Sac Joaquin Section (SJS) Masters Prelims and Finals (5-20-22 & 5-21-22): The SJS Masters meet was one for the ages! The Broncos will be sending more athletes to the CIF State Championships then ever before. Six girls will be heading to Clovis California next weekend to show the rest of the state what they are made of. State meet qualifying started on Friday with some of the field events and continued into Saturday where all events were finals. The story of each state meet qualifier is unique, traveling a different path to reach the same goal. It is interesting to see how Isabella Chilcutt, Leila Swenson, Katy O'Brien, Emily Bluemel, Uriah Walton, Ryan Ragagli and Isabelle Rasmussen each found their way to Clovis.

Prelims Results | Finals Results | Prelims Video | Finals Video | Pics 1! | Pics 2!

Warm windy conditions was the story at the start of Friday's prelims at Davis High School with gusts well above 20 mph. This made it very interesting in one of the first events of the day, the girls high jump. Isabella Chilcutt and Isa Rasmussen were scheduled to compete and both did a good job putting the wind out of their minds. As the competition started it was readily apparent that it would not take a very high height to qualify to state because the wind was wreaking havoc on most of the girls jumping.

Chilcutt passed the opening height of 4-11 with Rasmussen choosing too jump and clear on her third attempt. Chilly opened at 5-01 clearing on her first attempt (video - you can hear the wind rattle the football goal post!) after Rasmussen missed her third attempt. It was now time for a little strategy because it looked like it wouldn't take much higher to quality for state. With only six left in the competition the bar was now to be raised only one inch and Chilly chose to jump at that height clearing on her second attempt (video). With only four jumpers left the bar then went to 5-03 and Chilly secured her third trip to the state meet by clearing on her second attempt (video). Wind, nagging injuries and a cold this week caused a little concern but Chilly proved why she has been one of the best high jumpers in the section for four years and with a week to train is looking to qualify for the finals in Clovis next week!

When Saturday's Finals came the wind had died down and the temperatures went up a bit but even so it was a great day for a track meet. The first event of the day was the girls 4 x 100 relay (video) where the Broncos took 5th running 48.70 their third best time of the year. The four girls were oh so close to making the state meet, just a few tenths of a second away, but would have another chance at the end of the meet in the 4 x 400.

Next up was distance phenom Leila Swenson in the 1600 meters. Leila is an excellent runner at any distance but Coach Kuphaldt wanted to make sure that she would have the best opportunity to qualify to the State Championships. After learning that several other competitors would be scratching the 1600 they decided that Leila would go for it in that race to try to make the state meet. At the time of the race the temperatures were at their height for the day in the high 80's making fast times difficult. This meant that it would come down to a tactical race.

Leila did an outstanding job going between buying her time pacing off of the leaders and pushing the pace when needed. In the end she crossed the finish line in third place securing one of the three auto qualifiers to next week! Her time was 5:07.02 (video) well off her PR but we believe this qualification sets her up for a great opportunity to break that 5 minute barrier that has been a goal for some time.

After the 1600 meters we had a break until the 3200 meters where Leila ran again in the girls race followed by Sean Lacey and Gilbert Sanches Torres in the boys section. No one was able to qualify on but all gave great efforts for their part.

The final race of the day was the 4 x 400s. This was the last opportunity for a BV athlete to qualify for the state meet and our girls team had some incentive because they were so close in the 4 x 100 so motivation was high. The story of the BV girls 4 x 400 team goes back several weeks before this team was even formed. As many already know the coaching staff had been monitoring the efforts of other top schools in the SJS division 2 and based on the strengths of our competitors we wanted to develop a plan to make our team the strongest it could be for the divisional meet. We determined that if we could put together a 4 x 400 team we would score more points at the divisional meet than we would if we kept some of them in their individual events.

This strategy paid off and then some because we were able to win the 4 x 400 title last week at Bella Vista. Flash forward one week and the Masters prelims are on Friday night but so is the BV senior ball. Our anchor, Isa Rasmussen, was at the dance right about the time that the 4 x 400 prelims (video) were set to go off. This caused some concern with the team because they were afraid they would not be fast enough to qualify without Isa. Enter Ryan Ragagli to the rescue. Ryan was able to do an outstanding job in Isa's absence anchoring the team of Katy O'Brien, Emily Bluemel and Uriah Walton to qualify using a 61 second split helping the Broncos finish in 6th place and squeak into the finals.

On Saturday we had our anchor back and with the senior ball behind her Isa was focused and ready. The girls seemed nervous but determined to do better than their fifth place finish in the 4 x 100.

Katy O'Brien has been our steady lead-off leg in every relay this year and she was true to form in the finals running a 59.9 split and putting the Broncos in first place after the first hand-off.

Emily Bluemel extended the BV lead powering down the homestretch to give the baton to Uriah Walton in a split time of 58.1.

Uriah, just a freshman, held her own against the Edison HS and Turlock HS big guns and turned a solid 61.5 split before handing off to anchor Isa Rasmussen.

Isa took the baton with the Broncos in third place and the rest of the field charging from behind to try to take that third and final state meet auto spot from us. At about 200 meters into the final lap, Isa had to slow down so she could avoid being boxed in and trapped. She made a brilliant move then, buying her time on the turn while in 5th place, only to make a furious charge with about 110 meters to go. Isa went from fifth place to first passing the best teams in the section to take the lead with 10 meters to go and the win. This was one of the greatest moments in Bella Vista track history! To come from behind and take the lead like that was amazing! I am only a track coach so a wordsmith would probably be more appropriate here because it was truly poetic (video).

