to the Finals. In Distance Events, only the top 12 athletes avdance to the Finals. In the High Jump, Eric Nelson qualifed for the number one seed in Finals with a jump of 5'8. Nelson also qualifed for the Finals in the Triple Jump with a jump of 36'02. Eric Nelson also qualified for 300m Hurdles (50.55) with a dramatic finish, edging a runner at the line. Nelson also helped the 4x400m Relay qualify for the Finals. In the Long Jump, Albert Lin qualified for the Finals with a jump of 16'08.50. Lin also qualifed for the Finals in the Triple Jump (35'00). Lin also qualified for the Finals in 110m Hurdles (21.36). In 110m Hurdles, Sammy Caronagan (22.22) also qualified for the Finals. In the 100m Dash, Kyle Diep (14.10) ran a season-best time, but did not qualify for the Finals. In the Shot Put, Benjamin Garcia (32'05.50), and John Ko (30'8.25) both qualified for the Finals. In the Discus, the Mustangs used a new discus that just arrived from M&F Athletic Company. However, the Mustangs learned the hard way that new equipment isn't always better. Benjamin Garcia was seeded second heading into the competition with a PR of 92'2. But had trouble gripping the new discus and was not able to qualify (71'09). Wemi Jemine was also entered in the Discus but did not show up to the meet. In the 4x800m Relay, Brandon Cooper ran a 2:14 800m split on the first leg of the Relay. Simon Vecchioni ran a 2:32 800m split on the second leg of the Relay. Jonathan Kittaka ran a personal best 2:23 800m split on the third leg of the Relay. Preston Buehrer anchored the 4x800m Relay to Third place overall with a 2:23 800m split, and a total time of 9:32.44 to advance the Mustangs to the Finals. In the 4x100m Relay, Brian Chhun ran a 13.30 on the first leg of the relay. Daniel Preimer ran an impressive 12.19 on the second leg of the relay. Santino Merino ran a 13.50 on the third leg of the Relay. Sam Vergara anchored the relay with an impressive 12.95 on the Final leg of the relay for a total time of 51.94. However, the Mustangs came up short, and placed 10th overall and did not qualify for the Finals in the 4x100m Relay. In the 800m run, Brandon Cooper (2:15) and Erik Flores (2:22) both qualifed for the Finals. In the 4x200m Relay, Brian Chhun ran a 25.86 200m split on the first leg. Daniel Preimer ran a 30.28 200m split on the second leg of the 4x200m Relay. Santino Merino ran a 25.57 200m split on the third leg of the 4x200m Relay. Simon Vechhioni anchored the 4x200m relay with a 29.01 200m split to qualify for the Finals with a time of 1:50.62. In the 400m Dash, Benjamin Garcia (57) qualified for the Finals. Sam Vergara did not qualify for the finals, but still ran an impressive personal best time of 61 seconds. In the 1600m run, Preston Buehrer (5:09) and Jonathan Kittaka (5:12) both ran personal best times and qualified for the Finals. Buehrer and Kittaka also advanced to the finals in the 3200m run based on seed times. In the 4x400m Relay, Brandon Cooper (63.06), Eric Nelson (61.53), Preston Buehrer (61.50), and Benjamin Garcia (63.01) ran a 4:09.10, and qualified for the Finals. The Mustangs will compete for the City Championship Title on Friday, May 5, 2006, at Hanson Stadium, 5501 W. Fullerton, Chicago, Illinois. The Meet will start at 3 pm, and the Team bus will leave at 1:55 pm on Friday.