BENICIA HIGH’S Luis Ramirez dominated the boys 1600 and 3200 meters at Friday’s SCAC championships..

Benicia High’s varsity track teams gave a solid effort but were no match for the Vanden Vikings at the Solano County Athletic Conference championships, which concluded Friday at Corbus Field in Vallejo.

The Panther varsity boys took home four first-place medals but finished second as a team with 99 points, well behind Vanden’s 173 points. American Canyon was third (88), followed by Fairfield (54), Vallejo (49) and Bethel (16).

Luis Ramirez dominated the boys long-distance events for Benicia. He won the 1600 meters in a time of 4:28.95, which was 23.5 seconds ahead of second place. He also won the 3200 meters in 10:03.97, a full 25.5 seconds ahead of second place. Ramirez also took fourth place in the 800 meters (2:04.02).

Imani McNorton was the star field athlete for the Panther boys. He easily won the discus with a throw of 128 feet, 9 inches, a full 28 inches ahead of second place. McNorton also took second in the shot put (48-0) and fourth in the triple jump (40-5).

Matthew Larks earned Benicia’s only other varsity gold medal, winning the 400 meters in 49.76.

Benicia’s girls didn’t win any individual first-place medals and ended up third with 74 points. Vanden’s girls were just as dominant as the Viking boys, winning the team title with 151 points. American Canyon was second with 117 points. Vallejo finished fourth (59), followed by Bethel (48) and Fairfield (30).

The top four finishers in each event advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II-III championships at Bella Vista of Fair Oaks this coming Wednesday and Friday. Benicia had several athletes advance along with Ramirez, McNorton and Larks.

Phoenix McGee in took second place in the boys triple jump (41-11) and fourth in the long jump (19-7.5). Daylon Garcia finished third in the 1600 meters (4:54.88) and 3200 meters (10:51.88), and teammate Noah Cobb qualified in the high jump with a fourth-place finish (5-6). Benicia’s boys varsity 4×100 relay team of McGee, Larks, Chris Burke and John Ford took second place (44.13) and also advanced to Sections.

Several Lady Panthers extended their seasons. Ama Ogan, Milyan White, Britiana Fields and Kameron Hatcher teamed up for a second-place finish in the 4×100 relay (50.71). Ogan took second place in the 100 meters (12.84) and high jump (4-10). Fields was second in the 300 meter hurdles (53.15) while White took third in the 100 meters (13.13) and fourth in the 200 meters (27.82). Pilar Willis finished third in the 100 meter hurdles (18.59) and 300 meter hurdles (53.45). Asha Woodmasee was fourth in the 1600 (6:23.88) and 3200 (14:04.99), and Amya Black finished fourth in the 800 meters (2:43.43).

Benicia’s frosh/soph teams took home several gold medals. Jacob Kamm won the boys long jump (17-5) while teammate Jacob Curtis took first in the triple jump (38-11.5). Nadia McDowell-Torres, LePaula Parker, Ainsley Torres and Rouguiata Diallo teamed up to win the girls 4×100 relay (52.62). Rayna Fitzgerald joined McDowell-Torres, Parker and Diallo in the 4×400 (4:39.04). Diallo won the girls 100 meters (13.40) with Torres a close second (13.55).

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