Hurdler Thiara earns first CIF track and field medal for Sierra

Sierra High friends and school officials surrounded junior Bikram Thiara on Saturday night after the hurdler made school history.

The hugs, pats on the back and celebration photos were filled with meaning. Moments before at the 98th CIF State Track and Field Championships, Thiara rallied to a sixth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles. Around his neck hung the first track and field state medal ever earned by a Timberwolves athlete.

“I’m very honored and very thankful right now,” Thiara said. “All the hard work I’ve put in this season has paid off.”

Thiara, next-to-last among the nine finalists at the turn, rallied for his medal with a lifetime-best time of 37.82 seconds. The night before, he qualified seventh with his first P.R. of the meet, a 38.05.

Falling behind does not bother Thiara, who also plays basketball for the Timberwolves. Last week, he overtook five runners down the stretch at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships in Elk Grove for the third-place finish that sent him to Clovis.

“When I get to the last 100 meters, whatever is left in the tank, I empty the tank,” he said.

Thiara’s surprising performance capped an exceptional season by Sierra athletics and a powerhouse year by the Valley Oak League.

Earlier in the day as the temperature reached 104 degrees, Oakdale senior Hannah Chappell put an exclamation point on her brilliant career by placing third in the discus (149 feet, 3 inches). It was the third straight state medal (she was seventh as a freshman) for the four-time Section Masters champion, who soon will be on her way to Alabama.

More than 7,500 watched at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium as Kimball junior Deion Lightfoot-Shelton continued the VOL theme with his second in the 110 hurdles (13.97). He trailed only Joseph Anderson of Upland (13.59).

Lathrop junior high jumper Isaias Hunter showed some competitive fight by clearing the opening height of 6-4 on his final try. The Masters runner-up hit 6-6 on his second attempt but bowed out after three misses at 6-8.

Modesto Christian junior long jumper Nicole Warwick choked back a few tears after her hard-luck seventh-place finish, one spot away from a medal. Her day’s best of 18-9  1/4 missed the podium by only five inches.

A tight hamstring, which has bothered her all season, curbed the lift she needed.

“No excuse,” said Warwick, another Masters runner-up. “I should have jumped further.”

Like Thiara, Warwick is a basketball-track star for MC. She said she will concentrate on track this summer.

“I’m going to get to the podium,” the two-time state qualifier vowed.

This story was originally published June 5, 2016 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Hurdler Thiara earns first CIF track and field medal for Sierra."