The academic year is winding down at Oxford Academy, which means the students are focused on taking final exams and preparing for multiple Advance Placement tests. But that didn’t stop the Girls Track and Field Team from focusing on winning the Academy League Championship hosted at Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine on Thursday May 5. The Girls Team entered the finals as last year’s defending champions and they successfully retained the title by outpointing runner-up Crean Lutheran of Irvine by a score of 138-127.
Along the way, the Lady Patriots earned wins in 6 events and finished 2nd in another 4 events. The Boys championship was won by St. Margaret’s of San Juan Capistrano while Oxford Academy finished 4th, just one point from 3rd place. The girls team performance included record-breaking showings from the Lady Patriots’ top 3 point earners.
Oxford was led by UC Berkeley-bound Emily Huynh who contributed 30 points including winning the Triple Jump (35’11”) and Long Jump (18’4”), finished 2nd in the 100M dash and was part of the 2nd place finishing 4 x 100M relay team. Huynh’s Long Jump performance set a new Academy League record. Last year’s league MVP, Junior Rachel Gagnon scored 20 points by winning the 300M Hurdles (48.07) and 100M Hurdles (15.70) events with her 100M Hurdle efforts setting a new Academy League record for the event. 2015 CIF Masters Finalist, Junior Xochitl Bryson also scored 20 points on the field and she placed first in the Shot Put (35’9”) as well as the Discus (119’10”) where she set a new league record.
Oxford also received major contributions from girls who placed in multiple events. Junior Hae Rang Park scored 18.5 points by finishing 2nd in both the 100M and 300M hurdle events, and earned additional points as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams. Sophomore Teresa Falcon grabbed 12 points by finishing 3rd in both the Shot Put and Discus events. Junior Rachel Chen earned 9 points by placing in the Long Jump, High Jump, and 100M Hurdles. Freshman Angie Gagnon chipped in 6 points by placing in 3 events, Triple Jump, 100M dash, and the 4×100 relay team.
The Oxford boys team finished 4th and were only kept out of 3rd place by a single point.
The Patriots had some strong performances and had four participants scoring over 14 points each. Oxford was led by Long Distance runner Senior Albert Nguyen who scored 24 points by finishing 2nd in the 3200M, 1600M, 800M runs. Senior Jairaj Singh contributed 17.5 points with victory in the 300M hurdles (42.04), a 3rd place finish in the 110M hurdles, and scored points as part of the 4×100 and 4 x 400 relay teams. Sophomore Richard Chau earned 17 points by winning the Triple Jump, and scored points in the Long Jump, High Jump, and 4×100 relay.
Senior Tham Sitthole scored 14 points by placing 2nd in the High Jump and 3rd in the Triple Jump. The next step is to have a strong performance this Saturday, May 14, in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 Prelims in Carpentaria, where Oxford will be sending 13 athletes, seven from the girl’s team and six from the boy’s squad. Participants qualify by placing in the top 3 of the Academy League for each event.
2016 Girls CIF Qualifiers: Emily Huynh – 100M Sprint, Long Jump, Triple Jump, 4 x100 relay, Hae Rang Park – 100M Hurdles, 300M Hurdles, 4 x 100 relay Rachel Gagnon – 100M Hurdles, 300M Hurdles, Xochitl Bryson – Shot Put, Discus Throw, Teresa Falcon – Shot Put, Discus Throw, Nandita Rangu – 4 x 100 relay, Angie Gagnon – 4 x 100 relay2016 Boys CIF Qualifiers: Jairaj Singh – 100M Hurdles, 300M Hurdles, Albert Nguyen – 800M Run, 1600M Run, 3200M Run, Dan Ta – 400M dash, Richard Chau – Triple Jump, Long Jump, Tham Sitthole – Triple Jump, Randy Yiv – Long Jump.
The team will look to improve on last year’s strong results where the Patriots were able to advance three athletes to the CIF Finals.
