Hurdling to state glory: Golden Valley’s Bettencourt PRs for 5th

Finishing fifth never felt so good, nor meant so much, to Golden Valley High graduate Shawn Bettencourt.

His fifth came in the 110-meter finals of the 99th CIF State Track and Field Championships, correctly billed as the nation’s best prep meet. Bettencourt was timed in 13.94 seconds, the first time he dipped legally below 14 seconds.

Bettencourt, bound for Stanislaus State, logged a wind-aided 13.90 in Friday’s trials. He wanted it to count Saturday night at Buchanan’s Veterans Memorial Stadium, and it did. The wind was measured in an allowable 1.4 meters per second.

“I can’t explain it,” Bettencourt said. “To be at at state for the first time, and to place at state finals, there’s no other feeling.”

Running in the middle of the track, Bettencourt held his form while victorious Joseph Anderson of Upland stepped to the victory in 13.33. Kimball’s talented Deion Lightfoot was third (13.80).

“I wanted a legal 13. Yesterday didn’t feel like 13.90. Tonight felt good,” Bettencourt said. “My transitions over the hurdles and my first step were good.”

His day began with an SAT exam and ended with nerves leading up to his final high school race.

“Your life changes,” Bettencourt said as his career transcends from the preps to college. “I was nervous today. I hope I did good on the test.”

Bettencourt passed all tests on the track this season. His four victories were instrumental in Golden Valley’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title two weeks ago. That was the Cougars’ first blue banner in track in 20 years and the first by a D-1 southern-section school since Lincoln in 2007.

“For Shawn to place fifth in the state is incredible, to go through all the levels of competition, I couldn’t have dreamed up this scenario,” GV men’s coach John Wooding said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime season for our team.”

The mainstays of that team – Bettencourt, Isaiah Montenez, Rodney Evans and Alexander Salas – reached state in the 4x100 relay and posted a 42.4 Friday. The quartet placed 18th, not good enough for finals.

“Our goal was to make state. We knew our chances were slim,” Bettencourt said. “We tried everything we knew. There’s a lot of competition around here.”

Golden Valley senior Kayla Commons also campaigned through a busy two days at Clovis. She qualified for the finals in the triple jump and finished seventh (39-7), a nasty 1 1/2 inches short of a medal. On Friday, she long-jumped 17-5 1/4 and did not advance to the final.

Commons’ performance, however, probably was not in vain. She was surrounded by four-year coaches at meet’s end. Her final attempt was an impressive foul, a mark that exceeded 40 feet according to Wooding.

“The coaches wouldn’t let her leave,” Wooding said. “She scratched by about an inch. Every little phase was executed. She just took off a little past the board.”

El Capitan junior Dominique Navarrette, the section Masters champion in the discus, was 18th in the trials. His 158-1 left him about a foot shy of a spot in the finals. El Cap grad Jalin Wiggins fouled three times in the triple jump Friday.

This story was originally published June 3, 2017 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Hurdling to state glory: Golden Valley’s Bettencourt PRs for 5th."