Notre Dame track and field coach Joe McNab has been at it a long time. He was hired in 1981. An indicator of that isn’t just how long he’s been in Sherman Oaks, it’s indicated by how many times he’s won, too.
McNab lifted his 12th CIF Southern Section track and field championship and the program’s second straight Division 3 title at Moorpark High last weekend. McNab won his first in 2002 and had remarkable stretches where he won multiple in a row. He won four straight from 2004-07, won three straight from 2009-11, then went back-to-back in 2015-16.
The Knights scored 98 points to edge out a very, very fast Servite team (81.5 points).
Notre Dame was anchored by sophomore triple jump winner Emmanuel Pullins’ winning leap of 45 feet, 11.75 inches. Pullins also placed second in the long jump (22-11.25). Senior Joshua Harel, who is one of the country’s top high jumpers, dominated the field with a mark of 7-1. The second-place finisher jumped 6-6.
Jordan Peck was very good in the throws, placing fourth in the shot put (54-6.25) and discus (157-4).
The sprinters held their own. Max Martin-Beckmann finished second in the 300-meter hurdles (39.14 seconds) and Daniel Slaughter finished second in the 100-meter hurdles (14.22). Pullins finished fourth in the 100-meter race (10.43).
The CIF Southern Section Masters Meet will be held on Saturday at Moorpark High. The Masters Meet is where all the divisions’ top athletes compete in one field. The CIF State track and field championships are scheduled for May 29 and 30 at Buchanan High in Clovis.
NOTABLE TEAM FINISHERS
The Notre Dame boys team was the only local CIF champion. Thousand Oaks finished second in Division 2 and Moorpark placed third in Division 3. Crespi and Viewpoint finished second and third in Division 4, respectively.
Canyon girls finished second in Division 2. Calabasas and Oaks Christian finished second and third in Division 3, respectively.
LOCAL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS, FINISHERS
In Division 1, Saugus’ Lucia Pearson placed second in the girls’ 1,600 meters (4 minutes, 56.17 seconds). Burbank’s Chase Harris took home silver for a throw of 135-11 in the girls discus.
In Division 2, Thousand Oaks’ Alex Molinar, Caleb Romeo, Jacob Maamoun and Lucas Schneider won the boys’ 4×400 relay in 3:17.52. Newbury Park’s Zach Soberanis, Jaden Griffin, Matthew Curry and Brandon Curry won the boys 4×100 relay in 40.68.
Schneider placed second in the 300-meter boys hurdles (38.06) and third in the 110-meter hurdles (14.59). Newbury Park’s Jaden Griffin (10.39) and Westlake’s Demare Dezeurn (10.44) went No. 2 and 3, respectively, in the 100 meters.
The Canyon girls relay teams won the 4×100 and 4×400. In the 4×100 relay, Kameron Smith, Alaya Graves-Hogains, Keziah Webster and Emoni Wright won in 46.20. Lyric Scott, Khloe McCoy, Graves-Hogains and Webster won the 4×400 in 3:46.68.
Graves-Hogains also won the 400 in 55.29.
West Ranch speedster Tamea Crear won the girls 200 in 23.72 and placed second in the 100 with a time of 11.59.
In Division 3, Calabasas’ girls sprinters finished 1-2-3 in the 100 and 200, but it wasn’t enough for a team title. Malia Rainey won the 100 in 11.41. Marley Scoggins won the 200 in 23.27.
Moorpark’s Camilla Peltonen won the 400 (55.17). Oaks Christian’s Chiara Baker, Rayah Rodriguez, Gemma Chababi and Savanah Williams won the girls 4×400 relay in 3:49.88.
In Division 4, Sierra Canyon’s Hendrix Hart won the boys 200 in 21.15. Crespi freshman Micah Martin-Price won the 800 in 1:58.20. Viewpoint’s Olly O’Connor won the 3,200-meter race in 9:00.16.
Sierra Canyon freshman Jonathan Parra won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.53 (a personal best). Standout football player James Moffat of Crespi won the shot put with a throw of 55-9.
Campbell Hall’s Sofia Joh won the girls’ 1,600 and 3,200 in 5:05.78 and 11:12.85, respectively.