Pirates Excel at Cal State LA Invitational

The Ventura College track and field team showcased outstanding performances at the highly competitive Cal State Los Angeles Invitational Saturday at Jesse Owens Track. Both the men's and women's teams delivered stellar performances, with numerous lifetime bests and notable achievements, including highlights from Charys Pyle and sister Brooke Pyle on the women's side and Thomas Dore and Trevor McCarthy for the Pirate men. The achievements solidified VC's status as top contender in the Western State Conference.

Charys (Foothill Tech) demonstrated her prowess with two lifetime bests, securing fourth place in the 400m hurdles with this season's No. 9 time in the 3C2A and 10th overall in the 100m hurdles. Her sister, Brooke (Foothill Tech) also impressed with two lifetime bests, finishing sixth in the 100m and seventh in the 200m. Brooke also contributed to the third place 4x100m relay team, which ran a season's best, alongside teammates Ashley Crist (Foothill Tech), Savannah Sprinkle (Buena), and Cassandra O'Reilly (Rio Mesa). Their remarkable performance currently ranks No. 9 in the 3C2A.

Sprinkle showcased her versatility, securing  a bronze medal finish in the high jump and placing fourth in the triple jump. Crist came in fifth in the triple jump, while O'Reilly was seventh in the shot put.

The men's team delivered impressive performances, with many athletes achieving lifetime bests in the sprints. The 4x100m relay quartet of of Micah Contreras (Camarillo), McCarthy (St.Bonaventure), Andrew Stuart (Buena) and Dore (Oxnard) ran a season's best, securing second place overall with the No. 4 time in the state this year and the fifth-ranked all-time for Ventura College.

Dore ran two lifetime bests, finishing seventh overall in the 100m with the No. 8 mark in the 3C2A, and seventh in the 200m. McCarthy also secured personal records with a fourth place finish in the 200m and running 13th in the 100m. Contreras achieved a PR running 11th in the 100m while Stuart secured a lifetime best, finishing 23rd in the 100m.

Other notable performances include Liam Genkel (Ventura) finishing 11th in the 400m and Joseph Moore (Moorpark) securing 17th place in the same event. Kevin Ramirez (Rio Mesa) performed well, finishing 14th in the 1500m and Xavier Lyons (Rio Mesa) crossed the finish line 10th in the 110m hurdles. Angel Cano (Oxnard) claimed a silver medal in the high jump and placed fourth in the triple jump.

The Pirates host the WSC Coastal at the VC Sportsplex on Friday March 22 beginning at 11:00 am.