Bishop Gorman boys, Centennial girls claim state track titles

Bishop Gorman’s boys track team won its first state title last season.

It didn’t take long to get a second one.

The Gaels took a sizable lead into Saturday’s final day of the Class 4A state championships at Desert Oasis and never let up.

Sparked by individual wins from Rome Odunze and Kyu Kelly, the Gaels wrapped up their second consecutive title by scoring 99 points. Centennial was second with 65 and Coronado third with 54½.

“Our kids really rose to the occasion,” said Gorman coach Scott Cooley, whose team led by 18 points at the midway mark of the meet. “This is a program that has just kept getting better every year. We had seven school records this week, and that’s just unheard of.”

Kelly won the long jump by almost 2 feet, posting a mark of 24 feet, 2½ inches.

“Kyu is such a special kid and such an amazing athlete,” Cooley said. “He’s the total package.”

Odunze won the 200-meter dash in 21.25 seconds, just ahead of Kelly. Both ran on the Gaels’ 400-meter relay team that was victorious Friday.

“Rome’s 200 was phenomenal,” Cooley said. “He has cleaned up a lot of things with his running technique. He is really committed.”

Coronado’s Justin Watterson had one of the meet’s feel-good moments.

After falling in the 110 hurdles Friday, Watterson won the 300 hurdles in 37.4, finishing off a race in which he was narrowly trailing Canyon Springs senior Torian Hammond before Hammond fell before the final hurdle.

Desert Oasis’ Conner Nicholas added the 3,200 title (9:41.37) to the 1,600 title he won Friday.

Liberty’s Corey Moore finished off his domination of the throwing events, winning the discus (189-2) by almost 30 feet and taking the shot put (55-4¾).

Girls

Ashley Moore wasn’t thrilled with just a state meet record.

The Centennial junior set the meet record Saturday in the triple jump at the Class 4A state track championships at Desert Oasis, going 40-5¾ on one of her preliminary jumps.

But she didn’t meet her own lofty standards.

“Today, 42 (feet) was the goal,” said Moore, who won the long jump Friday. “I scratched the big jumps today.”

Missing that goal was about all that went wrong for the Bulldogs girls all weekend.

Centennial ran away with its ninth straight Class 4A championship, scoring 126 points. Runners-up Carson and Sierra Vista each had 54.

“I’m happy,” Moore said. “It wasn’t my best day, but not my worst.”

Bulldogs junior Quincy Bonds repeated as the champion in the 300 hurdles, finishing in 43.71. She won the 100 hurdles and ran on the winning 400 relay team Friday.

Teammate Kennedy Brace contributed two titles Saturday. She ran a personal record 54.82 to win the 400 in the morning, but made a face of disgust at the finish line.

“I was really upset,” Brace said. “My goal this year was 53. I will be looking for bigger as the (club) season goes on this summer.”

Brace then seemed to take out some of that early frustration during her anchor leg on the winning 1,600 relay to end the girls meet in the afternoon.

When Brace took the baton for the final 400 meters, Centennial was third behind Sierra Vista and Arbor View.

By the end of the first turn, Brace had passed Arbor View. Before the back straightaway curved into the final turn, she had blown by Sierra Vista, bringing home the title in 3:55.86.

Rancho’s Amir’a Edmond won the 100 on Friday and claimed the 200 in 24.43 on Saturday.

Liberty’s Aaliyah Soa won the shot put (44-5¾) and discus (144-8).

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