Livingston’s Diego Solis completes weight events double at Section track
Livingston High senior Diego Solis had exhausted all options Thursday. To reach the discus finals, he needed to deliver a clutch throw in the third round.
Solis did better than that. He launched 48 feet, 1/2 inch. Not only did he stay in the competition, he eventually won with that throw for his second title at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV-V Track Championship.
“I was excited. This is what I worked for,” said Solis, who also captured the shot put title on Tuesday.
Solis wasn’t the only Livingston athlete who excelled at Al Brenda Track on the campus of Cal State Stanislaus. Tina Lao won the shot put on Tuesday and took second in the discus two days later.
Solis will advance for the first time to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championship next Thursday and Friday at Elk Grove High. Last year at the Division IV-V meet, he placed eighth in the shot put and did not qualify in the discus. His improvement over a year’s time is no less than dramatic.
His confidence no doubt was boosted last winter when he won the Western Athletic Conference wrestling title as a heavyweight. He carried that into the track season. It led to his Division IV-V victory in the shot put over runner-up Matt Gallego of Escalon, though Solis’ 48-1/2 was off his personal best of 48-8. In the discus, he recorded a PR of 156-7 on his second attempt for the win.
Solis was inspired by Livingston High graduate Aldo Guzman, another weight events star, and credits him for his development.
“Even if he was having a bad day, he would encourage me to keep going and do better,” Solis said.
The top five finishers in each event extended their seasons as clouds hung above the Cal State Stanislaus venue. The meet was conducted this year without Valley Oak League athletes, who were promoted to the Division II-III meet at Bella Vista High.
It created many new opportunities for the field, beginning with the discus finalists who bypassed Oakdale junior Hannah Chappell, the two-time Masters champion and state runner-up.
The result was a spirited WAC matchup between Lao and Patterson junior Esther Ekwueme. They exchanged the lead twice before Ekwueme tossed 130 feet, a personal best by seven feet, on her first throw of the finals. Lao, who won the shot put with a throw of 38-3 on Tuesday, settled for second (120-1).
Lao, a junior, had beaten Ekwueme at the WAC meet.
“My throws were consistent. I still could have done better,” Lao said.
Still, Lao improved over her third-place finish in the discus and second in the shot last year at the Division IV-V meet. Like everyone else, she’ll target a top-three finish at Masters that would qualify her for the State Championship on June 5-6 in Clovis.
There is an alternate route, however, for her to advance. Lao also could meet qualifying standards that would automatically carry her to the state meet. Her targets are 41-8 in the shot and 132-8 in the discus. Her bests to date are 41-0 and 124-6, respectively.
“I think I have a better chance of hitting those marks,” Lao said. “With more practice next week, I’ll be prepared.”
In other Division IV-V results, Hilmar senior Hudson Harris placed second in the 300-meter hurdles (40.14) behind Garrett Jones of Forest Lake Christian.
Pacheco senior Mark Joseph earned a close second in the 400 (50.04 seconds) behind D’Mitre Jones of Cordova.
Hilmar senior Dani Olson capped a busy day with a second place in the 100 hurdles (15.79) and a third in the 300 hurdles (47.45).
Kenzye Spears, another Hilmar senior, advanced with a fourth in the 1,600 (4 minutes, 29.92 seconds).
El Capitan freshman Dominique Navarrette is Masters-bound after his third place in the discus (142-10).
Los Banos senior Ricky Hall cleared 6-2 in the high jump on Tuesday for a second place behind Colfax’s Scott Mosier, who won via fewer misses.
This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Livingston’s Diego Solis completes weight events double at Section track."