Spartan runners rule at Ventura County Track and Field Championships
Camarillo's Brooker wins girls' 800
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

EXPLOSIVE- Saraina Hedgepeth of Rio Mesa wins the girls' 100.

Chalk it up as a clean sweep for the Rio Mesa High 4x100 meter relay teams.

Competing at last week's Ventura County Track and Field Championships at Moorpark High, the Spartan boys' and girls' squads both brought home firstplace medals.

The boys' quartet of Sean Alfino, Quentin Greenlaw, Josh Harrison and Steven Richards set a meet and school record by posting a time of 41.68 seconds in the 4x100 race. In victory, Rio Mesa bested second-place Ventura by more than two seconds. The Cougars finished in 43.75.

"I was surprised we ran that well," Alfino said. "I don't know why I'm surprised, but I am."

Richards, on the other hand, expected the Spartans to prevail.

"We're a pretty good team," Richards said. "We looked in the paper at all of the other teams' times, and they weren't close to our times. As long as we didn't drop (the baton) or get out of our zone, we knew we'd be fine."

Later in the day, Greenlaw won the boys' 400 by finishing in 49.75 seconds.

Harrison was also a first-place finisher in the boys' long jump (22 feet, 5 inches) and 200-meter dash (21.72 seconds). Greenlaw and Alfino finished second and third, respectively, in the 200.

Harrison was second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.68 seconds.

In the girls' 4x100 event, Rio Mesa's Takiyah Cotton, Saraina Hedgepeth, Mariyah Lee and Michelle Poindexter combined for a winning time of 48.70 seconds. The Spartans held off a strong challenge from Moorpark and Oak Park high schools.

The victory was the first of a trio of gold medals Hedgepeth would claim on the afternoon. She also won the girls' long jump as well as the 100-meter dash. Hedgepeth finished second in the 200, behind Calabasas' Brittany Harper (24.68 seconds).

Hedgepeth, a sophomore, was dominant in winning both events. Her 17-foot, 10 1/4-inch leap in the long jump outdistanced the nearest competitor by nearly a foot. She finished the 100-meter dash in 12.16 seconds. Raven Chavanne of Newbury Park was second with a time of 12.31.

Camarillo's Cassandra Brooker easily won the girls' 800 meters. Brooker's time of 2:17.07 bested Oaks Christian's Roseanne Fleming, who finished at 2:19.26.