FOLSOM, Calif. – Sophomore Tayli Paeu-Lindgren broke the 34-, 35- and 36-foot barrier in the triple jump for the first time in her brief career to finish second overall, while the 4x800 relay foursome of Sophia Kadel, Sunny Schranz, Halle Welch and Miya Menza opened the running schedule with a time of nine minutes, 40.55 seconds to finish third, highlighting St. Francis on the first day of the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I track & field championship meet at Folsom High's Prairie City Stadium Tuesday.

The first day of the divisional largely consists of preliminaries to Thursday's finals, although field events and the 4x800 relay were finals. The top 10 finishers in the prelims, and top 12 in the 800-meter run, move on to the D-I final. From there, the top nine from each final advance to the CIF-SJS Masters championship with the exception of the 4x800 relay.

Paeu-Lindgren entered the meet with a personal best of 33 feet, 9 inches, performed at the Sierra Foothill League championship meet 10 days earlier. She then went 34-3.25 on her first attempt, then 35-2.75 on her second. The SFL flag football Co-Offensive MVP earned three more jumps, matched the 35-2.75 in the fifth round, then unloaded a leap of 36-3 in the final round. She was one of only two jumpers to eclipse the 36-foot barrier, along with Whitney's Alishia Elie (36-7.5), who passed on her fourth through sixth attempts to hold on to the title.

Only two St. Francis athletes in history have triple jumped more than 36 feet: Nicole Spring, who went 36-11.75 at the 2015 Delta League championships; and Tifani Grimes, who first achieved the feat with a 36-6 at the 2004 Rio Linda Invite. Spring went on to compete at Brown, while Grimes went on to a successful career as a heptathlete for Cal.

Making the feat even more impressive is that Paeu-Lindgren made her debut in the triple jump only two months earlier at the March 5 SFL center meet in Davis. Unfortunately, meet officials did not record wind readings to make Tuesday's 36-3 a legal record, but it nevertheless stands as a historic achievement in Troubadour track & field history.

Paeu-Lindgren was one of several SF athletes to post massive personal records in Tuesday's session. Sophomore Alexa Randall, who finished fifth in the 400 with a 58.05, followed with a fourth-place 25.32 in the 200. Not only did that lop more than a half second off her previous best of 25.85, it moved her into fourth in Troubie history behind Cekarri Nixon (24.34), Ugo Eke (25.09) and Sydney Hunter (25.31). Nixon and Eke later ran for UC Davis, while Hunter competed for UC Riverside.

Sophomore Jasleen Gandhoke narrowly missed a PR in the 100 hurdles, placing fifth at 15.54. She later dominated the first heat of the 300 hurdles with a 46.04, almost two full seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Sheldon's Margot Zemke (47.99). Gandhoke ended up third overall among the three sections, with that time improving on her previous PR of 46.62 and vaulting her into sixth in the school record book.

Senior Jada Dwyre set PBs in each of the 100 (12.52) and 200 (26.61), the former of which also nabbed the No. 8 spot toward Thursday's final. Dwyre's 100 time comes at little surprise, given that her previous bests of 12.95 and 27.06 took place against a sizable headwind at the SFL championship on May 3. 

In contrast, freshman Miya Menza's 800-meter PR was unexpected in the most literal sense. She had placed 14th at the league championship and began the meet as an alternate. Shortly after anchoring the 4x800 squad to its third-place 9:40.55 – good for sixth in St. Francis history – and while waiting with her teammates for the podium ceremony, Menza learned that she was to replace a scratched athlete in the 800. Despite ranking 26th among the section's D-I runners with a 2:25.25, she carved almost six full seconds off her previous best with a 2:19.34. Menza placed fourth in the second section and eighth overall to earn another finals appearance on Thursday.

St. Francis also sent two other relays Thursday finals. The squad of Gaby Gonzalez, Randall, Emma Bugarin and Dwyre posted a team season-best 49.05 to place fourth in the 4x100. Then the 4x400 team of Nassali Serwanga, Colleen Medina, Randall and Brynn Baker took eighth at 4:09.65. Impressively, that 4x400 squad moved on to Thursday despite two of its members each losing a shoe during the race.

