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Six San Clemente athletes will move on to the final track and field meet of the season, as four Tritons entries qualified for the CIF State Championships out of the CIF-SS Masters Meet last Saturday, May 20, at Moorpark High School.
For the very first time, the 4×800-meter relay was run at a CIF-Southern Section championship meet, and San Clemente won the inaugural boys event with a time of 7:45.93 from juniors Brett Ephraim, Jackson Brownell, Pierce Clark and Taj Clark.
Griffin Schwab finished eighth in the high jump at CIF-SS Masters to qualify for the state championships. Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Su Photography. 
Brett Ephraim led the 4×800-meter relay as the Tritons won the event to qualify for the state championships. Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Su Photography. 
Jackson Brownell ran in the 4×800-meter relay as the Tritons won the event to qualify for the state championships. Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Su Photography. 
Juan Chantaca finished fifth in the 3,200 meters at CIF-SS Masters to qualify for the state championships. Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Su Photography. 
Juan Chantaca finished fifth in the 3,200 meters at CIF-SS Masters to qualify for the state championships. Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Su Photography. 
Taj Clark anchored the 4×800-meter relay and finished second in the 800 meters at CIF-SS Masters to qualify for the state championships. Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Su Photography.
Photos Courtesy of Jimmy Su Photography
San Clemente had run the event only twice this season, with a first-place finish at the Earl Engman Relays on March 4 and a third-place run at the Arcadia Invitational on April 8. The event was not run at the CIF-SS divisional championships, but the Tritons ran fast enough times to be included in the inaugural field.
The 4×800-meter relay will be the first addition to the CIF State Meet since girls pole vault in 1995. The relay will not have preliminaries, so the Tritons will run straight to the finals on Saturday, May 27, at Buchanan High School in Clovis.
Taj Clark also qualified for state as an individual with a second-place run in the 800 meters. Clark ran a personal near-best time of 1:52.84.
Also joining Clark and the relay on the track at state is UC Irvine-bound senior Juan Chantaca, who ran fifth in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:01.86.
San Clemente qualified one field athlete: senior Griffin Schwab in the high jump. Schwab cleared a height of 6 feet, 5 inches for a second-place mark.
The CIF State Championships begin with preliminaries on Friday, May 26, at Buchanan High School in Clovis.
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