CCS track and field finals: Ashurst, Coronado, Lorca state bound
GILROY – With the sun hitting the discus throwers right in the eyes as they stepped into the ring at sunset, Anarae Ashurst never saw any of his six throws sail toward the heavens.
A thump when the discus landed enabled the North Salinas High three-sport standout to peek into the distance, some 170-plus feet from the ring Saturday at Gilroy High.
“It made it hard to see where the discus was landing,” Ashurst admitted. “Honestly, the sun didn’t affect me too much. I’m not looking straight up when I let go.”
Ashurst could feel when he unleashed a series of good throws, as the junior became a Central Coast Section track and field champion, winning the discus with a mark of 169 feet, 3 inches at the section finals.
Ashurst is one of three athletes from the county who is headed to the state championships next Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis, as he will be joined by Salinas’ Jaslyne Coronado in the 400 meters and Carolina Lorca of Palma in the shot put.
Three of Ashurst’s tosses sailed over 160 feet, with the winning throw actually coming on his first attempt, slightly off his career best of 176-5, established at last week’s CCS trials.
“I fell a little short in beating my best mark,” said Ashurst, the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division champion, who was a part of North Salinas’ football and basketball playoff teams this past season. “But I felt good. My approach was to treat it just like any other meet.”
Ashurst, who owns the eighth-best mark in county history, will ride into the state meet with his season best jumping him into the top 12 overall.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to compete at that level,” Ashurst said. “There are little corrections I can make, such as keeping my arms straight and being smoother in the ring. I’m a little choppy right now. But 180 feet is in me.”
Coronado, who stepped away from the sport last year to play softball, was reinvigorated this spring, breaking the school records in the 200 and 400 meters at Salinas.
“Honestly, track is the one consistency in my life since I was in the fifth grade,” Coronado said. “I love the sport, the individuality of it. I stepped aside last year because I wanted to help the softball team win a state title and get a ring. I completed that.”
Yet, it wasn’t until she rewrote the Cowboys’ school record in the 400 in April that visions of qualifying for the state meet became more of a reality – in part because her time was under the state qualifying mark.
“State wasn’t on my mind at all when the season started,” Coronado said. “I thought it was out of reach. As the season progressed, it did become a goal.”
Blowing out of the blocks over the first 100 meters, Coronado found a runner in front of her in a full sprint. As she came upon the curve, the senior began to make a move, hanging on for third place in 55.44, just off her school record time of 55.40.
The top three in each event advance to the state championships, or anyone with a state-qualifying mark attained at the section finals.
“Having that push from all the girls made me run harder,” Coronado said. “I felt good out of the blocks and through the curve. I knew if I ran my race, I’d have a shot just on time alone. Obviously, I felt it (pain) over the final 80 meters.”
Coronado will find an old rival in the 400 at the state championships in former North Salinas sprinter Clara Adams, who ran a state-leading 51.98 for Long Beach Wilson at the Southern Section Masters Meet on Saturday.
Lorca, who has made a name for herself as an all-leaguer in flag football and basketball, will add a state meet to her resume after the sophomore uncorked the shot 37-1 to finish third overall.
“My goal was 38 feet,” said Lorca, a member of The Herald’s All-County basketball team. “I was excited and a bit nervous. The goal was just to set a personal record.”
Lorca, who put the shot 33-7 in winning the Gabilan Division title three weeks ago, has had a 46-inch improvement in the shot put in her last three meets.
“I just need to practice my form and speed in the ring,” said Lorca, who also swam this past spring, and finished fifth in the discus with a career best of 119-2. “I don’t think it’s sinking in that I’m going to state.”
Shaving nearly three tenths of a second off its school record in the 400 relay, Palma’s foursome of Emily Veliz, Elise Sargenti, Addy Jefferson and Joshalland Berring broke the county record, finishing fifth in 48.20.
“Breaking the county record was something we felt was possible,” said Sargenti, the lone senior in the group, who will walk on at Colorado State next year. “For me, it is bittersweet. I’m happy to be moving forward, but sad to leave my girls.”
A state meet qualifier last year in the 300 intermediate hurdles, Ozzy Godoy ran into a deep field that included a state-leading time by the CCS champion, as the Palma senior finished sixth in 38.89, slightly off his trials time of 38.74.
Having cleared 13-6 on his first attempt in the pole vault, Godoy was forced to leave the event to run the hurdles. When he returned, he was gassed, going out at 14-feet, finishing fourth overall.
Sailing over 13-6 for the first time this spring, Hector Sanchez Figueroa saw his season prematurely come to an end when he was injured on his first attempt at 14-feet, and couldn’t return, placing sixth. Rancho San Juan’s Ben Owen was ninth.
Javier Luna ran a career-best 1:56.81 to place eighth in the 800, as did Palma’s Angel Gonzalez in the long jump (21-feet). Kitiona Tautolo of Monterey put the shot put 49-2 to finish ninth.
Freshman Drew Jackson was a point producer for Rancho San Juan when she finished fifth in the 100 hurdles in 15.32. Palma’s Isabella Sando took eighth in the pole vault with a mark of 9-8.
Hollister’s girls 400 relay team of Ana Kaplansky, Page Pierson, Lainni Preciado and Rylee Skow broke their school record to finish sixth in 48.33.
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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 10:38 PM.