Track & Field: Mustangs rule Jim Scott Stadium
It can be easily said that Michael Dias has had an extremely busy year as a junior at Costa Mesa High.
In the fall, he played his favorite sport: football. Then, just this past winter, he was on the boys’ basketball team. Now he’s moved on to track and field, as well as boys’ volleyball.
In each sport, he gets excited to compete against cross-town rival Estancia. Dias and his teammates seemed to turn it up a notch on Thursday, as the Mustangs opened the Orange Coast League track and field season against Estancia and Calvary Chapel at Jim Scott Stadium.
Dias won the 100- and 200-meter races, and was on the victorious 4x400 relay to lead the Costa Mesa boys to wins over both teams nicknamed the Eagles. The victory over Estancia was especially sweet for Dias, who finished the 100 in a personal-best 11.26 seconds and won the 200 in 23.85.
Costa Mesa beat Estancia, 78-43, and Calvary Chapel, 93-16.
“I feel like this one gets me pumped up,” Dias said. “I want to show them we have better athletes out there than they do.”
The Costa Mesa girls also showed they are the best in town, beating Estancia, 67-46, and Calvary Chapel, 93-1.
There were several winners for the Costa Mesa boys’ and girls’ teams who continue to develop into a strong program under Coach Steve Moreno.
Estancia also had some standout performances that made Coach Charlie Appell proud. The coach, who is in his 25th year, said his participation numbers are up and these are the most athletes he’s had in recent years: 40 for the girls’ team and 33 for the boys.
He’s had to adjust for life after two of his stars graduated last year in sprinter Persis William-Mensah (UC Irvine) and thrower Rebecca Lewis (Golden West), who have both earned success on the next level. Lewis is one of the top throwers in the California community college ranks, while William-Mensah broke the school record in the 60 meters last month.
Estancia freshman Lexi Osso is doing her best to earn first-place points for her Eagles. She won the 400 in 1 minute, 5.78 seconds. She also put up a good race against Costa Mesa standout Paige LaBare in the 200. The rivalry could be seen in that race, as they matched each other stride for stride, until LaBare pulled away from Osso over the final 10-20 meters.
“A lot of people keep telling me, ‘that’s good for a freshman,’” Osso said. “I feel pretty good about it.”
But seeing LaBare, a rival, win, gave her more motivation.
“That shows me who I have to go against,” she said. “It pushes me harder to get better.”
LaBare also won the 100 in 12.07 and was on the victorious 4x400 relay. She won the 200 in 26.50. Osso came in at 27.05.
LaBare, much like Dias, maintains a busy schedule with skateboarding and cheerleading to go with her sprints in the spring. She competes with the CMHS cheer team in a national competition at Disneyland on Friday night.
LaBare feels like she can take over the Orange Coast League with the graduation of William-Mensah. That very well could be the case. LaBare says she also wants to succeed in CIF Southern Section postseason meets.
She got help in points from her teammates Holly Reiland, who won the 1,600 in 5:58 and Gaby Perez, who won the 800 in 2:35.78.
Twin sisters Tayla and Felicia Crenshaw, both freshmen, went 1-2 in the shot put, as Tayla won with a mark of 30 feet, 11 ¼ inch and Felicia followed with a 29-7 ½ throw.
Anuare Magana, who was named Athlete of the Meet at the Irvine Invitational on Saturday, won the 1,600 (4:25.05) and the 800 (2:02.13), and was also on the winning 4x400 relay team.
“The rivalry always brings out the best in the athletes,” Coach Moreno said. “They feel that energy.”