The final lap was probably best described by Sac Bee reporter Joe Davidson who wrote:

Bella Vista stormed from behind to take the girls 4-by-400 relay in a season-best 3:56.76 behind Kathleen O’Brien, Uriah Walton, Emily Bluemel and savior anchor Isabelle Rasmussen, who waved the baton with her teammates on the infield, jumping and cheering.

It was a great ending to the meet and to see the girls come together to overcome all of their obsticles was a blessing to witness. State meet berths were made, championships won and life lessons learned. The icing on the cake is that we get to watch them again at the state meet next week. Stay tuned and GO BRONCOS!

Sac Joaquin Section Division 2 (SJS) Prelims and Finals (5-11-22 & 5-13-22): It was a perfect night for a track meet and a perfect night for the Lady Broncos as they brought home yet another SJS title. Our 2022 win gives the girls 6 section titles in 10 years and 7 all time. The BV girls can now forever look up to the rafters in the big gym and see that 2022 blue banner flying along side all of the other past great Bronco track teams!

The BV coaching staff knew that Turlock High School was the strongest girls team in the division all year and it would take a massive effort by the Broncos to defeat them. The meet was very close from start to finish going back and forth in the scoring between the two teams. In the end the Lady Broncos showed that they truely believed in themselves earning 104 points to Turlock's 88. It was a night to remember with clutch performances and inspirational moments. Here is what happened...

Results | Team Scores | Prelims Video | Finals Video | Photos

Photos by Ashley Bluemel, Coach Strohmeyer, Coach Kuphaldt and Coach U

With temperatures in the low 70s and the wind coming out of the north slightly aiding the sprinters, hurdlers and triple jumpers, the athletes couldn't have asked for better conditions Friday night. However, the meet actually started on Wednesday, May 11 with some of the field events scoring as finals.

One of the first events to start the meet off was the girls pole vault. Although the pole vault was at the beginning of the meet it was actually a pivotal event for the Broncos because of the strength of the Turlock vaulters. Fiona Ryan was the lone BV girls vaulter and the top seed by half a foot coming in from all of the league finals. We stood to lose a significant amount of points if Fiona couldn't perform. Fortunately for the Broncos, Fiona rose to the occasion vaulting 10-03 (video) for her first ever section divisional win. Fiona's victory started the Broncos off with 10 points to Turlock's 18 points because although a Turlock vaulter didn't win they did take 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the competition. The Broncos would need big points from the long jump to keep pace.

The girls long jump was running simultaneous with the girls pole vault. Isa Rasmussen was the favorite coming in from league finals with the top seed and the top mark in division 2 this season. Nursing a sore heal, she was able to win the competition on her first jump, landing in the sand at 16-10. Emily Hansen improved as the competition progessed jumping 15-07.25 for 6th place. With the win by Isa and the 6th place finish by Emily we were able to add another 11 points to the team total making our score 21. Turlock had a jumper finish 5th giving them another 2 points and 20 total.

The next field event final for the girls was at 5:30 pm, 2.5 hours after the start of the long jump and pole vault. The girls shot put was a tight competition with one of the highest ranking putters coming in from Turlock. The Turlock thrower was focused throwing over 33 feet putting her in second place and adding 8 big points to their team total. For the Broncos, Dominique Wilbon stepped up and threw 31-04 which placed her 5th giving us another 2 points. At the end of Wednesday, the score between the top two battling teams was Turlock 28 - Bella Vista 23. There was still a lot of scoring to be done by both teams in the Finals on Friday and we expected a fight to the finish.

The finals on Friday once again started out with the early field events. For the girls it was the high jump, a strong event for the Broncos, the discus and later that afternoon the girls triple jump. In the high jump Bella Vista had it's ace Isabella Chilcutt who was the leading division 2 jumper coming into the meet. Chilly made quick work of the field winning with a jump of 5-04 (video). Isabelle Rasmussen was still dealing with a heel injury that has hampered her in the jumping events. Even with a sore heel she was able to clear 4-10 (video) good for 5th place and coupled with Chilly's 10 winning points we had another 12 to add to our total. Turlock had two jumpers finish 2nd and 6th piling 9 points onto their total. BV 35 - Turlock 37.

While the girls were high jumping, Julia Mann was making her contribution over in the discus. Julia had some clutch throws in the first three preliminary rounds which qualified her for the finals earning her three more throws. In the finals, Julia busted out a huge personal best (PR) by almost eight feet throwing 106-1 putting her in 4th place and giving the Broncos 4 more points. Turlock did not have a thrower make the finals and were unable to score in that event. BV 39 - Turlock 37

The girls triple jump took a dramatic turn during the final three jumps that allowed the Broncos to extend their lead. Emily Hansen had a jump of 32-1 in the prelims which was far enough to squeak her into the finals as the 8th and last contestant. On Emily's 5th attempt of the day she landed a big PR into the sand jumping 33-05 moving her into scoring position from 8th to 6th and giving BV another precious point. BV 40 - Turlock 37

While the triple jump was winding down, back over on the track the first race of the day was the girls 4 x 100 relay (video). The BV team of Katy O'Brien, Emily Bluemel, Ryan Ragagli, and Isa Rasmussen have been sound the entire season and this was an event that we had been counting on for big team points. Going up against a powerful Edison HS squad, and a tough Turlock squad the Broncos had their work cut out for them. After the finish we almost pulled off the upset taking second to Edison by 3/100s of a second 48.96 to 48.93. Turlock took third in 49.30 earning them 6 points to the Broncos 8 points. BV 48 - Turlock 43.

