Starla Skiles is the final athlete standing from the Manteca area.
The recent Ripon High graduate has advanced to the final heat of the 100-meter hurdles in the 105th California Interscholastic Federation State Championships. She clocked the ninth-best time in the preliminaries Friday in Clovis.
Skiles returns to Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium today for the championship events. The 100 hurdles is scheduled to start at 6:20 p.m.
She took third in her heat and ninth overall with a time of 14.24 seconds. The three heat winners and next six fastest competitors move on. San Diego’s Anisa Bowen-Fontenot won the race in 13.22 and is in the top seed for the final.
The Cal State Fullerton-bound Skiles also competed in the 300 hurdles, finishing 22nd in 44.88. She is the reigning Sac-Joaquin Section champion in the event. Skiles made it to state in both events as a junior and improved her times and places.
Three others from the area competed in the state prelims.
Fellow Ripon grad Marcus Madoski narrowly missed a qualifying spot for the high jump final. He topped out at 6 feet 6 inches, clearing the mark on this final attempt. Madoski failed on all three of his shots at 6-7 and finished in a two-way tie for 13th place. The top 12 advance to the final.
East Union junior Jackson Fay came up short of qualifying for the 100-meter final but recorded a personal-best, wind-legal time of 10.66 seconds. He finished fourth in his heat and 16th overall out of 29.
Heat 1 produced the fastest 100-meter race in the history of the state meet. De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson jolted to a new meet record of 10.01 seconds, while runner-up Nicolas Obimga of Torrance, also a junior, matched the previous standard — set by Serra’s Rodrick Pleasant in 2023 — at 10.20. Additionally, third-place finisher Antrell Harris of Birmingham ran the fastest 100 time for an athlete from a Los Angeles Section school at 10.24.
Manteca’s Joshua Mellion fouled on all three of his attempts in the discus throw prelims. He placed in second in the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Meet last week with a throw of 174-06. That mark would have comfortably advanced to the final. Clovis North’s McKay Madsen topped the preliminary field with a 206-11.
