Merced’s Hernandez punches ticket to Masters

Andres Hernandez became the first local athlete to punch his ticket to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters meet at the Division I Championships on Wednesday.

The Merced senior secured the eighth and final Masters berth in the triple jump with a leap of 43 feet, 81/4 inches. Hernandez hit the mark with his second jump of the afternoon, easing some of the pressure on the rest of the way.

It was the start of a good showing by Merced, which qualified athletes for Friday’s finals at Elk Grove High School in four additional events.

Junior Ashanti McFarland led the way, reaching the finals in the 100- and 200-meter races, and the 4x100 relay. McFarland appears to have a chance of advancing in all three races, qualifying eighth, ninth and eighth respectively.

He’ll be joined in the 4x100 finals by Jair Pena, Brandon McKinney and Jamar Turner. Turner also qualified for the 300 hurdles final, placing sixth with a time of 39.57.

Other local finalists include Buhach Colony’s Vanessa Andrade in the 100 hurdles, Golden Valley’s Naomi Peterson (100) and Nick Lemas (300 hurdles) and Atwater’s Angelo Olmos (200). The 4x400 teams for Golden Valley (Marcus Luiz, Lemas, Alxander Salas, Elijah Merino) and Atwater (Ezequiel Gutierrez, Olmos, Jesus Duran, Alex Vargas) also advanced.

One athlete conspicuous in her absence from the finals is three-time state qualifier Brandy Coward of Buhach Colony. Nursing a hamstring injury since April 20, Coward had been hoping to heal up enough for a return trip to the Masters. With her progress not where she wanted it to be, Coward opted not to run and risk further injury.

The Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Championships will conclude Friday.

This story was originally published May 21, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Merced’s Hernandez punches ticket to Masters."