The 1600 meters and 100 hurdles were up next, two strong events for Bella Vista. In the 1600, Leila Swenson was the only entrant for BV so she had to go it alone for four laps without a teammate to run with. It was obvious right from the gun that Leila wanted to break 5 minutes in this race because of the big lead she built. Leila consistently knocked off splits of around 75 seconds per lap but had to do it alone without any other runners pushing her along because of her big lead. She crossed the finish line at 5:00.25 (video) just shy of breaking the 5 minute barrier. She did however, win her first section championship and secure 10 more points for Bella Vista. BV 58 - Turlock 43.

We were hoping for some more points from our two entrants in the 100 hurdle finals (video), Isabella Chilcutt and Katy O'Brien and got them. Both Katy (first in 15.17) and Chilly (6th in 16.05) set personal bests in the hurdles and padded our lead a bit scoring 10 points for first and 1 for 6th. Turlock placed 5th earning 2 more points which made the score BV 69 - Turlock 45 after the hurdles.

Now came Turlocks turn to show off their strength in the sprints. They were able to get eleven points from the 400 meters from a first and sixth place finish and immediately following they won eight points from a second place finish in the 100 meters. The quick 19 points caught them up to within 5 points making the score BV 69 - Turlock 64 after the 100 meters.

The next race on the track for the girls was the 800 meters (video) where we had McKenzie Childs and Lucia Hernandez. McKenzie ran a smart, tactical race to secure fourth place and raising our lead to nine with the four points she earned. Turlock was unable to score with their 800m finalists making the running score now BV 73 - Turlock 64. On to the 300 hurdles.

Another exciting hurdle race was on tap for the Broncos again with hopes of big team points. The Broncos had three girls who qualified for the 300 hurdle finals (video), Katy O'Brien, Isabella Chilcutt and Ryan Ragagli as did Turlock. Once again, Katy put the hammer down on the rest of the field and finished with a personal best of 45.67 and her second section divisional title. Chilly took home 6th place running 47.93 and Ryan PR'rd at 48.25. Chilly and Katy totalled 11 points. Turlock took 2nd and 5th place for 10 points. BV 84 - Turlock 74.

With no entries in the 200 meters Bella Vista had to wait and see how Turlock would do with their top sprinter. As it turned out, Turlock would take 2nd in the 200m and slide eight points to their side so the running score was now BV 84 - Turlock 82 with two more events to go.

In the next event Leila Swenson was back at it in her specialty the 3200 meters. Leila pounded out lap after lap and with about two to go started to pull away from her competition ending up with the victory in 11:02.44 (video). Another BV Champion gave us 10 more points and a 94 to 82 lead over Turlock. BV 94 - Turlock 82.

At this point BV had the team title wrapped up but they still had one more event to run and that is when the fireworks really started. Even with the team title already determined the 4 x 400 relay (video) turned out to be the best race of the night. The lead changed hands several different times between several different schools. For the Broncos, Katy O'Brien led off with a solid 61 second split and had BV in second place with three laps to go. Emily Bluemel took the baton next then settled into the lead pack eventually taking the lead on the home stretch and clocking a 58 second split. Freshman Uriah Walton was up on the third leg and ran a steady 61 second split keeping BV in the hunt at second place at the final hand-off. Isabelle Rasmussen ran a brilliant last leg buying her time until the final turn where she blasted home for the lead and the win (podium video). Her split was a 58.0 and the teams final time of 3:58.65 turned out to be the best time in the Sac Joaquin Section so far this year. BV 104 - Turlock 88

Another section title for the Broncos. That made nine in all (including one from the boys side which we will get to soon!).

Like I wrote above, it was a memorable night for the coaches and athletes of Bella Vista. I will always remember the heart that was shown that night. Way to go ladies! GO BRONCOS! On to the boys...

The Bella Vista varsity boys team placed a respectable 4th place at the SJS division 2 meet. Considering the size of the schools in our division that is a very impressive finish for our boys. Over half of the schools in D2 should probably be in division 1 and with BV being a medium sized school it is my humble opinion that we competed very well. BV scored fourty points overall and will be sending two relay teams, and four individuals on to the SJS Masters meet next week.

The first individual to qualify was senior Brian Coker in the pole vault. With a brand new pole Brian matched his personal best of 13-06 (video) good enough for third place. He will be going to Davis HS for his first appearance at the SJS Masters meet.

The boys 4 x 100 of Harrison Low, Michael Kopitski, Elijah Shaw and Owen Dismukes (video) set a team best of 44.04 while taking 5th place and earning a trip to Davis for the Masters meet. The time moved them up on the 4 x 100 relay all time list to number 14 all time.

Sean Lacey qualified by winning the 1600 meters (video) and taking second in the 3200 meters (video) adding a SJS Division 2 title to his collection.

Sophomore Kellen Kirby ran a strong 800 meters (video) in 2:00.57 after making it on to the BV all time list running 1:59.30 in the prelims. This will be his first trip to the SJS Masters meet and we will be looking for him to hopefully run under 1:59!

Gilbert Sanchez Torrez ran a great 3200 race (video) on Friday night taking third place in a time of 9:51.90. He too will be moving on to the masters meet for the first time focusing on running a personal best at Davis high school. His placement earned the team six points. Sean Lacey cruised to a second place finish for eight team points conserving energy for next week's Masters meet.

Finally our boys 4 x 400 relay team (video) of Michael Kopitski, Elijah Shaw, Kellen Kirby and Harrison Low ran an all time list time of 3:28.08. The time qualified them to the masters meet in 5th place putting them 14th all time.

At next weeks SJS Masters meet at Davis High School, Bella Vista will be sending 4 relay teams, along with 22 individuals in 42 different event entries. This is yet another strong indicator of our success. For those who can't make it out to Davis next Friday and Saturday I will be posting result and real time results links on the front page of bvtrack.com. We are officially on the "Road to the State Meet" and we hope that everyone follows along and cheers on the Broncos for all of their hard work and dedication. GO BRONCOS!

