Batty Leaps into SoCal Regional Finals with Second-Place Finish at Prelims

Allan Hancock College freshman Haleigh Batty finished second in the women's long jump to advance to next week's Southern California Regional Finals where she will compete for a spot in the state championship. Batty was the only one to move on out of the four Bulldogs who completed Saturday at the SoCal Regional Prelims at San Diego Mesa College.

Batty, the Western State Conference champion in the event, easily advanced to next week's final by registering a jump of 18 feet, 8.5 inches on her second attempt. Kierra King of Cerritos finished first out of the 25 competitors with a top mark of 19'10.75". The top twelve advanced to the long jump final.

Two freshman hurdlers competed for the Bulldogs. Cherry Inay finished sixth in her heat and 20th overall in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 17.85 seconds. The Pioneer Valley High School graduate later finished 18th overall in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:12.45. Freshman Amaris Baxter ran the 24th fastest time in the 100 hurdles by crossing the finish line in 19.43 seconds. The top two finishers in each heat and the two next fastest times qualified for next week's finals.

Freshman Eduardo Uribe represented the Bulldogs in the 3,000 meter race walk, an exhibition held during regionals. Uribe finished third with a time of 20:33.99. Francisco Aguiar of Cuyamaca won with a time of 17:20.13.

San Diego Mesa College will host the SoCal Regional Championship Finals next Saturday, May 12. The 2018 Track and Field State Championships will take place May 18-19, at Bakersfield College.