Two Fresno-area athletes repeat as state track and field champs. Plus, third athlete is crowned

They’d been on the gold medalist podium at the state championship before.

It was a year ago.

But this time, it was different for both Clovis’ Sydnie Vanek and Caruthers’ Nailea Fields.

Both entered the CIF State track and field championships as a defending champ, as well as owner of the top high school mark in their respective event for the year throughout California.

So this time, the entire field was out to surpass Vanek and Fields.

No one, however, would come close.

Vanek and Fields each would make sure of it.

Vanek won the state championship in the long jump for the second straight year, clearing 20 feet, 7 3/4 inches to outdistance the runner-up mark by more than 4 inches.

Fields, too, repeated as the state discus champion after throwing 167-6, which was more than 6 feet farther than the best mark of the runner-up.

There also was a third state champion from the Fresno area as Hilton Green of Buchanan won the pole vault with a mark of 16-6, which was 4 inches greater than the second-place finisher.

For Green, Saturday marked his first state title, and it comes a year after finishing state runner-up.

Green entered the state meet with high expectations, too, having established the highest mark in California this season.

But Green made sure all would fall behind him as Green broke his previous personal best of 16-1 by nearly a half-foot.

The Fresno area also had a few Top 3 finishers.

In the girls discus that Fields won, Clovis’ Loie Madsen placed third after launching 156-5 on her last throw.

Buchanan’s Jordan Leveque placed second in pole vault, clearing a day-best of 13-1.

Buchanan 800-meter runner Noah Ray placed third.

Clovis North sprinter Nikolas Miller took third in the 200.

Clovis North discus thrower McKay Madsen and Buchanan’s Derek Smith placed second and third, respectively, in the discus.

Tulare Western shot putter Jose Soto placed second with a mark of 60-7 1/4 Madsen competed in the event, too, placing seventh.

Team champions

Granada Hills-Los Angeles won a four-way battle for the boys team championship with 36 points ahead of JSerra Catholic-San Juan Capistrano (33), Long Beach Poly (32) and Buchanan (30). Clovis North tied for seventh with 20.

Wilson-Long Beach won the girls title with 44 points ahead of runner-up Culver City with 31. Buchanan finished eighth with 19.

Other individual highlights

Serra-Gardena’s Rodrick Pleasant backed up his 2021 sprint sweep with the 100-200 double gold. His 10.20-second 100 was a tenth of a second under the previous state meet record.

JSerra Catholic-San Juan Capistrano senior Brendon See doubled in the boys discus and added the shot put title.

Ventura sophomore Sadie Engelhardt pulled off a difficult double, successfully defending her 1,600 crown and adding the 800 where she relegated defending champ Mackenzie Browne of J.W. North-Riverside to second.

Montgomery-Santa Rosa sophomore Hanne Thomsen won the girls 1,600 but DNF’d in the 3,200, which she won last year.