Track & Field: Strong finishes for locals

Laguna Beach High athletes turned in strong performances Saturday at the CIF Southern Section Track and Field Championships at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

The Breakers competed in Division 4 at the meet. The Laguna girls’ finished in sixth place, and the boys’ team in 17th, in the division standings. Westlake Village Oaks Christian won both the girls’ and boys’ team titles.

In the girls’ competition, Laguna placed two runners among the top five in the 800-meter run. Junior Janie Crawford took second in the event with a time of 2 minutes, 16.84 seconds, behind only Marlborough sophomore Bianca Alonzo, who won the event in 2:16.11. Laguna senior Brielle Budroe was fifth in 2:18.65.

In the 300-meter hurdles, sophomore Coco Putnam was fourth at 45.02. Junior Brenna Merchant (11:34.86) was seventh in the 3,200-meter run, sophomore Jackie Cenan (35-feet, 2 inches) was sixth in the shotput, and Laguna’s 4x400-meter relay team of Crawford, Putnam, junior Natalie Kimball and Budroe, finished fifth with a time of 4:01.96.

In the boys’ competition, Laguna seniors Nathan Lancaster and Kailar Pike both took third place in their respective events: Lancaster ran a 49.46 to place third in the 400-meter dash, while Pike cleared 6-3 in the high jump.

The CIF Masters Meet is Friday at Cerritos College.

— Mike Sciacca