SPORTS & OUTDOORS
DOLPHIN REPORT BY ZACH CAVANAGH, DANA POINT TIMES
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Dawson Places 2nd, Markow Finishes 10th at State Track Championships Dana Hills distance demon Jai Dawson wrapped up his Dolphin career with hardware at the 102nd CIF State Track and Field Championships on Saturday, May 28, at Buchanan High School in Clovis. Dawson, a senior, ended his high school running career with a silver medal in the boys 800-meter final to finish on the podium in the state top six. In a tight race, the New Zealand native came across the line in 1:51.28, just 0.46 seconds behind first place. Elvis Delvecchio of Thacher, who also edged out Dawson by .02 seconds at CIF-SS Masters, won at 1:50.82. Behind Dawson, Jacob Snodgress of San Marcos finished third at 1:51.32, which ended up as the sixth-fastest 800 time in the state this season. Delvecchio grabbed the state’s third-fastest time at the CIF-SS Division 4 preliminaries at 1:50.13, and Dawson held on to the state’s fourth-fastest time from all the way back on March 12 with a personal-record 1:50.63 at the Irvine/ASICS Invitational. Dawson’s 800 at state was his third-fastest run in the event this season. Dawson finished his senior season with the 800-meter title at the Orange County Championships, South Coast League Finals and CIF-SS Division 2 Finals. He also won county, league and CIF-SS titles in the 1,600-meter run. This was Dawson’s second run in a CIF State Championship event this school year, as the senior captured the CIF State Division II cross country title in November. Elsewhere for the Dolphins, junior distance runner Allura Markow also qualified for the CIF State Finals in the girls 1,600. Markow was clocked at a personal-record 4:50.89 in the final, but she finished off the podium in 10th place. Freshman phenom Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura, the state leader in the 1,600 since April, won the event at 4:36.67. Engelhardt also won the CIF-SS Division 2 title ahead of Markow. The third through 11th-place finishers in the race all posted personal records.
Local Area Athletes Find Success at State Track Championships Including Dawson and Markow, there Dana Point Times June 3-9, 2022
Dana Hills distance runner Jai Dawson (third from right) finished second in the boys 800-meter final at the CIF State Track and Field Championships on Saturday, May 28, at Buchanan High School in Clovis. It was the senior’s second run in a state championship event this year after winning a state cross country title in November. Photo: Courtesy of Dylan Stewart
were seven local area athletes from San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano who competed at the CIF State Track Championships last weekend. JSerra junior thrower Brendon See won the state title in the boys discus throw. The Dana Hills transfer tossed a personal-record mark of 203 feet, 10 inches. San Clemente senior Caroline Hawkes was the only other local athlete to find the state podium, with a fourth-place finish in the girls 400-meter sprint. The Montana State-bound sprinter was clocked at 55.47. JSerra senior Ashlee Gallegos finished 11th in the girls 800 at 2:16.22. St. Margaret’s senior pole vaulter Celeste Taylor and JSerra junior thrower Sienna Lambert both did not advance out of the state preliminaries. Lambert finished 13th in the girls discus throw, just one spot out of the qualifying top 12. Taylor finished 17th in the girls pole vault.
Nick Davis Swings at CIF State Golf Championships Dana Hills golfer Nick Davis capped off a phenomenal freshman season and a tremendous campaign for the Dolphins overall in the CIF State Boys Golf Championships at San Gabriel Country Club on Wednesday, June 1. Davis carded a 3-over-par 74 to finish
tied for 25th in the 54-player field. Brandon Knight of Pleasanton Foothill made seven birdies to win the state title with a 5-under-par 66. Eric Lee of Sunny Hills and Edan Cui of Crystal Springs Uplands tied for second with cards of 4-under-par 67. De La Salle of Concord placed three golfers in the top six to post the only under-par team score and win the state team title with a 3-under-par 352. Davis opened on the back nine at San Gabriel and began inauspiciously with a bogey on the 439-yard, par-4 10th hole. The freshman fell further back with another bogey on the 415-yard, par-4 16th hole and a costly double bogey on the 452-yard, par-4 17th. However, after the turn to the front nine, Davis found some early life, as he nailed back-to-back birdies on the 525yard, par-5 second hole and the 381-yard, par-4 third hole. Davis’ gains would be negated with bogeys on the 195-yard, par-3 fifth hole and the 418-yard, par-4 seventh hole. Despite the setback, the freshman was able to finish the season in style with a birdie on the 183-yard, par-3 ninth. It was thin margins in a packed field at the CIF State Championships, as ahead of Davis, five players tied for 20th at 2-over-par, five players tied for 15th at 1-over-par and another six players claimed a top-10 finish with a tie for ninth at even par.
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While Davis’ state finish wasn’t as high as he might’ve liked, it still was a great accomplishment to qualify for state in an incredibly strong postseason run for the freshman and the Dana Hills team. Davis won the South Coast League individual title, was named league MVP and was one of five Dolphins to qualify for the CIF-SS individual postseason, including senior Jonathan Shelton, juniors Alex Pain and Cade Hansen, and sophomore Nick Fry. Davis, Fry and Pain each advanced from the CIF-SS Southern Regional to the CIF-SS Individual Championships. Dana Hills finished seventh at the CIF-SS Division 1 team championship to advance to the CIF-SS SCGA Regional Qualifier, which ran concurrently with the CIF-SS Individual Championships. Davis finished tied for ninth and would have been the only Dolphin to advance, but Dana Hills qualified as a team for the CIF/SCGA Southern State Regional. It was the program’s first-ever trip as a team to the Regional level of competition. In the Regional at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena on May 26, Davis shot a 2-under-par 70 to finish tied for fifth and qualify for the CIF State Championships. Davis rolled in six birdies to negate two bogeys and a double bogey and advance. Dana Hills finished seventh with a 20-over-par 380 to end its team season. DP danapointtimes.com
