Track is Back! West LA shines at Azusa Pacific University vs. four-year competition

Posted: Mar 21, 2022

Despite a two-year COVID hiatus, the TrackCats already firmly established they are among the nation's elite over the weekend posting 23 top-10 Western State Conference marks in their return to competition. The Track & Field programs reached a pinnacle in 2019 as West LA made history becoming the first school in WSC history to claim both the men's and women's team titles in the same year 3 times. Weeks later the Wildcats went on to claim five state individual titles and had 12 student-athletes named to the All-America team.

Saturday, the West LA College ladies 400-meter relay squad set the tone for the day in the first running event with sophomore Kyndahl Carter (Culver City HS), and freshmen, Hailey Adams (Archer School for Girls), Olivia McIntosh-Adams (University HS), and Jada Turner (Lynwood HS) as they flashed their speed to a 5^th place finish and top-10 time in the state. Cal Poly Pomona, led by West LA graduate, Angelina Camello (San Pedro HS) placed first in the race posting the fastest Division 2 mark in the United States.

Carter later raced to the #1 WSC mark (15.30) and #3 performance in the state over the 100-meter hurdles. Turner posted a pair of top 5 marks on the state leader board in the 400 and 800 meters respectively placing 1st in the later event at 2:21.66. Adams was all over the field Saturday in the sprints, jumps, and throwing events highlighted by her 100-meter dash victory in a time of 12.64.

The men's squad was not to be out shinned, led by 3rd year Freshmen, Alex Sweeney (Dorsey HS) running 14.99 in the 110-meter hurdles placing him the top 5 in the state half-way through the season. He followed this up with another runner-up finish in the longer hurdle event. The 200-meter dash was particularly a bright spot for the men as the Wildcats had 4 top-2 finishes in the 7 heats of the 1⁄2 lap race, with first place finishes for Kyaire Orihu (Inglewood HS) and Orion Naulls (Westchester HS). Andrew Maldonado (San Pedro HS) and Nathan Torres (Birmingham HS) capped the weekend off with a 4-5 finish and a pair of personal bests at the 1500-meter distance under the lights to send a message to their WSC competitors that Track is Back at West LA College.

The last week of the month will find the Wildcats competing at UCR Spring Classic Multis (March 24-25/UC Riverside), the Pasadena Relays (March 25/Pasadena City College) and the Rafer Johnson & Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invite (March 26/UCLA).