Bakersfield College is hosting its second home meet, as the BC relays were held on Mar. 15 & 16. Several schools participated in the Bakersfield College meet.
The first day consisted of the heptathlon, which is made up of seven events. The seven events include the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 m, long jump, javelin, 800 meters. The first four events were held on day one.
Track & field also consists of jumping events, as athletes participated in the high jump, long jump & triple jump. There also are throwing events, such as the shot put and the javelin throw.
On the track, there are two types of running events, sprints & distance. Different heats for both male & female categories were held depending on their time for events.
Because of the big number of events, both track and field events go on at the same time with individuals competing in various heats.
On day two, the track events continue, starting with the rest of the heptathlon, followed by the steeplechase. The first track event that concludes is the 4 x 400 meter relay. Overall, BC is doing well in each of its events.
Three athletes competed in pole vault, including BC’s Melany Franco. In the men’s side, BC was represented by Jack Evans and Miles Schmidt. Each athlete has three attempts at each height jumped before moving up inches.
Back to the track, where the first men’s 1500 meter heat has five BC runners, including three BC athletes in the top five. Abraham Castro came in second, Atzin Anguiano was fourth, and Ishmael Nungaray came in fifth in what was a very tight race.
BC freshman Jacob Perez talked about his goals for the season, including a “sub 9:25 on steeplechase & 4:08 for the 1500.” Additionally, Perez said, “improving time for the season and pacing” was crucial for season goals.
Afterwards, BC’s Gabrielle Espinosa gave some words of advice to young track & field athletes, as she says “Keep going and push through and don’t give up and might have a bad coach but others will support you and can help you.”
Espinosa is competing in the heptathlon. Because of that, her training is different and more intense than other athletes. She goes on to speak on how the training is “mentally and physically challenging, because not just focusing on one event but all the heptathlon is just mentality. Asking her about what she does to help herself focus before a meet, Espinosa said that “giving words of affirmation & motivating myself” are huge towards making her feel better and confident.