Ex-Vaquero Dunbar breaks 53-year-old record in hammer
Alex Ramirez captured the 1500 meters for SBCC on Friday in the 78th Easter Relays and Anton Nilsson recorded his third win of the year in the 400 hurdles at La Playa Stadium.
Ramirez, a freshman from Ventura High, went wire-to-wire in a PR of 4:01.51 and won by 3.1 seconds in a 22-runner field with two heats.
Nilsson, a freshman from Sweden, took the 400 hurdles in 53.67, edging Cuesta's Raymond Smith by 0.35 seconds. "Anton experimented with getting out hard and faded a bit in the 2nd half of the race but held on for the win," said SBCC coach Scott Fickerson.
The highlight of the day came from ex-Vaquero Colin Dunbar, who won the 16-pound hammer throw by nearly 83 feet with a toss of 67.45 meters (221 feet, 3 inches). The 6-foot-8 former Long Beach State star broke a 53-year-old meet record set by Hal Connolly in 1963. Connolly was a four-time Olympian and the Olympic hammer champion in 1960.
Dunbar won the 2016 USA Indoor weight throw (35 pounds) two weeks ago in Portland, Oregon.
The Vaqueros recorded 11 season bests on the day.
Cameron Shinn went a season-best 6.58 meters (21-7¼) to place second in the long jump. He was fifth in the triple jump in 12.52m. The Vaqueros went 2, 3, 4 in the javelin with Max Schrock taking second in a PR of 45.14m (148-1). Giovanni Giordani was third at 43.68 and Edward Jones took fourth at 41.90.
Diego Tapia was third in the discus (41.63m) and fourth in the hammer (37.08). Joseph Ochoa was fifth in the shot put (12.93) and Bradley Apodaca took fifth in the 5000 in 16:04.59. Giordani placed sixth in the pole vault at 13 feet, 3½ inches.
The Vaqueros will travel to San Luis Obispo for the WSC Coastal Meet on April 1 at Cuesta.
