By Phil Jensen
Special to Chabot Athletics
Chabot College is not only hosting the Northern California Community College Track and Field Championships over the next two weeks, but the Gladiators are also shooting for top-five men's and women's team finishes.
The NorCal trials will take place on May 6, beginning with the men's long jump at 10:40 a.m., and the finals are on May 13, also at Chabot.
"I think it's huge," Chabot coach Kyle Robinson said of hosting the Northern California championships. "We train there every day. We don't have to get on a bus and travel. There's much more of a comfort level. … It's easier for the families to come out and watch."
The Gladiators have many outstanding athletes who could make a major impact in the meet. Fifteen men and six women from Chabot have qualified, and a number of them have posted top-three NorCal marks this season.
Nico Melendres is ranked second in NorCal and the state in the men's 800 meters with an outstanding time of 1 minute, 51.49 seconds. He ranks behind only Cristian Martinez of American River (1:51.45) in the state. Melendres also has the second-fastest NorCal time in the 1,500 (third in state) of 3:54.77, but the Moreau Catholic graduate has dropped the event to concentrate on the 800, Robinson confirmed.
Chabot's accomplished cross country runner Jacob Lawrence, an Amador Valley graduate, also ranks No. 2 in NorCal in the 5,000. At the Bryan Clay Invitational last month, Lawrence produced a personal-best time of 14:38.51 in the 5,000, just eight seconds off the 47-year-old Chabot record. "With (one kilometer) to go, he made a strong move," said Robinson, who estimated that Lawrence passed eight or nine athletes in that last part of the race. The top time in NorCal belongs to Hartnell's Isaac Gensel (14:37.36).
The Chabot women's team has a couple of sprinters with No. 2 NorCal marks in Zharia Dixon and Masina Mayo. Dixon is ranked second in the 100 (12.06) and Mayo is second in the 200 (25.04). Mayo, a Miramonte High graduate, also has the third-fastest time in the 100 (12.16). Dixon, a Dublin High graduate, produced a personal record in the 200 (25.10) at the Bryan Clay Invitational, a time which ranks fourth in Northern California.
Zion Mayo, Masina's brother who is also a Miramonte graduate, has improved immensely in the men's 200 this season. Before the Bryan Clay Invitational, his personal record was 22.39. Then he ran 21.90 at the Bryan Clay Invitational and proceeded to produce a winning time of 21.50 at the Coast Conference Championships on April 30. He achieved that mark, which ranks third in NorCal, despite a huge crosswind around the turn, Robinson said. Mayo also won the 100 at the Coast Conference Championships, leading a first-through-fourth Chabot finish. Mayo's time was 10.81 into a 1.5 meter per second headwind, followed by Devin Walker (11.07), Shamil Youngblood (11.11) and Marcell Anderson (11.17). The Chabot men's 400 relay team also won that event with the third-fastest time in NorCal (41.50).
A couple of Chabot female athletes who also have top-three NorCal marks are Angie Paglieri in the 3,000 steeplechase (12:11.92) and Andie Aymond in the pole vault (3.30 meters, which converts to 10 feet, 10 inches). Paglieri is an American High School graduate and Aymond is a James Logan grad.
Chabot also has the top time in Northern California in the women's 400 relay (48.03). But the women's team is focusing on individual events and will not be running relays this postseason, Robinson said.
Notes: The only finals on May 6 will be the 10,000-meter runs.