3/23/19 40th Annual Mt. Carmel Invitational

The 40th Annual Mt. Carmel Invitational Track & Field competition took place at Sundevil Stadium this Saturday. Hundreds of track athletes from across the country participated in the one-day event, with both local and out-of-town talent taking home some serious hardware.

The most exciting moment of the day came in the Division 1 Boys 1600-Meter Run. Crawford Colts track and cross country star, Nader Ali spent most of the race in or around 12th place, until the last lap. Ali turned on the afterburners and caught up to Mission Hills’ Jonathan Velasquez, beating him to the finish line at the last possible moment. Ali finished with a time of 4:17.82, just .09 seconds ahead of Velasquez. Ali’s time was good enough to move him into CIF State’s Top-Ten. He is headed to Cal State San Marcos after graduating. Daniel Rubin (Sage Creek), Hunter Sweet (Point Loma), and Nick Salz (Torrey Pines) rounded off the top 5.

In the Division 1 Girls 3200 Meter Run, it was Poway’s Sophia Chittle leading the way for most of the race, only to be outlasted by Brea Olinda’s Mia Douge. Douge crossed the finish line at 11:18.47, while Chittle finished with a time of 11:21.44. Mt. Carmel’s Sophie Jones finished 3rd, High Tech High’s Estelle Gladden in 4th, and Vista’s Kaitlyn Rojero in 5th.

On the Boys side of the 3200-Meter Run, we saw Antonio Dinis, from El Camino finish in 1st place. He had a time of 9:44.69. Scripps Ranch’s Giancarlo de Silva took home silver with a time of 9:46.09, while Matthew Henry, from Granite Hills, took teh bronze medal with a time of 9:47.69. Point Loma’s Jake Richardson and Rancho Bernardo’s Trevor Boaz rounded off the top 5.

In the Division 1 Girls 1600 Meter Run, it was Rancho Beranrdo’s Jacey Farmer taking home gold with a time of 5:05.89. She outlasted Bella Longo from Mission Vista, Eastlake’s Luz Mercado, Whitney Valenti from Brea Olinda, and Coronado’s Teresa Perez.

Madison’s Aysha Shaheed finished in 2nd place in the 100-Meter Dash. She had a time of 11.87, while the winner, Jazmyne Frost of Serra Gardena, had a time of 11.60. Shaeed’s teammate, Kenan Christon, also finished in 2nd place in the Boys 100-Meter Dash, he finished just .03 seconds behind the winner, Christian Grubb of Notre Dame.