Nilsson captures 400 hurdles in WSC North Meet

Anton Nilsson won the 400 hurdles and took third in the 100 meters on Friday to pace the SBCC men's track and field team in the WSC North Meet at Bakersfield. The meet featured athletes from SBCC, Bakersfield, Cuesta, Canyons and Hancock.

Nilsson's hurdles time of 54.05 is the sixth-fastest in school history. He beat the runner-up, Aaron Cheeks of Cuesta, by nearly five seconds. His 11.32 clocking in the 100 was a personal best.

Alex Ramirez was third in the 1500 and 3000, both in season-best times. A trio of throwers placed second in the shot put (Joey Ochoa), discus (Edward Jones) and hammer (Diego Tapia). Jones threw 39.76 and lost by just one-tenth of a meter. Tapia's hammer throw of 35.84 meters was .13 behind the winner.  

"Our throwers are showing they will once again be a force to be reckoned with by collecting three runner-up finishes," said coach Scott Fickerson. "Anton is trying to pick up where Bas (Van Leersum, last year's state champ) left off and continue the SBCC 400 hurdle stranglehold. Alex had a strong day against some of the state's best distance runners."

The Vaqueros will take next week off, then travel to Eagle Rock for the Occidental Invitational on Friday, March 11.