Continuing its run in league championships, the Orestimba High track and field team took home five first-place finishes in the Trans-Valley League Varsity Championships at Ripon High last Thursday.

The five top-placement finishes were more than double the amount of events Warriors won in last season’s competition at two. The improvement is a testament to the athletes’ and coaching staff’s work ethic this season, said second-year head coach Charlie Kothenbeutel.

“It’s just the athletes continuing to work,” Kothenbeutel said. “It’s not always replacing that one athlete, but it’s finding new athletes that come in continuing to develop them, [and] the ones who we’ve already had continue with them.”

Senior Marian Quevedo continued her breakout season, winning the girls 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles events. In the 100-meter hurdles, she ran a time of 14.84 seconds. Quevedo’s time is now a program-best in the event, surpassing program alumna Gabi Swisher’s 18.13 from 2023.

Her momentum carried over in the 300-meter hurdles where she clocked at 46.91 seconds. Quevedo almost came in second place as she mistimed her jump as her left leg hit the final hurdle, but recovered fast enough to finish .22 seconds faster than Hilmar High sophomore Milana Lacey. She now holds the school’s top-two times in the event.

After winning the freshman and sophomore 110-meter hurdles the week before, sophomore Israel Ramirez did it again on Thursday. He recorded a time of 14.75 seconds for first place in the event. He now owns the school's fastest times in both the freshman and sophomore and varsity-level events.

Senior Maddie Perez finished in first place in the girls long jump after she recorded the program’s third-highest leap in the event at 16 feet, 10 inches. Following her was junior Imelda Beltran, who ended up in fourth place after she jumped 16-0.

Beltran bounced back in the girls triple jump, winning the event after recording a leap of 34 feet, 10 inches. Perez was not far behind her teammate as she finished in second place with a jump of 34 feet and 7 ¼ inches.

In addition to Perez and Beltran, Orestimba had five more top-four finishes.

The Warriors finished second place in the girls 4x800 relay race, clocking in 10:39.41. In the girls 4x400 relay dash, the same group ended in third place with a time of 4:15.30.

Quevedo nearly won the girls 100-meter dash, coming in second place with a time of 12.72 seconds. She finished .02 seconds behind Ripon senior Clara Schoolland.

Sophomore Brett Gray leaped in second place in the boys long jump after he recorded a mark of 41 feet, 7 ¾ inches.

Israel Ramirez finished third in the boys 300-meter hurdles after he ran 43.51 seconds.

With the first-place and top-four finishes, seven Warriors athletes will compete in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V Track & Field trials on Wednesday at Riverbank High School. The first event will begin at 2 p.m.

As the season comes to a near end, Kothenbeutel believes that the athletes have found their footing going into sections.

“Excited for the kids, excited for their opportunity to go there and compete and just see how far they can make it,” he said.