Capital Valley Conference (CVC) Prelims and Finals (5-4-22 & 5-6-22): For the Broncos, the CVC meet was truly a team event. Going into the CVC Finals week the Broncos held leads in the frosh/soph girls, frosh/soph boys and varsity girls divisions and were second in the varsity boys division. The varsity boys needed to win the finals to take a share of the CVC title and the other three divisions needed to win to claim the title outright. With six other schools coming into Bronco Stadium to show their quality on Sparks Track, this would prove to be no easy task. It is safe to say that every Bronco fought hard for every point we earned and the final results proved this to be true.

Resuts | Prelims Video! | Finals Video! | Pics! 1 | Final Team Standings! | (more pics coming soon!)

 
              Women - Varsity - Team Rankings - 16 Events Scored
===============================================================================
    1) Bella Vista                193        2) Inderkum                  126   
    3) Yuba City                   84        4) Woodcreek                  60   
    5) River Valley                 8        6) Antelope                    6   
    7) Roseville                    4                                           
 
             Women - Frosh/Soph - Team Rankings - 16 Events Scored
===============================================================================
    1) Bella Vista                141        2) Roseville                 115   
    3) Yuba City                   83        4) Antelope                   73   
    5) Inderkum                    40        6) Woodcreek                  20   
 
                Men - Varsity - Team Rankings - 16 Events Scored
===============================================================================
    1) Bella Vista                131        2) Woodcreek                 105   
    3) Yuba City                   69        4) Antelope                   64   
    5) River Valley                46        5) Roseville                  46   
    7) Inderkum                    33                                           
 
              Men - Frosh/Soph - Team Rankings - 16 Events Scored
===============================================================================
    1) Antelope                   133        2) Yuba City                 125   
    3) Bella Vista                117        4) Woodcreek                  43   
    5) Roseville                   24        6) River Valley               21   
    7) Inderkum                    13

As you can see from the team scores above Bella Vista showed a lot heart winning the varsity boys, frosh/soph girls, and varsity girls divisions making them 2022 league champions! The frosh/soph boys gave it everything they had but finished a close third in the meet slipping them to second place in the final league standings. Following the final team standings link above will show you the breakdown of this seasons scoring meet by meet.

The highlight of the meet for the Broncos was how the varsity boys came together to make a comeback win against the league and a share of the league title with Woodcreek HS. The boys entered the meet down two championship points to Woodcreek. Knowing this made their effort even more inspirational because of the long odds of pulling it off. We thought that it would be very close, and for a while the score was, but in the end the Broncos pulled away to win by 26 points.

Several individuals faired very well at the finals qualifying on to next weeks SJS divisional championships, moving up on the all time list, setting personal bests, making the CVC all league team, and winning conference titles. Below is a breakdown of some of the highlights.

Bella Vista varsity athletes qualifying on to the Sac Joaquin Section Division 2 meet on May 11 and 13. To qualify athletes needed to place in the top six in their event/s (7th is the alternate and should be prepared to compete next week):

  1. Katy O'Brien - 100 hurdles (1st), 300 hurdles (1st), 4 x 100 Relay (1st), 4 x 400 Relay (3rd)
  2. Isabella Chilcutt - 100 hurdles (4th), 300 hurdles (3rd), high jump (1st)
  3. Ryan Ragagli - 100 hurdles (6th), 300 hurdles (4th), 4 x 100 relay (1st), 4 x 400 relay (3rd)
  4. Elijah Shaw - 400 meters (4th) 4 x 100 relay (4th), 4 x 400 relay (3rd)
  5. Michael Kopitske - 4 x 100 relay (4th), 4 x 400 relay (3rd)
  6. Leila Swenson - 1600 meters (1st), 800 meters (1st), 3200 meters (1st)
  7. Mckenzie Childs - 1600 meters (4th), 800 meters (3rd), 3200 meters (5th)
  8. Lucia Hernandez - 1600 meters (6th), 800 meters (7th - alternate)
  9. Sean Lacey - 1600 meters (1st), 800 meters (2nd), 3200 meters (1st)
  10. Gilbert Sanchez Torres - 1600 meters (3rd), 3200 meters (2nd)
  11. Bode Briseno - 1600 meters (6th)
  12. Uriah Walton - 400 meters (7th - alternate), 4 x 400 relay (3rd)
  13. Harrison Low - 400 meters (2nd), 4 x 100 relay (4th), 4 x 400 relay (3rd)
  14. Emily Bluemel - 100 meters (2nd), 200 meters (3rd), long jump (4th), 4 x 100 relay (1st)
  15. Kyle Dinin - 300 hurdles (2nd), pole vault (7th - alternate), triple jump (7th - alternate)
  16. Kellen Kirby - 800 meters (1st), 4 x 400 relay (3rd)
  17. Ian Bishop - 800 meters (5th)
  18. Isabelle Rasmussen - 200 meters (2nd), high jump (3rd), long jump (1st), 4 x 100 relay (1st)
  19. Julia Mannerino - 3200 meters (6th)
  20. Collette Campbell - 3200 meters (7th - alternate)
  21. Landon Eynon - 3200 meters (6th)
  22. Lia Anselmino - 4 x 400 relay (3rd)
  23. Owen Dismukes - high jump (2nd), long jump (6th), 4 x 100 relay (4th)
  24. Holden Showalter - high jump (5th)
  25. Brian Coker - pole vault (1st)
  26. Grant Hymas - pole vault (2nd)
  27. Noah Veare - pole vault (3rd)
  28. Aiden Browning - pole vault (4th)
  29. Sam Sandoval - shot put (3rd)
  30. Maddox Bailey - discus (7th - alternate)
  31. Fiona Ryan - pole vault (1st)
  32. Emily Hansen - long jump (6th), triple jump (2nd)
  33. Kyra Scala - triple jump (4th), long jump (7th - alternate)
  34. Callie Trapnell - triple jump (6th)
  35. Julia Mann - shot put (2nd), discus (2nd)
  36. Dominique Wilbon - shot put (3rd)

