FOLSOM, Calif. – Senior Kayla Towne anchored the 4x800 relay to a third-place finish and won her preliminary heat in the 800-meter run, while freshman Alexa Randall advanced to the championship finals in three total events, highlighting St. Francis on the first day of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Track & Field Championships, hosted by Folsom High at Prairie City Stadium Tuesday.

The majority of Tuesday's events were preliminary heats that feed into Thursday's finals, although girls' finals in the 4x800, triple jump, pole vault and discus throw took place in Tuesday's session. The Troubies are tied with the host Bulldogs for eighth place in the meet with six points, all from the relay bronze.

Seniors Grace Dunham, Ryann Strawn, Kelsey Sutch and Towne compiled a time of nine minutes, 52.00 seconds to place third in the 4x800, well behind winner Whitney (9:16.51) and runner-up Davis (9:37.94), while also holding off Pleasant Grove, which ran a school-record 9:55.28. A little more than two hours later, Towne won the third section of the 800 at 2:20.28 to earn a spot in Thursday's finals. The 800 advanced 12 total runners from Tuesday: each of the three heat winners plus the next nine runners at large.

Randall ran the second leg of the Troubies' 4x100 relay, joining leadoff Kyah Pickett, Yasmin Azar and anchor Caitlin Hafenstein for a 49.88 for third in their heat and sixth overall. The freshman tennis standout then finished seventh in the 400 with a 1:00.42. Finally, Randall finished the evening as the anchor for the 4x400, helping Kennedy Bishop, Colleen Medina and Alina Gutierrez place second in the opening heat and fifth overall. St. Francis will compete in all three of those events on Thursday.

Other finals qualifiers include freshman Jasleen Gandhoke, who ran a 15.56 in the 100 hurdles; and senior Caitlin Hafenstein, who went 12.54 in the 100 dash. Both times were good for fourth overall. Gandhoke's time would have represented a personal record, but the tailwind barely exceeded the limit for wind assistance (2.2 meters per second). Hafenstein ran alongside Pickett in the first heat. Pickett ran a solid 12.82, but missed the finals cut – heat winner plus next seven fastest – by a mere two hundredths of a second.

St. Francis had entrants in two field finals. Senior Elise Blomquist came within six inches of her PR of 99-6 from the Jesuit Sprint, Throw, and Vault meet on March 16. She popped a 99-0 on her second attempt, good for 14th in the final standings. Additionally, senior Kendal Graham and sophomore Penelope Cole each cleared 8 feet, 5 inches in the pole vault. Cole finished as part of a tie for 10th, with Graham behind in 14th based on attempts.

The SJS divisional continues on Thursday. Besides those advancing from Tuesday's action, Dunham will race as the No. 2 seed in the 1,600 meters at 5:15 p.m. Strawn and freshman Sunny Schranz will represent the Troubies in the 3,200 at 6:50 p.m. Among field athletes, Gandhoke is part of the 22-person high jump field at 2 p.m. Then Blomquist will compete in the second flight of the shot put at 5:30 p.m., with freshman Tayli Paeu-Lindgren will appear in the second flight of the long jump, also at 5:30 p.m.

Other finals heat and lane assignments can be found below. Live results are available via Red Cap Timing at https://redcaptiming.com/2024/sjsd1/.

2024 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION DIV. I TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 1
Prairie City Stadium (Folsom, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed • All events are prelims except where noted

GIRLS' 4x800 RELAY FINAL - 1. Whitney, 9:16.51... 3. St. Francis (Dunham, Strawn, Sutch, Towne), 9:52.00.

GIRLS' 4x100 RELAY - 1. St. Mary's, 48.72... 6. St. Francis (Pickett, Randall, Azar, Hafenstein), 49.88.

GIRLS' 100 HURDLES - 1. Giselle Kirchner, Rocklin, 14.12 (w: +3.4)... 4. Jasleen Gandhoke, 15.56 (w: +2.2).

GIRLS' 400 METERS - 1. Ihe Okoh, Franklin, 57.46... 7. Alexa Randall, 1:00.42 .

GIRLS' 100 METERS - 1. Tamea Crear, St. Mary's, 12.18 (w: +2.8)... 4. Caitlin Hafenstein, 12.54 (w: +3.5); 11. Kyah Pickett, 12.82 (w: +3.5).

GIRLS' 800 METERS - 1. Ava Kopec, Whitney, 2:17.03... 3. Kayla Towne, 2:20.28; 19. Kelsey Sutch, 2:29.49; 22. Pamela Vargas, 2:35.50.

GIRLS' 4x400 RELAY - 1. Davis, 4:00.96... 5. St. Francis (Bishop, Medina, Gutierrez, Randall), 4:08.71.

GIRLS' POLE VAULT FINAL - 1. Grace Sloan, Rocklin, 10-5... 10 (tie). Penelope Cole, 8-5; 14. Kendal Graham, 8-5.

GIRLS' DISCUS THROW - 1. Sol Bitners, Davis, 138-11... 14. Elise Blomquist, 99-0.

GIRLS' TEAM SCORES (four events) - 1. Davis, 31; 2. Pleasant Grove, 25; 3. Whitney, 24; 4. Rocklin, 16; 5. Granite Bay, 14.5; 6. Oak Ridge, 13; 7. Lincoln-Stockton, 7; 8(tie). St. Francis, Folsom, 6; 10. Lodi, 4.5; 11. Del Oro, 4; 12. Tokay, 3; Merrill West, 2.


2024 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION DIV. I TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 2
Heat/Flight Assignments
Events with SF entrants only • All events are finals

GIRLS' HIGH JUMP (2:00 p.m.) - Flight 1 #12 Jasleen Gandhoke

GIRLS' 4x100 RELAY (5:05 p.m.) - Lane 8 Kyah Pickett, Alexa Randall, Yasmin Azar, Caitlin Hafenstein

GIRLS' 1,600 METERS (5:15 p.m.) - Section 1 #2 Grace Dunham

GIRLS' SHOT PUT (5:30 p.m.) - Flight 2 #2 Elise Blomquist

GIRLS' LONG JUMP (5:30 p.m.) - Flight 2 #7 Tayli Paeu-Lindgren

GIRLS' 100 HURDLES (5:35 p.m.) Lane 7 Jasleen Gandhoke

GIRLS' 400 METERS (5:49 p.m.) - Lane 2 Alexa Randall

GIRLS' 100 METERS (6:05 p.m.) - Lane 7 Caitlin Hafenstein

GIRLS' 800 METERS (6:15 p.m.) - #3 Kayla Towne

GIRLS' 3,200 METERS (6:50 p.m.) - #8 Ryann Strawn, #14 Sunny Schranz

GIRLS' 4x400 RELAY (7:20 p.m.) - Lane 3 Kennedy Bishop, Colleen Medina, Alina Gutierrez, Alexa Randall