Three Gauchos qualify for state meet
The Saddleback women's track & field team finished in 21st place at the Southern California Regional Finals held at Antelope Valley College this past weekend. The Gauchos will send three athletes to the state finals this weekend in San Diego.
Saddleback had two players qualify in the steeplechase in Rachel Oberschelp and Angelica Vallier while Caroline Dagarin qualified in the 1,500 meters.
Oberschelp (pictured) finished third over the weekend at AVC, running the 3,000-meter race in 12:05.10. It was the top time of the year for the sophomore from Capistrano Valley High School and ranks No. 9 in the state this year.
Joining Oberschelp is Vallier, who finished 12th over the weekend but qualified for the state meet based on a time earlier in the year. The freshman from Mission Viejo High School finished in 12:52.65 after running a 12:28.52 in the prelims. Vallier ran a 12:03.78 at the Cerritos Invitational earlier in the year, which ranks No. 8 in the state this spring.
Dagarin ran seventh in the 1,500 meters to earn two points for the team. The freshman from Mission Viejo covered the track in 5:00.04, which was roughly 13 seconds off her best time of the year. Dagarin ran a 4:52.87 at the Orange Empire Conference Finals, which ranks No. 17 in the state this season.
Saddleback will compete again this Friday and Saturday at the state finals at San Diego Mesa College.