The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by an anonymous donation, in appreciation of Coach Ron Allice.
If you asked any Wilson coach in any sport over the last half century what Bruins group they’d bet their mortgage on, the smart answer would be: the school’s boys’ 4×400. The Wilson quartet has won CIF-SS and State titles over multiple generations, and sure enough, they came through on Saturday at the CIF-SS Track and Field Finals at Moorpark High. Entering the final event of the day needing a first-place finish to secure a team championship, the Bruins won with a state-leading time of 3:14.50.
“It was perfect the way it ended today, it was a perfect, perfect situation,” said a smiling Wilson coach Neil Nelson. “That’s exactly what you’d want as a Wilson coach.”
The Bruins quartet of Wyland Obando, JaeRon Harris, JT Kraemer, and Kaedyn Burroughs got an early lead and maintained it all the way around. Their 10-point championship performance gave them 44 team points, exactly enough to tie with Poly for the boys’ team crown.
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“We came a long way,” said Neilson. “We remembered the mockups and someone saying we’d finish 10thplace. We took a little offense to it. But we knew we had to step up and see what happened today. Everyone contributed, every point mattered. Laighton Scott in the discus, he finished sixth he scored three points—if he doesn’t do that we don’t win.”
The championship is the 70th CIF-SS title for the Bruins, the sixth for the boys’ track team, the 11th overall for the track program, and the Wilson boys’ first CIF-SS title since 2021.
The Bruins got a lot of big points on the boy’s side, and they needed every single one of them. Wyland Obando’s win in the 800 was good for 10 points, while Sedwitz Dumont and Ethan Bartee brought home points in the hurdles races.
JT Kraemer didn’t have the day he wanted in the 800, finishing sixth, but he did help build a lead for the 4×400 that stood up in the CIF-SS championship victory.
“We know Poly is always going to come out and run a good race, so we just wanted to get a good lead and stay with it,” said Kraemer.
A baseball player who converted to track, Kraemer is a Harvard commit who’s loved his second sport.
“It’s my second year of track, it’s super cool to win a CIF championship with my team,” said Kraemer. “Sharing a team title with Poly is awesome—you want to win it yourself but it keeps the whole Long Beach thing together.”
It was a big day for the Wilson girls, too, as they brought home the silver by scoring 82 points. That total was actually higher than last year’s championship total for the Bruins. This year Wilson got first-place wins from Kaylin Edwards in the two hurdles races, the girls’ 4×400, and from Loren Webster in the long jump, as she put up a 19-07.75. The cool, calm and collected Webster didn’t really even celebrate her championship after.
“It wasn’t the number I want but I’ll take it,” she said. “For me it’s about the bigger picture. I set goals in the beginning of the season that I wanted to hit. I’ve been working hard and I’m close to it but I’m not there yet.”
Wilson (Division 1: 24 entries)
Girls’ 4×100, 2nd, 46.35 (Tarynn Maroney, Kaylin Edwards, Brooke Blue, Loren Webster)
Girls’ 100 Hurdles: Kaylin Edwards, 1st, 14.19
Girls’ 100 Hurdles: Alene Washington, 4th, 14.76
Girls’ 100 Hurdles: Jamiyah Sanders, 7th, 15.09
Boys’ 110 Hurdles: Sedwitz Dumont, 5th, 14.40
Boys’ 110 Hurdles: Ethan Bartee, 7th, 14.79
Girls’ 400: Saniah Vanardo, 2nd, 54.92
Girls’ 400: Brooke Blue, 5th, 55.69
Boys’ 400: Kaedyn Burroughs, 3rd, 47.90
Boys’ 400: Jae’Ron Harris, 8th, 49.11
Girls’ 100: Loren Webster, 9th, 12.16
Boys’ 800: Wyland Obando, 1st, 1:52.04
Boys’ 800: JT Kraemer, 6th, 1:53.03
Girls’ 300 Hurdles: Kaylin Edwards, 1st, 42.00
Girls’ 300 Hurdles: Saniah Varnado, 3rd, 43.70
Boys’ 300 Hurdles: Ethan Bartee, 6th, 38.64
Boys’ 300 Hurdles: Sedwitz Dumont, 7th, 38.65
Girls’ 4×400, 1st, 3:45.28 (Brooke Blue, Alene Washington, Kaylin Edwads, Saniah Vanardo)
Boys’ 4×400, 1st, 3:14.50 (Wyland Obando, JaeRon Harris, JT Kraemer, Kaedyn Burroughs)
Girls’ Long Jump: Loren Webster, 1st, 19-07.75
Girls’ Long Jump: Tarynn Maroney, 8th, 17-5
Girls’ Triple Jump: Journii Spencer, 4th, 37-09.5
Girls’ Triple Jump: DaQari Hampton, 8th, 35-02.75
Boys’ Discus: Laighton Scott, 6th, 159-10
