Raniya Nelson walked off the ring frustrated.
She had just completed the fourth of sixth attempts during the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships discus throw final on Saturday at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis.
The Manteca junior was so close to breaking her own school record and finally breaking through that 150-foot barrier.
And then …
“I didn’t expect it at first, honestly,” Nelson said. “I thought it was a really bad throw. I just shook my head after I walked to get my disc, and then I heard, “153 feet, 6 inches.
“I was like, ‘Whoa.’ That was crazy.”
She’ll have another year to improve that mark.
Nelson’s 153-06 measurement was good for fifth place in the state, concluding a stellar postseason run in which her personal record increased almost weekly.
She wasn’t the only Manteca Unified product to earn a top-nine medal at the two-day meet.
Lathrop’s Riley Gier skipped his graduation on Friday and qualified for the 800-meter final, finishing seventh in 1:52.90. Sierra junior Blama Kamara placed ninth in the 400-meter dash in 47.74.
Nelson made a drastic 49-foot improvement from her best throw as a sophomore.
Her remarkable postseason began with an individual title in the Valley Oak League Championships, setting what was then a personal record at 139-09. She topped that with a 143-06 two weeks later in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Trials and went on to win the final.
On May 28, Nelson finished as runner-up in the SJS Masters Finals at 146-03. She then came up clutch in the state trials, needing a big toss on her final try to advance to the final. Nelson broke her own school record once again and entered the final day as the fourth seed with a mark of 147-01.
Her best throw on the final day was actually tied for fourth best, but Cardinal Newman senior Kaylin Suacci got the edge based on her second best mark — 150-01 against Nelson’s 145-11.
“I was more proud of me knowing where I can from in the previous season,” Nelson said. “It took a lot of work, so just getting there was a great achievement.”
She’s inspired to continue that work, not just by her own achievement, but by the competition.
Oregon-committed Jaslene Massey of Aliso Niguel has one of the biggest moments of the meet when she set state and national high school records with an astounding heave of 196-04.
“It was crazy,” Nelson said. “The No. 1 girl was honestly a beast. She’s good at what she does, and I see her as a role model — I want to be where she’s at next year. Being at state this year was definitely a great learning experience for me.”
Gier and Kamara both came up shy of their own school records but were close.
Gier finished the final four races of his high school career in the 1:52s. The Lathrop 800-meter record was set during the Masters meet in Folsom at 1:52.02. He clocked the fifth-fastest time in the preliminaries on Friday in 1:52.48 before his seventh-place 1:52.90 on Saturday. Alden Morales of Serra (Gardena) won in 1:50.57.
Kamara had a similar closing stretch to the season, running in the 47s in each of his final four 400-meter races. His personal best of 47.40 was posted in the Masters Finals. The VOL and SJS Division III champion rounded out the season with a 47.54 and 47.74 at state. Loyola’s Ejam Yohannes took first in 45.73.
