Empire athletes have big day at Montgomery's new track

Montgomery High School coaches and officials cut the ribbon opening their new track and field Saturday and then invited hundreds of their closest friends to run around and play on it.

The 30th annual Viking Track Classic saw athletes from all over the North Bay and into the Bay Area descend on the brand-new track, with some local athletes putting up notable marks. Among some of the better performances:

Kassidy Schroth, a freshman at Santa Rosa High, again pulled a sprint double, winning the 100 meters and 200 meters. She won the 100 in 12.75, just ahead of a great performance from Windsor sophomore Isabela Chavez, who finished in 12.84. Both of Schroth’s times were personal bests and the fastest performances in the Redwood Empire this season.

Harper McClain, coming off her fourth-place finish in a stacked 1,600-meter race, finished first in the 3,200 meters in 10:47. It’s the fastest time of the season among Coastal Mountain Conference runners and puts McClain, just a sophomore, at seventh all time in the Redwood Empire. She’s second only to Healdsburg star Gabby Peterson at that distance this season.

Petaluma senior Sydney Dennis was busy - she won not two but three events Saturday. She won the 100-meter high hurdles in 16.32, a prep best this season. She also won the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 3 inches and the triple jump with a best on the day of 34 feet, 11 inches.

The Panthers won six of the 14 individual girls events, plus both relays, on Saturday.

On the boys side, Healdsburg’s Dante Godinez put in a massive kick in the 800 meters to cross the line in 1:56.65, outsprinting Casa Grande junior Logan Moon. Moon finished in 1:56.78.

Casa Grande senior Matthew Mason pulled a one-two in the 200- and 100-meter races. Mason ran a prep-best 22:03 in the 200 meters and finished the 100 meters in 10.94, second to St. Helena junior Ryan Searl’s 10.88. Another one-two guy was Cardinal Newman junior Justin Patterson, who won the 400 meters in 49.58 - sixth fastest all time for a junior, ahead of Maria Carrillo senior Tyler Van Arden. Patterson finished second in the 200 meters to Mason, crossing in 22.44.

The Maria Carrillo trio of Colton Swinth, Rory Smail and Pierce Kapustka finished an impressive one, two and three in the 1,600 meters, with times of 4:21.61, 4:21.69.70 and 4:21.70, respectively. Healdsburg’s Godinez finished fourth in 4:22.82. Swinth’s time puts him atop the Redwood Empire leaderboard. “That’s really impressive to have three boys at 4:21,” Santa Rosa High coach Carrie Joseph said. “I would say it’s unprecedented for around here.” She also noted the windy conditions. “Those guys can all break 4:20 given better circumstances. That was a really great race.” Smail turned around and won the 3,200 meters later in the day in 9:39.92, outsprinting Sonoma Academy senior Andre Williams, who crossed in 9:40.78.

Santa Rosa’s Braydon Glascock won the 300-meter hurdles in tough hurdling conditions in a ?ninth-best all-time Redwood Empire time of 39.07.

Middletown senior Bryson Trask doubled in the shot and discus, putting the shot 53 feet, 5 inches, ahead of Ukiah junior Kalathan Laiwa-McKay’s 53 feet, 2 inches. Trask won the discus by a fair piece, tossing it 176 feet, 1 inch, ahead of Samuel Davison of Newman’s 155 feet, 4 inches.