Panther Men Enjoy Final Home Meet

The Hartnell College men hosted six schools at the Gary Shaw Last Chance Meet held over two days on the Hartnell College campus. Schools in attendance were conference rival De Anza College, Monterey Peninsula College, San Jose City College, Merced College, and College of the Sequoias. The meet gave the Panthers a final opportunity to improve marks for the Northern California Championship. 

Freshman Gianni Ponce added nearly a foot to his triple jump personal best leaping out to 13.59m (44-7). That mark met the State "B" for the triple jump. Ponce anchored an all-freshmen 4x100 meter relay team that also included Adrian Manriquez, Eduardo Manriquez, and Julian Chuca. Their time of 42.65 was a seaon best and met the State "B" as well. Eduardo Manriquez produced his first sub 50 second 400 meters of his life by a substantial margin. He was timed in 49.39 and now is the sixteenth fastest all-time in Hartnell College history, moving into the spot previously occupied by 3C2A State Decathlon State Champion Chase Pacheco. Freshman Bryan Ortega enjoyed two season bests in the throws. He started his day with a new 2kg best of 38.91m in the discus and finished with a 11.84m in the shot put. Sophomore Galen Okamoto lowered his 3000m steeplechase best to 10:29.10 and also saw improvement in the 5000 meters 16:29.25. Jesse Blanco won the 1500 meters in 4:04.88. Adrian Manriquez practiced his conference hurdle double with 17.92 and 57.95. 

The Panthers will compete in the 2025 Coast Conference Championship on Friday, April 25th and Saturday, April 26th. On Friday, the Panthers will travel to San Jose City College for the triple jump, pole vault, hammer, javelin, and 10,000 meters. All remaining events will be contested at Monterey Peninsula College.