Buchanan sets section records with fourth straight girls championship, ninth crown overall as Bakersfield Liberty secures a pair of top-three finishes

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Buchanan became the most decorated girls track and field program in CIF-Central Section history Saturday, with Clovis North celebrating its own memorable achievement by capturing the school’s first boys team championship at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Buchanan combined for 54 points in the three distance events, with Meagan Lowe winning the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 55.72 seconds and Corie Smith prevailing in the 3,200 in 10:45.02, to secure section records with a fourth consecutive championship and ninth title overall in 19 years with 136 points.

Bakersfield Liberty celebrated its best finish in program history by placing second with 80 points and Fresno Central, which won the 4x100 and 4x400 relays in 47.95 and 3:50.80, took third with 77 points.

Clovis North also swept both relays, running 41.41 and 3:20.49, the latter punctuating the Broncos’ championship with 110 points. Buchanan, which had won seven of the past nine titles, took second with 57.5 and Liberty finished third with 53.5.

Caleb Foster won the 110 hurdles in a wind-aided 14.12, with the Broncos adding 11 other top-three finishes, including the pair of relay crowns.

Daniel Viveros swept the shot put and discus throw for Liberty with marks of 63-10.25 and 178-1, with Seth Krauss securing the high jump title for the Patriots with a 6-8 clearance.

Zion Chatman won the boys 400 for Buchanan in 49.15, with Tulare Union’s Kazmier Allen capturing the 100 in a wind-aided 10.32.

Bakersfield Highland senior Moises Medrano became the first athlete since Stockdale’s Blake Haney in 2014 to capture section titles in the 800 (1:52.69) and 1,600 (4:14.09).

Fowler junior Jocelynn Budwig swept the girls discus and shot put. Budwig secured her third straight discus title with a throw of 165-6 and secured the shot put crown with a mark of 46-11.50.

Bakersfield Stockdale senior Aaliyah Wilson doubled in the 100-meter dash and 100 hurdles in wind-legal marks of 11.55 and 13.75.

Clovis senior Alexis Vincent-Walker cleared 5-6 to secure her third career high jump title, Desert senior Asia Mallory repeated as long jump champion with a wind-aided leap of 18-7.50 and Clovis West junior Elizabeth Funk cleared 13 feet to capture her first pole vault crown.

Liberty freshman Reese Renz prevailed in the girls 300 hurdles in 43.86, one of two victories by ninth-graders, along with Fresno Edison’s Kennedy Jennings in the 800 in 2:14.35.

Buchanan junior Shelby Daniele won the girls 200 in a wind-aided 24.82, with Daveion Robinson adding a 400 triumph in 56.98 to her two relay victories for Central, which also had Simone Johnson win the triple jump with a leap of 39-0.50.