Athletes who made the all time list or improved their standings on the lists include:

Tons of personal bests in the distance events and jumps:

Bella Vista members of the CVC all conference team are listed below. To make the team an athlete or relay team competing at the varsity level needed to place in the top two in an event. Each athlete will recieve a CVC all conference patch for placing first or second:

Individual varsity conference champions can be viewed in the above lists. Frosh/soph conference champions are listed below.

This was a tough week for Bella Vista because we had to host the meet, train around and in between meet days and compete at a high level. I believe we came through looking like champions though. I am so proud of our teams and how they fought to be the best that they could be. If this was your last meet, try to come out next week to help out (hurdle crew sign up) and to cheer on your team at the next level. GO BRONCOS!

Around this time of year, coaches always say that it has been a long season. For me it has flown by like a hurricane. We are now heading into the post season with the Sac Joaquin Section Division 2 individual and team titles on the line. Our girls team is the defending D2 champions from way back in 2019 and we are one of the favorites next week. Our boys team was 3rd in 2019 and looking to improve on that placement. Bella Vista has 36 athletes who qualified totaling 54 entries! It will be an exciting meet to witness so come on by and help out (volunteer sign up) or just come out to support and watch how amazing our Broncos can be!

Sacramento Meet of Champions (4-23-22): First, a big thank you to all of the parent and student volunteers that came out to help at this meet. A high profile meet like this is always under the microscope for potential criticism but because of your hard work we received little to none. You are what makes BV track and field the tip of the arrow!

The weather on Saturday was near perfect in the mid-70s with a slight wind coming out of the northwest. Below are some of the coverage the meet received and some BV highlights.

Resuts | Video | Pics! | Pics 2 | Meet Website

With so many great performance this late in the season we are very excited for what is coming up the next few weeks! Starting next week (May 4 & 6) we begin the post season with our CVC prelims and finals. This meet will determine the final team champions in all four divisions (frosh/soph girls, frosh/soph boys, varsity girls, varsity boys). The Broncos are at the top or near the top of all catagories so make sure you come out to cheer them on at BV next week!

The following week we go up against the best in the Sac Joaquin Section (SJS) division (2) again at Bella Vista HS. The meet will take place on May 11 and 13 and will determine which individuals qualify on to the SJS Masters meet and will crown the section division 2 champion in the team competition.

After that, we travel to Davis High School for the SJS Masters meet. This meet is the qualifier to the California State Meet. So, as you can see, there is s lot happening for the Broncos in May! We will get information out to everyone regarding our awards night soon. GO BRONCOS!

CVC Meet #3 (4-20-22): Our third CVC meet was a bit colder and windier than we would have liked but we were able to accomplish what we came to do. Our teams competed very well winning 7 of 8 dual meets as you can see below - Results | Video! | Pics!

                                  Varsity Girls                                     
                   Bella Vista   92.00     43.00 Inderkum                      
                   Bella Vista   86.00     45.00 Woodcreek                     
                      Inderkum   93.00     27.00 Roseville                     
                     Woodcreek  106.00      9.00 Roseville                     
 
                                  Varsity Boys                                    
                   Bella Vista   69.00     57.00 Inderkum                      
                     Woodcreek   94.00     42.00 Bella Vista                   
                      Inderkum   60.00     57.00 Roseville                     
                     Woodcreek  112.00     23.00 Roseville 

                                Frosh/Soph Girls                                     
                   Bella Vista   79.00     39.00 Inderkum                      
                   Bella Vista   83.00     43.00 Woodcreek                     
                     Roseville   66.00     34.00 Inderkum                      
                     Roseville   66.00     40.00 Woodcreek                     
 
                                Frosh/Soph Boys                                  
                   Bella Vista  122.00     14.00 Inderkum                      
                   Bella Vista   93.00     43.00 Woodcreek                     
                     Roseville   44.00     44.00 Inderkum                      
                     Woodcreek   67.00     28.00 Roseville

Some standout performances came from Isa Rasmussen in the long jump where she posted a season best 17-06. Shaymus Brockman had a nice double win day in the 200 meters (25.40) and 400 meters (57.03) as did Polina Bardusova in the 100 (18.72) and 300 (54.75) hurdles. McKenzie Childs cracked the 1600 meter all time list with a solid effort running 5:29.27.

Going into the conference finals the Broncos are in first plane in the varsity girls, frosh/soph boys and frosh/soph girls with the varsity boys in second place. We need a strong effort from all for divisions to stay on top of the CVC this season.

Next up is the Sacramento Meet of Champions (April 23) then we head into the post season starting with the CVC Prelims (May 4) and Finals (May 6). It is about to get very exciting for the Broncos the next few weeks!

Arcadia Invitational (4-8-22 to 4-9-22): The long, boring drive down Interstate 5 always seems to be worth it when we arrive at Arcadia High School and experience the premier high school track and field meet in the United States. Arcadia never disappoints and once again neither did the Broncos. Bella Vista took down 15 brave athletes willing to show their quality against the nations best - Results | Photos | Video 1 | Video 2.

