As multiple track and field programs within Stanislaus County commenced its season this past weekend, Orestimba High School couldn’t have asked for a better start.
The Warriors began its 2026 campaign with seven first-place finishes in the Seventh Annual Rustbuster Invite at Patterson Community Stadium on Saturday.
Headlining Orestimba’s afternoon was Imelda Beltran and Marian Quevedo, who picked up where they left off last season, finishing at the top in a combined five events. Following them was Israel Ramirez and Jade Carmona with first-place finishes in their respective event.
Second-year head coach Charlie Kothenbeutel said Saturday’s meet was an amalgamation of his vision for the program to be competitive within the Trans-Valley League. He added that co-head coach Nicole Swisher has “done a great job” with the development of the long-distance runners.
“We’ve had successful teams in the past, but it’s just living up to the expectation that I think our league sets for us, which is to have really, really talented athletes and making sure that they’re going about it the right way, and just continuing to develop,” Kothenbeutel said.
Beltran won three events on Saturday, starting with the girls 200-meter dash where she ran a time of 28.72 seconds. She followed up her performance with another top placement in the girls 400-meter run at 1:03.08. The junior athlete later leaped for a program-best 16 feet and 9 inches to win the girls long jump. Beltran concluded her afternoon with a second-place finish in the girls triple jump with a leap of 31-7.
Quevedo won the girls 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.42. She clocked in the program’s second-best in the event, only to be trailing herself for the all-time best time of 16.15 that she set in last season’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV and V finals. She carried her momentum in the 300-meter hurdles with another top placement finish at 50.34. In the 100-meter dash, Quevedo took over in place of Maddie Perez and finished second at 13.67.
In the freshman and sophomore girls 800-meter dash, Carmona made her presence known as she finished in first place with a time of 3:04.57. The freshman athlete later participated in the freshman and sophomore girls 1600-meter run where she ended up in second place at 6:49.45.
In the boys 110-meter hurdles, Ramirez ran a time of 16.50 for not only top placement, but also the program’s second-best time of all time in the event. The sophomore athlete now trails himself for the best time at 15.81, which he recorded at last season’s section finals.
While Orestimba secured top placements, the team had some top-five finishes. Perez wrapped the girls long jump at second place with a leap of 14-9. She also jumped 29-7 to finish in third place in the girls triple jump.
Madalynn Hernandez finished in second place with a time of 1:14.04 in the freshman and sophomore girls 400-meter dash. She ran a 31.69 for fifth place in the freshman and sophomore girls 200-meter run.
Benjamin Cerna finished third in the boys 1600-meter dash with a time of 5:17.43.
Brett Gray recorded fourth-place finishes in the boys long jump and triple jump with leaps of 18-5 and 38-3, respectively.
Michelle Ebert threw for 7.13 meters (23 feet, 5 inches) in the girls shot put event to finish in fourth place. In the girls discus throw, Ebert heaved the discus 18.56 meters (60 feet, 11 inches) in the air for a fifth-place finish.
Concluding the meet for the Warriors was Emmanuel Garabito and Amaya Arteaga with fifth-place finishes in the boys 3200-meter and freshman and sophomore girls 800-meter dash, respectively.
Orestimba will have more than a week to prepare for its next meet as the team will travel to Golden Valley High School in Merced for the 17th Annual Dean Andreessen Classic on March 7. The first event will begin at 9 a.m.
