Costa Mesa, Marina send throwing duos to state

ARCADIA — Whether it be a special bond between athletes or a triumphant return from injury, there was no shortage of feel-good stories to be found at Arcadia High on Friday night.

The CIF Southern Section Track and Field Masters Meet saw Costa Mesa and Marina send a pair of throwers to the state meet, each one considered an unlikely scenario when the season began.

Vikings senior Jake Arnold was sidelined for a month by a foot injury. Arnold mentioned that he did not feel as though he was all the way back until he had a “massive practice” on Monday. He was popping 60-foot throws in shotput and 180-foot efforts in the discus.

It carried over into the Masters Meet, where Arnold became the area’s only athlete to qualify for state in multiple events. He placed fourth in both the shotput (55-11) and discus (174-9).

“Just to PR in discus today was huge,” Arnold said. “I’ve been chasing that 170 since last year, and I finally got it. To make it back to state after this injury was the goal. I finally nailed it.”

Arnold is set to officially sign with UC Riverside on Sunday.

Teammate Kyle Tsu continued to pace the field in shotput. After taking home the CIF-SS Division 2 title in the event last Saturday, Tsu came back with a toss of 60 feet, 5 inches to win by two feet.

Tsu was observed producing a 66-foot throw in warmups, a throw that would undoubtedly be competitive in the state finals next Saturday. The UC Irvine signee was asked what will help him bridge the gap from his warmups performance.

“The biggest difference is that I really tense up once the meet has started,” Tsu said. “I need to do a better job of relaxing and enjoying the moment.”

“I had a throw where everything felt good. I just couldn’t pop the hip. That was the one thing to make it the 66 that I hit in warmups.”

Prior to Friday, Tayla Crenshaw had never met the at-large standard of 132 feet, 3 inches, the automatic state-qualifying mark for girls’ discus.

The junior set a personal record for the second week in a row, improving by more than seven feet with a mark of 136 feet, 9 inches on her third attempt.

“I was scared that I scratched because that’s what I’ve been doing in practice,” Crenshaw said. “I was like, ‘Take it slow and take it easy.’ That’s what I did.”

“My 136-9, I just sped up my hips a little. I was just like, ‘Stay in, stay in, stay in!”

Her twin sister, Felicia, would have been considered the favorite between the two to reach the state meet, but she had only managed to throw 122-1 through the first three attempts.

Felicia gathered herself following a conversation with her brother, Oronde, who urged her to calm down and be confident.

“I was totally out of it, and he was like, ‘Calm down. Don’t think about it so much. You got this,’” Felicia said. “He just really helped me recollect myself.”

“He’s been an amazing good luck charm. We love him with all our heart, and we’re glad that he got to see us throw.”

Felicia qualified on her fourth attempt, finishing with a runner-up mark of 150-5 on her final throw of the evening.

The state meet will be held at Clovis Buchanan High next Friday and Saturday. In order to reach the state meet, athletes had to place in the top six of their event. Additional athletes could make it if they satisfied the at-large time or mark.

Newport Harbor’s Cole Smith was unable to meet either criteria in the shotput (52-8, ninth) or discus (161-9, 10^th). The Sailors senior had a poor release on five of his six attempts.

Smith had a cut on his throwing hand, and he repeatedly looked at it following each attempt. His CIF-SS Finals marks projected that he would make the state meet in the discus.

Marina’s Michael Magula (16-0) and Newport Harbor’s Ryan Fegan (15-0) finished second and third, respectively, in pole vault.

The area saw its second casualty among its premier vaulters, as Sage Hill’s Alex Escalera was unable to clear his opening height of 15 feet after spraining his left ankle earlier in the week.

Jack Wiseman narrowly missed joining the local state qualifiers, as Cerritos’ Destin Flucas took the sixth and final spot in a jump-off with Wiseman and San Marcos’ Beau Allen.

The Oilers sophomore was closest to clearing the bar on his first attempt of the jump-off, but he said his legs recoiled after he kicked hard to supply the power to get above the barrier.

“I was really excited to make it all the way to Masters this year,” Wiseman said. “That was just a faint possibility at the beginning of the season.”

“I’m still very happy with where the season ended up. I just kind of wish that I could have taken it to the next step.”

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