Results | Photos | Video

The meet started off with Friday evening's "Burning Batons" session featuring every possible relay race imaginable on the track. On Friday, BV competed in the girls 4 x 800 (McKenzie Childs, Darci Keele, Lucia Hernandez, Leila Swenson) and boys 4 x 1600 relays (Kellen Kirby, Gilbert Sanchez-Torres, Bode Briseno, Noah Balla-Hawkins). The girls showed great form posting a time (10:14.83 - video) that placed them 9th on the BV all time lists! The boys ran a solid time (18:53.35 - video) placing them 7th on the all time list.

Coming off of an injury, Leila Swenson took a shot at the 3200 on Friday night even though she ran the anchor leg of the 4 x 800 just a couple hours before. It was great to see Leila competing healthy again as she posted a great time of 11:17.17. Not her best time but very impressive considering she has taken some time off to recover.

After getting a good night's sleep the Broncos started off Saturday morning with a Boom Boom! The girls 4 x 100 Relay team (Katy O'Brien, Emily Bluemel, Ryan Ragagli, Isa Rasmussen) were scheduled to run in the 4th heat of the 400 relay which started at 10:00 am. At the same time Isabella Chilcutt was beginning the girls high jump.

Our girl's relay team has improved on their time in almost every meet this season, chipping away a few tenths here and a few there each week. On Saturday at Arcadia, the girls decided to take off a big chunk of time all at once and it was started off by Katy "Boom Boom" O'Brien's brilliant lead-off leg. Katy broke out ahead of the entire field and handed the baton off to Emily Bluemel in first place. Emily tore a path down the backstretch extending the Broncos lead and giving Ryan Ragagli room to get the batton to the team's anchor Isa Rasmussen. Ryan was out in lane 8 and unable to see the field but did a great job holding off the other teams to get the baton to Isa in first place. Isa, as she always does, fought hard to keep the lead and had a perfect lean at the line to take the heat win. Their time of 48.69 was the third best in school history (video).

As the 4 x 100 relay team's fireworks were going off on the track, Chilly Chilcutt was putting together a flawless series of jumps in the high jump at the other end of the stadium. Passing the opening height of 4-11, Chilly had first attempt clearances at 5-1, 5-3 and 5-5 (video).

With three close misses at 5-07, Chilly found herself in the familiar position of being in yet another jump-off for first place at Arcadia. The bar was placed at 5-07 again with each of the two tied jumpers receiving one more attempt to break the tie. Chilly was first up in the jump-off and immediately put the pressure on the other jumper easily clearing 5-07 (video). After a miss by her competition, Chilly was awarded the win!

Sometime during the girls high jump Katy O'Brien stepped up to the starting line of the girls 100 hurdles and posted her second best time ever running 15.51 (video) good for 4th place in the heat. Next on the track was Harrison Low in the 400. Harrison had to run way out in lane 9 making it difficult for him to judge the pace of the race but he was able to finish with a solid time of 50.16 (video). Katy was up again in the 300 hurdles and ran 47.44 (video) finishing her third event of the day.

After a short break our boys' and girls' distance medley relays were up. The boys team of Bode Briseno, Kellen Kirby, Harrison Low and Gilbert Sanchez-Torres ran 11:15.50 (video) and the girls team of McKenzie Childs, Isa Rasmussen, Darci Keele and Leila Swenson ran the 11th fastest time in school history posting a time of 12:59.26 (video).

Later that evening, senior distance ace Sean Lacey ran a very good time of 9:06.88 (video) in what the announcer was calling the greatest 3200 meter race in high school history.

Through the years, the Arcadia Invitational has been a great place to make memories. This is one of the things the coaching staff is trying to do with the BV track team, offer opportunities make good memories. I know that I made a few good memories and can't wait to make more in the coming weeks leading up to the state meet. GO BRONCOS!

Bronco Speed Festival (4-2-22): Another beautiful day weather wise at Bella Vista on Saturday following the Granite Bay field meet. Only the sprinters and hurdlers competed on this day of speed. Most of the runners in the meet achieved personal records (PRs) or season records (SRs) including the Broncos as you can see at this link. It is amazing to see so many PRs and SRs in one meet. This was a very successful meet for the Broncos all the way around.

We had a number of standouts representing the BV beginning with Emily Bluemel in the 100m and 200m. Emily ran personal bests in both races moving her up on the 100 meter (6th all time) and 200 meter (10th all time) all time lists. Isa Rasmussen moved up to number 11 all time in the 400 meters breaking 60 seconds for the first time. Ryan Ragagli ran a PR in both hurdle races placing her 24th on the 100 hurdle list and 17th on the 300 hurdle list. Another hurdler that has been improving is Katy O'Brien. She ran a huge PR in the 100 hurdles moving her up to number 4 on the all time list and into 4th place on the performance list for the entire Sac Joaquin Section. The varsity girls 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams improved once again this week showing our sprinting depth to the greater Sacramento area. The 4 x 100 relay team of Katy O'Brien, Emily Bluemel, Ryan Ragagli, and Isa Rasmussen has improved their time almost every week this season and their 49.16 was the second time in four days that they have lowered it and moved them to number 5 on the all time list. The girls 4 x 400 relay debuted on the all time list at number 17.

On the boys side we had a number of improvements in the PR and SR catagories. Follow the link above to view our impovement. The boys 4 x 100 relay (Aiden Browning, Elijah Shaw, Jeremiah Schurr, Owen Dismukes) medaled at 46.15 good for 5th place. Sophomore Bryce Lovins won two medals in the 110 and 300 hurdles placing 4th in each race.