Paeu-Lindgren scored eight points with her runner-up finish with the 4x800 relay picking up another six for taking third.

The Div. I championships conclude Thursday, with St. Francis' events and starting times listed below. Jasleen Gandhoke begins Troubie action in the high jump at 3 p.m.

2025 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION TRACK & FIELD DIV. I CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 1 RESULTS
Folsom High School (Folsom, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed • All events are prelims except where noted

GIRLS' TRIPLE JUMP FINAL - 1. Alishia Elie, Whitney, 36-9.50 (w: NWI)... 2. Tayli Paeu-Lindgren, 36-3 (w: NWI).

GIRLS' DISCUS THROW FINAL - 1. Gracelynn Duenas, Lodi, 138-4... 13. Antonija Jezildzic, 96-6.

GIRLS' 4x800 RELAY FINAL - 1. Whitney, 9:27.01... 3. St. Francis (Kadel, Schranz, Welch, Menza), 9:40.55.

GIRLS' 4x100 RELAY - 1. Cosumnes Oaks, 48.39... 4. St. Francis (Gonzalez, Randall, Bugarin, Dwyre), 49.05.

GIRLS' 100 HURDLES - 1. Alishia Elie, Whitney, 14.90 (w: +1.9)... 5. Jasleen Gandhoke, 15.54 (w: +2.0).

GIRLS' 400 METERS - 1. Briyanna Word, St. Mary's, 55.96... 5. Alexa Randall, 58.05; 14. Brynn Baker, 1:01.76; 20. Nassali Serwanga, 1:03.38; 21. Colleen Medina, 1:03.78.

GIRLS' 100 METERS - 1. Niya Coleman King, Cosumnes Oaks, 12.02 (w: +1.5)... 8. Jada Dwyre, 12.52 (w: +0.9), 18. Emma Bugarin, 13.03 (w: +1.5); 21. Lucia Vicio, 13.19 (w: +1.7).

GIRLS' 800 METERS - 1. Addison Ewers, Whitney, 2:18.01... 8. Miya Menza, 2:19.34

GIRLS' 300 HURDLES - 1. Nina Souto, Whitney, 44.43... 3. Jasleen Gandhoke, 46.04.

GIRLS' 200 METERS - 1. Briyanna Word, St. Mary's, 24.20 (w: +0.3)... 4. Alexa Randall, 25.32 (w: +0.3).

GIRLS' 4x400 RELAY - 1. Sheldon, 3:59.70... 8. St. Francis (Serwanga, Medina, Randall, Baker), 4:09.65.

2025 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION TRACK & FIELD DIV. I CHAMPIONSHIPS, DAY 2 SCHEDULE
Folsom High School (Folsom, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • All events are finals

3:00 p.m. - Girls' High Jump (Jasleen Gandhoke, #22)
5:05 p.m. - Girls' 4x100 Relay (Lane 7)
5:15 p.m. - Girls' 1,600 Meters (Halle Welch, Section 1 #7)
5:30 p.m. - Girls' Shot Put (Antonija Jezildzic, Flight 2 #13)
5:30 p.m. - Girls' Long Jump (Tayli Paeu-Lindgren, Flight 1 #6)
5:35 p.m. - Girls' 100 Hurdles (Jasleen Gandhoke, Lane 3)
5:49 p.m. - Girls' 400 Meters (Alexa Randall, Lane 3)
6:05 p.m. - Girls' 100 Meters (Jada Dwyre, Lane 9)
6:15 p.m. - Girls' 800 Meters (Miya Menza, Lane 8)
6:30 p.m. - Girls' 300 Hurdles (Jasleen Gandhoke, Lane 4)
6:40 p.m. - Girls' 200 Meters (Alexa Randall, Lane 7)
6:50 p.m. - Girls' 3,200 Meters (Sunny Schranz, Section 1 #11; Miya Menza, Section 1 #12)
7:20 p.m. - Girls' 4x400 Relay (Lane 9)