Deniz Breaks 10,000m Record at Chabot Opener
In 2008, Daniel Tapia ran 25 laps around the track at Chabot College to a new Hartnell College record 30:55.50. Fast forward 14 years and on the same track, sophomore Esteban Deniz would lower the 10,000m record to 30:38.57. In a tight race for the win, Deniz would place second to conference foe Elliot Daniels, who was also chasing the DeAnza College record, by seven seconds. Deniz, who was a state finalist and fifth place finisher at last spring's state championship in the 10,000m, will now look to overthrow Daniels at the Coast Conference and Northern California Championsihp for the individual titles in the event. Also surpassing the Hartnell record was freshman phenom Moises Benito. He was timed in 30:42.79. Benito also placed second and was the top community college finisher in the 1500 meter run at 4:02.64. The mark moves the freshman into the second spot in the region.
Sophomore Orlando Dorado improved on his lifetime best in the hammer throw on Friday. He improved to 44.09m (144-8), as he looks to crack the top 10 all-time in Hartnell history. Dorado was also the highest placing Panther in the discus competition at 34.98m (114-9). Freshman Ethan Lavina was third in the triple jump (12.90m/42-4). Ramon Duran broke 60 for the second consecutive 400mIH race to place third in 59.89. Both Bernabe Munoz (63.54) and Marco Barrera (65.80) also had personal bests. Sophomore Eduardo Martinez returned to the pole vault to lead with his mark of 3.65m (11-11.75). Sophomore Ricky Diaz III enjoyed a nice double at 4:09.07 in the 1500m and 2:01.30 in the 800 meters. Josh Riley lowered hist personal best to 4:11.65 with teammate Jesse Blanco at 4:12.16 in his debut. Sophomore sprinter Marco Espinoza-Morado lead in both the 100m and 200m at 11.37 and 22.92. Espinoza-Morado would team up with Duran, Liam Pattison and Joshua Shimoda to post a season best 3:33.91 in the 4x400 relay.
In addition to Deniz and Benito, Jesse Blanco and Daniel Pantoja reached the State "A" mark for the 10,000 meters. Blanco (32:16.27) and Pantoja (32:30.41) give the Panthers four potential qualifiers to the 25 lap event in May. Josh Riley ran the longest race on the track with most of it wearing only one shoe in a personal best 33:03.27. Also running well was freshman Jesus Martinez (33:53.80) in his debut.
The Panthers will return to action in two weeks at the Jack Albiani Invitational at Modesto Junior College on Friday, March 10. Modesto Junior College will be host the 2023 CCCAA State Track & Field Championship in May. A small group of distance runners will travel south to the Occidental Spring Break Distance Classic looking for State "A" marks in races run at night.