This is the first time we have ever tried this format for a meet. I hope it becomes a popular format with the area schools because it is much easier to manage than a full invitational. We have a break from meets this week with a small group of athletes going down to Southern California for the prestigious Arcadia Invitational. I will post links on the home page sometime this week so that everyone can follow the Broncos in action down south.

Granite Bay Field Festival (4-1-22): On Friday we competed in a field event only meet. Many of the BV field athletes enjoyed this unique format mostly because they could concentrate on their jumping and throwing and not have to worry about checking out for a running event. It was a very laid back atmosphere with perfect field event weather. The awards given were towels and I am proud to report that the Broncos brought home 12 of them making it a very solid outing in the win column as well as for marks achieved relative to all of the other BV all time greats!

Several personal and season records were achieved on Friday and can be viewed at this link - Results. Look for the PR (personal record) or SR (season record) after the athletes mark.

The top three in each event won a custom meet towel. Here is the breakdown of BV winners:

CVC Meet #2 (3-30-22): Great weather conditions for our second CVC meet at Roseville high school was not the only reason the Broncos showed such excellent form. We were only scoring against River Valley HS who had fewer numbers than the Broncos and as a result we often were competing against ourselves. This actually made it more difficult to achieve great marks. The main reason we had so many great perfomances is that we have so many team members who have been putting in the time and doing the hard work that creates great perfomances. Results | Photos 1 | Photos 2

As a team we swept River Valley with four solid performances as you can see below. 

                                  Varsity Girls                                     
                   Bella Vista  105.00     24.00 River Valley                  
                  River Valley   51.00     39.00 Roseville                     
 
                                  Varsity Boys                                      
                   Bella Vista   84.00     30.00 River Valley                  
                     Roseville   62.00     41.00 River Valley

                                  Frosh/Soph Girls                                     
                   Bella Vista  100.00     10.00 River Valley                  
                     Roseville   85.00      9.00 River Valley                  
 
                                  Frosh/Soph Boys                                
                   Bella Vista  116.00     18.00 River Valley                  
                     Roseville   59.00     24.00 River Valley

Katy O'Brien shined the brightest for the Broncos at Roseville HS with four performances that made it onto the BV all time lists. Individually, she won the 100 meters (12.72 - 7th all time), 200 meters (26.09 - 11th all time) and 100 hurdles (15.86 - 7th all time). She also started the 4 x 100 relay (O'Brien, Bluemel, Ragagli, Rasmussen) which ran a solo 49.35 effort good for 6th all time. For the boys Gilbert Sanchez-Torres one the 3200 with a debut all time mark of 9:51.94 placing him 24th on the all time list.

In the field events Isabella Chilcutt jumped 5-06 in the high jump which ties her for the 4th best jump in California right now. Sophomore Fiona Ryan had a big PR in the pole vault going 10-01 good for 13th all time.

We have one more CVC meet at Woodcreek HS (April 20) before our conference finals which will be at Bella Vista. This meet will be our most challenging conference meet of the season so far so get pumped Broncos!

Bronco Roundup Distance Carnival (3-25-22): The weather at meet start time was a little on the warm side but cooled nicely as the sun lowered making for perfect distance running conditions. Results

This was the first meet that we hosted this year and the first invitational meet that we have been able to host since the 2018 season. Because of a ridiculously managed track contruction project and the COVID-19 pandemic we have not been able to have a multi-school invitational at our school in 4 years. Not a single senior has experienced a BV hosted invitational at BV because nobody on the team was in high school in the spring of 2018 so this one was special.

There were quite a few personal and seasonal bests for the Broncos at this meet. You can view them by following this link. Look for the PR (personal record) or SR (season record) after the athletes time.

Some notable performances were Kellen Kirby in the boys 800 meters. In the most exciting race of the night Kellen ran 2:00.45 for a very close 2nd place.

McKenzie Childs, in cow shorts, cracked the 3200 meter all time list breaking the 12 minute barrier for the first time running 11:56.93.

Finally, Sean Lacey took the fast heat in the boys 3200 meters earning a coveted custom cowboy hat going 9:31.44.

Husky Invitational (3-19-22): Saturday's meet started out a bit cold with some light rain but after 10:30 am the rain stopped and an hour later the track started to dry. We had a small group of Broncos competing but even with a small group we had some great performances. Results | Video

Katy O'Brien led the way with a personal best and win in the 300 hurdles. She clocked 46.60 to move her to number 5 on the 300 hurdles all time list. Personal bests were achieved by freshman Taylor Douglas who placed 3rd in the long jump at 15-0, and Callie Trapnell who earned a 5th place medal triple jumping 29-05.75. Not to be outdone, the girls frosh/soph 4 x 100 relay team of Polina Bardusova, Uriah Walton, Lia Anselmino, and Taylor Douglas took home the gold medal with a season best 54.26.

Next up we have our first home meet on Friday, March 25 a meet we like to call the Bronco Roundup Distance & Pole Vault Carnival. We are always looking for help with this meet. Next up is our second CVC meet on March 30 at Roseville. Bus info coming soon. Then the field athletes go to Granite Bay on April 1 followed by the sprinters and hurdlers back at BV for our Speed Festival (again we need as much help as the team can give). A busy two weeks coming up. Be ready with helping hands!

