Dionisio, Naugle and Nevitt Qualify for State Championships with Fifth-Place Finishes at SoCal Regional

May 13, 2017

Allan Hancock College sophomores Brent Dionisio, Taylor Nevitt and Rachel Naugle qualified for the CCCAA Track and Field State Championships with top-five finishes during the Southern California Regional Finals on Saturday at Cerritos College. The State Championships will be at American River College from May 19-20.

Naugle set a personal-best time in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase of 11:29.88 for a fifth-place finish. The sophomore beat her previous best-time by nearly 20 seconds. Canyons' Diani Ellis won the regional title by crossing the finish line in 11:26.91. The second, third and fourth-place runners finished within .62 of a second of each other.

Nevitt came in fifth in the women's shot put with a top toss of 37 feet, 10.5 inches. Cerritos' Amber Hart won the regional title with a top mark of 44-3.75. Last year, Nevitt, a Nipomo High School graduate, finished eighth in the shot put at the state meet. Nevitt also competed in the discus throw at the Regional Finals. She finished tenth with a top mark of 119-2. Cerritos' Ailinisilose Williams won with a mark of 136-8.

Dionisio was one of six jumpers who cleared 6 feet, 4.75 inches. He finished fifth through the number of attempts. Bakersfield's Jacob Bookout won the SoCal title by clearing 6-6.75. Dionisio edged Bookout for the Western State Conference title last month.

Steven Youngblood finished tenth in the men's 3K steeplechase with a time of 9:52.35. The Hancock sophomore finished about 39 seconds behind the regional champion, Sean McDermott of Cuesta.

The Hancock women finished with eight total points in the team standings for a 15^th place finish. The Hancock men came in 23^rd place with four points from Dionisio's fourth-place finish.