Jayda Bushling of the Lady Broncs lands in a cloud of dust at a recent meet. Photo Courtesy of Kern High network
Story by Ray Conner
Jayda Bushling had herself a day at the CIF Division championships qualifying meet in Caruthers.
There were 36 teams represented at the Division 4 championships. Kern Valley placed third as a team as they set six PR’s and had one meet record on the day. A total of 10 Lady Broncs qualified for the Division 4 Championships.
Bushling led the charge to third place as she won two events and finished second in another to advance to the CIF Masters Meet this coming Saturday. She would set both a meet record and a PR in winning the 100m race in a time of 12.24. Bushling then leaped her way into the Masters meet in the tiple jump. She went a distance of 33’ 6.5” to take the top spot. In her 200m race, Bushling finished as the runner up, but still will advance to the Masters. She ran the race in a time of 25.76. In her final event she would come in fourth. She competed in the long jump and had a mark of 15’ 9.5”. With her success in all these events, Bushling became the leading points for all female athletes in the meet.
Aspen Hacker, another qualifier for Kern Valley ran to first place in the 1600m race. She did this in a time of 5:13.58. She placed second in the 800m (2:23.98) which resulted in a PR. She finished fourth in the 3200m (12:06.67) and fifth in the 400m (1:03.51). A. Hacker earned the third highest total in points at this meet.
The Lady Broncs 4 x 100 relay team of Madelyn Beaton, Emily Blankenship, Kaya Manwell, and Scarlett Weber set a PR in the race. Their time was 55.97. Weber also competed in 100m and 200m races. She would take eighth in both and her times in both set PR’s. Her times were 13.17 and 27.39, respectively. Beaton and Blankenship tied for sixth place in the high jump. They both jumped 4’ 6” in the same number of attempts. Jessie Bunting finished in fifth in the high jump. She was two inches better than her two teammates.
Kyla Hacker competed in four events. Her top finish was in the 800m in a time of 2:36.43. She was 11th in the 1600m (5:54.19) and 13th in the 3200m (13:18.32). K. Hacker in the 400m came across the line in 15th place in a time of 1:09.56. Marissa Tate took her attempts in the discus for the Lady Broncs. She threw it 70’ which placed her in the 16th spot. The last Kern Valley that competed at the meet was Ella Mauer. She ran the 300m in a time of 1.00.30. This time was good enough for 19th place.
Head coach Brent Mixon said, “It is amazing how well our kids have performed this year. For Aspen (Hacker) and Jayda (Bushling) it will continue Saturday at Buchanan High School, where they will compete in the Central Section Masters Championships. I am so proud of the Lady Broncs track team this year. They have competed against the best athletes and have proven that they deserve to be there. With such a young team, I would expect these girls to get stronger and compete for the league title next year and send even more to the divisional championships.”