CVC Meet #1 (3-16-22): Our first conference meet of 2022 was held at Antelope High School. The meet started off sunny with a 10 to 15 mph wind out of the north that settled as the meet progressed. It is usually difficult to perform after you have been in school all day but that fact didn't seem to hinder the Broncos on Wednesday. As you can see below BV did outstanding as a team only loosing to Antelope at the varsity boys level. Results | Video

                                   Varsity Girls                                     
                   Bella Vista  116.00     15.00 Antelope                      
                     Roseville   48.00     43.00 Antelope                      
                     Yuba City   96.00     14.00 Antelope                      
                   Bella Vista  114.00      7.00 Roseville                     
                   Bella Vista   96.00     35.00 Yuba City                     
                     Yuba City   87.00     20.00 Roseville                     
 
                                   Varsity Boys                                      
                      Antelope   67.00     60.00 Bella Vista                   
                     Roseville   71.00     54.00 Antelope                      
                      Antelope   65.00     48.00 Yuba City                     
                   Bella Vista   78.00     54.00 Roseville                     
                   Bella Vista   65.00     49.00 Yuba City                     
                     Roseville   62.00     55.00 Yuba City

                                Frosh/Soph Girls                                     
                   Bella Vista   81.00      9.00 Antelope                      
                     Roseville   79.00     11.00 Antelope                      
                     Yuba City   78.00     18.00 Antelope                      
                   Bella Vista   62.00     54.00 Roseville                     
                   Bella Vista   74.00     44.00 Yuba City                     
                     Roseville   67.00     54.00 Yuba City                     
 
                                 Frosh/Soph Boys                                      
                   Bella Vista   76.00     59.00 Antelope                      
                      Antelope   70.00     30.00 Roseville                     
                      Antelope   78.00     22.00 Yuba City                     
                   Bella Vista  105.00     25.00 Roseville                     
                   Bella Vista  102.00     28.00 Yuba City                     
                     Roseville   44.00     41.00 Yuba City

Making there way up the ladder: For the fourth meet in a row we again had several all time performances:

Personal Bests: The meet was full of personal bests for the Broncos which is a good indication of our fitness while still early on in our season schedule. Follow this link to view yesterday's meet results. Pay close attention to the letters PR and SR after each result mark. PR = personal record and SR = season record. The Broncos cleaned up with personal and season records!

We are splitting the squad this weekend with the distance runners traveling to Dublin high school to run in the Dublin Distance Fiesta and the rest of the team heading down to Sheldon High School for the Husky Invitational. It looks like nature is throwing some rain our way but because we are Broncos we never let that hinder us. BV is at it's best when the challenge is large. GO BRONCOS!

Sturgeon Invitational (3-12-22): Great weather today for the Sturgeon Invitational, a welcome site this time of year in the Sacramento Valley and at a track meet in general. We had some great performances on the track and in the field as well. The meet was team scored this week unlike last week at Sac State. This meant we were not only monitoring the individuals on the team but how the team was doing overall in the scoring tables. (Results | Video)

Team momentum: The Bronco varsity girls once again came out on top with a commanding win over some of the top division 1 programs in the area. BV scored a total of 84 points to top second place Del Oro (69) and third place Oak Ridge (52).

Winners: Individually we won 27 medals over the course of the day and won three events. Our girls varsity 4 x 100 made it three weeks in a row remaining undefeated in the Sacramento area. The team of Katy O'Brien, Emily Bluemel, Ryan Ragagli, and Isa Rasmussen lowered their area leading time to 49.54, an encouraging mark this early in the season. Chilly Chilcutt again won her specialty in the high jump going 5-02 and Katy O'Brien ran a personal best in the 300 hurdles winning in a time of 47.62.

All Timers: There were several all time list marks acheived throughout the day:

Our first league meet is on Wednesday, March 16 at Antelope HS. This is always an exciting time because it is one of the only times that we can all come together as a team and cheer for each other. The CVC meets are total team efforts and it will take all of us to bring home another conference title. Be ready for some great track and field on Wednesday!

Sac State Classic (3-5-22): The Sacramento State High School Track Classic has a reputation of inviting a good amount of schools but also has been known to invite a good amount of rain. The 2022 version of the meet finally was a dry one from start to finish. The weather was, however, colder than it has been in a few weeks. When the meet started at 10:15 am the thermometer showed 43 degrees so it was tougher than expected to get muscles contracting at the desired rate. Even so, the Broncos were able to post some impressive marks which included BV athletes making it onto the all time lists and taking home some winners t-shirts. (Results | Video) | Harrison Low Interview!

Winners:

All Time List Performances:

Next Saturday the Broncos are at Granite Bay High School and it looks like the weather will be in the 70s. This is exciting news because we usually perform better in the warmer weather and since we have looked so good in the cold I expect big things from BV next week!

Glenn Poole Invitational (2-26-22): It was an exciting day for everyone in the Oakmont stadium as this meet marked the first multi-school invitational in the Sacramento area in two years. At the 9:00 am start time the weather was brisk at 35 to 40 degrees but warmed into the low 60s in the afternoon. (Results | Video | Sean Lacey Interview | Isabella Chilcutt Interview)

Highlights:

Team Effort: The BV Varsity girls led the way in the team competition taking first place with a score of 101 points to Pleasant Groves 74.5 points. The varsity boys were a solid 4th place with 42 points as were the frosh/soph boys with 57 points. The frosh/soph girls had some key team members missing but still managed 12th place.

Gold Medal Performances:

All Time List Performances: All time lists are a collection of the best marks in every event that we compete in and when a mark is achieved that is good enough to make it we add it to the event page. These marks represent the best times/marks achieved in school history.

When you consider all the things that kids have had to get through these last two years it is really amazing how awesome the Broncos did in just a single meet, our first meet, in February! The coaching staff is very excited about working with this team this season. Keep up the hard work and it will pay off. Keep focusing on the process of making yourselves the best that you can be everyday and it will pay off. This was just the first meet and we have a long season ahead of us but as you can all see we are pretty awesome with only a few weeks of training under us so think about what we could be at the end of the season!