Standout sprinter Hayden Xavier doesn’t make finals in 100, 200 meters
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DUBLIN >> Middletown High’s 4×100-meter relay team broke the school record one more time Friday during the North Coast Section Meet of Champions in Dublin.
Esteban Muniz, Jamisen Jackson, Luke Mace and Hayden Xavier placed 19th overall with a time of 43.60 seconds.
“The 4×100 team improved their school record one last time to end their season,” Middletown head coach Wyatt Hall said. “All four of them have worked so hard this year. I am proud of them.”
Added Hall, “Xavier, who anchored the team all year, is the only senior of the group. Jackson is a junior while Muniz and Mace are only sophomores. Going to the MOC was a good experience for the younger runners, and now they know what they have to work towards next year.”
Xavier also competed in the 100 meters and 200 but was unable to qualify for the finals Saturday in either event, which required a top-eight finish Friday. The holder of Middletown records in both events, which he broke several times during the year, Xavier placed 12th overall in the 200 at 22.23 seconds. His season-best of 21.74 would have landed him a spot in the finals.
In the 100, Xavier was well off his season best of 10.68, finishing in 10.95 and placing 19th overall. As in the 200, Xavier could have reached the finals had he equaled or bettered his season best.
“Hayden Xavier was not able to qualify for the finals,” Hall said. “Even though his season ended earlier than we hoped, he finishes as the greatest sprinter Middletown has ever seen. He now sits atop three individual school records and one relay record. I am excited to see what he can do next year at SRJC, but before that he’ll be running AAU track this summer for his college coach with hopes of making it to the AAU Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa.”
Also in action Friday was Middletown’s Crystal Duval in the girls discus. After scratching on her first two tries, she had a throw of 84 feet, 4 inches on her final attempt, well below her season best.
“Crystal Duval did not have her best day throwing,” Hall said. “She fouled in her first two throws and it’s hard to come back from that. She has improved a lot this season, and, as she is only junior, I think she’ll be back at MOC next year.”
The Meet of Champions concludes Saturday with three Lake County athletes in action – Middletown’s Dylan Caviness in the pole vault, Upper Lake’s Angelina Bendure in the girls shotput, and Lower Lake’s Alfonso Rones in the boys discus.
The top three finishers in all MOC events advance the CIF State Championships next weekend in Clovis.