By Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Pandemonium erupted some 80 miles west of Claremont May 16 as Isla Bulmer crossed the finish line at 10:32.93 in the 3,200, good for second place at the CIF-Southern Section Track and Field Finals at Moorpark High and clinching the team’s first ever CIF-SS Division 2 title.

Isla, who will graduate in a couple weeks and also took third in the 1,600 at 4:53.88, talked about what it meant to go out on top. “It’s definitely very bittersweet,” she said. “I mean, there’s no better way to end than winning.”

The CIF-SS Finals featured 46 schools competing in 17 events. Claremont finished with 76 points, 12 more than runner-up Canyon High School and 36 more than Murrieta Mesa.

Coach Mark Batres praised Isla’s performance.

“We were excited just because Isla was really worried about whether or not she had enough energy for the two miles,” Batres said of the 3,200-meter event. “We kept reassuring her … She got out onto the field, she give me a look like, ‘I don’t know if this is possible,’ and she just performed like a pro.”

While Isla’s success in the 3,200 sealed the deal for the Pack, the girls 4×400 relay team’s second place finish at 3:48.63 — good for a new school record — was the icing on the cake. Head coach Ernie Gregorie said it was the first time the team of seniors Zylah Araujo and Annika Graham-Scanlon, sophomore Grace Smith and freshman Maham Ali had run together in the event.

“Our coach, towards the beginning of the season, has been telling us how his expectation was for us to win the [CIF] championship,” Zylah said. “A lot of us didn’t really think much of it. We were like, yeah, we’re going to do it. And then once it actually came down to it, everyone was pretty excited because we realized that he had actually manifested it.”

Claremont High’s girls track and field team celebrates its first ever CIF-SS Division 2 title May 16 at Moorpark High. Pictured standing (L-R) are coaches Natalie Miano and Mark Batres, Lyle Mideiros, Grace Smith, Katherine Willett, Isla Bulmer, Angie Vargas-Aldaco, Zenani Guannu, head coach Ernie Gregoire, and coach Klyvens Delaunay. Kneeling (L-R) are Camila Trevino-Davila, Maham Ali, and Grace Delaney. Photo/by Rajeeni Smith

Sophomores Grace Smith and Katherine Willett, who took first and second in the girls 800-meter race at 2:12.45 and 2:13.11, respectively, also helped secure the victory.

“It was pretty awesome to finish with Grace because I really look up to Grace as a runner,” Katherine said. “She pushes me every day to be excellent and challenges me. So just being able to be in the same race as her, let alone cross the finish line near her, means a lot to me. I can’t wait to keep progressing with her.”

The girls 4×800 relay team of Katherine, Grace, junior Angie Vargas-Aldaco and freshman Grace Delaney also finished in first place at 9:25.76.

Senior Zenani Guannu took first in the girls long jump at 5.66 meters and fifth in the triple jump, at 11.18 meters. Zylah finished fourth in the long jump at 5.47.

Eleven CHS athletes with two girls relay teams will return to Moorpark on Saturday for the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

The girls 4×100 relay team finished seventh at 48.44 but fell short of qualifying for Masters.

Senior Lyle Mideiros, the lone representative for the CHS boys team, won the 1,600-meter race and placed second in the 3,200 at the Finals and will compete at Masters.

Gregorie said he saw signs of the team’s forthcoming success — at least for long distance events — back in November as athletes wrapped the cross-country season with appearances at the CIF State and Southern Section Finals. Once track and field season began in the spring, the emphasis shifted to conditioning and load management.

“We intend to do what we’re doing right now,” Gregorie said. “Like coach [Batres] said, you can’t guarantee anything, but when everyone’s healthy and they’re talented and they’re optimistic, these kinds of things can happen. And now they’ve got receipts.”

And though the team worked hard all year and got results, they still had fun.

“The personalities here are all similar,” Batres said. “They’re all a bunch of goofy girls that like to have a good time and run hard.”

“We’ve got such a good group of people here this year and it really feels like all our last four years of work has paid off,” Zenani said.

The CIF-SS Masters Meet gets underway at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Moorpark High, 4500 Tierra Rejada Road, Moorpark.