Merced’s Ambriz, Buhach Colony’s Johnson qualify for CIF state meet

Daniel Ambriz needed a week to regroup.

The Merced High School senior focused his training on the 1,600 with hopes of advancing to the CIF State Track & Field Championships for the first time and breaking the school record.

That changed May 20 when he was disqualified from the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Championship when it was ruled he interfered with another runner.

Ambriz turned his focus to the 800 and finished second at Friday’s Masters Championship at Elk Grove High with a time of 1 minute, 54.21 seconds to still earn his trip to state this week at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis.

“I was little upset,” Ambriz said. “The mile was what I was banking on. I was training for the mile, and I wanted to break the school record. But things happen, and I ran the 800 last week just in case something weird happened like that. I’m happy I did.”

His strategy in Friday’s final was to stay with Davis’ Willie Hall.

“I haven’t run many fast 800s the last couple weeks,” Ambriz said. “I’ve had to work on my speed a lot. This race I tried to stay with Willie no matter what. I knew he was the top guy, and if I could stay close with him, I’d be OK.”

Ambriz held off McClatchy’s Jose Cruz and Franklin of Elk Grove’s Xavier Weaver for second. Atwater’s Alex Vargas finished sixth in 1:56.05.

Ambriz will make his first trip to the state meet.

“I’m happy it turned out this way,” Ambriz said. “I just missed out on state last year. I finished fourth. Now I’m going to try to break my (personal best) at state.”

Joining Ambriz will be Buhach Colony freshman Morgan Johnson, who was as surprised as anyone to be standing on the medal podium next to four-time Sac-Joaquin Section champion Hannah Chappell of Oakdale.

Johnson earned her berth with a second-place finish in the discus with a personal best throw of 129 feet, 4 inches.

“I’m just overwhelmed,” Johnson said. “My (personal record) before this was (122-11). It’s crazy. My heart is racing.”

Chappell, who is headed to the University of Alabama, distanced herself from the pack with a throw of 142-5.

Johnson’s 129-4 came on her second throw.

“I was shocked to hear how far it went,” said Johnson, who uncorked her previous best mark of 122-11 at the Division I Championship. “I thought it was going to be short. When I heard it, I was amazed. It helped me relax.”

Livingston senior Tina Lao finished sixth in the discus at 114-6.

Merced senior Ashanti McFarland fell just short of earning a trip to state with a fourth-place finish in the 200 with a time of 21.9 seconds. The third and final spot went to West’s Dion Collier, who crossed the finish line in 21.83.

“I’m mad. I could have done it,” McFarland said. “I’ve been working since August for this. I’m disappointed. I could have finished stronger. This was my last chance.”

Other meet highlights included:

▪  Golden Valley’s 4x100 relay team broke the school record for the second straight day. The team of Shawn Bettencourt, Brandon Reyes, Carlentez McDaniel and Alexander Salas broke the mark of 42.6 seconds they set in Thursday’s preliminaries with a time of 42.56, which was good for seventh place.

The old record was held by Davy Malaythong, Larry Milton, Eddie Levine and Vince Vasquez in 1996.

▪  Livingston senior Daisy Perez capped her career with a 20th-place finish in the 1,600 (5:27.35) and a 19th-place finish in the 3,200 (11:45.81).

▪  Atwater’s Jared Del Real finished 12th in the shot put with a throw of 48-8 1/2.

▪  Golden Valley’s Bettencourt finished eighth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.72 seconds.

▪  Merced senior Julian Johnson finished eighth in the 3,200 with a time of 9:33.91.

▪  The Atwater 4x400 relay team of Ezequiel Gutierrez, Alex Vargas, Brian Stokes and Angelo Olmos placed sixth with a season-best time of 3:21.87.

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Merced’s Ambriz, Buhach Colony’s Johnson qualify for CIF state meet."