Triton Report: Bennett, Catsimanes Qualify for CIF-SS Track Finals

By Zach Cavanagh

For in-game updates, news and more for all of the San Clemente High School sports programs, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCSports.

Bennett, Catsimanes Qualify for CIF-SS Track Finals

After thrilling Sea View League championship performances, senior Emilie Bennett and junior Hana Catsimanes continued to shine at the CIF-SS Division 1 preliminaries on May 4 at Trabuco Hills High School.

Bennett qualified for the Division 1 Finals in two sprint events.

Bennett finished second in her 200-meter heat with a time of 24.77 seconds to claim the ninth and final qualifying spot. In her better discipline, Bennett posted a time of 56.30 seconds to win her 400-meter heat and easily qualify in that event.

Bennett owns one of the best 400-meter times in the state and broke the school record with a time of 55.40 seconds at the Sea View League Finals on April 26. Bennett won the 200- and 400-meter league titles and also won as the anchor leg of the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays.

Catsimanes competed in only one of the two events she qualified for out of league finals, but she qualified easily for the CIF-SS Finals in the 3,200 meters.

Catsimanes ran a time of 10:51.17 to finish third in her heat.

Catsimanes won both the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter titles at the Sea View League Finals. It was Catsimanes’ third consecutive 1,600 title.

CIF-SS Finals will be contested on Saturday, May 11 at El Camino College in Torrance.

On the boys side, senior Griffin Buchan narrowly missed out on CIF-SS Finals qualification.

Buchan, who won league titles in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, finished less than one second out of qualifying in each of his two events. Buchan ran 15.42 seconds in the 100-meters to finish .43 seconds behind and ran 40.12 in the 300-meters to finish .72 seconds behind.

San Clemente also got Sea View League titles from Jack Gifford in boys discus and Natalie Vissman in girls high jump.

Boys Tennis Falls in CIF-SS Division 1 Semifinals

The San Clemente boys tennis team won its ninth consecutive league title, earned a first-round bye in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs and breezed through its second-round match over Valencia of Valencia, 13-5, on Friday, May 3.  But in the quarterfinals on Monday, May 6, the host Tritons were locked in a battle against Claremont.

San Clemente and Claremont traded points to finish in a 9-9 tie. But the Tritons were rewarded for their efficiency and took the games-won tiebreaker, 78-69, to advance to the Division 1 semifinals.

Beckman, No. 1 seed in Division 1, hosted San Clemente for the semifinals on Wednesday, May 8. The Patriots outlasted the Tritons, 10-8.

Other Playoff Results

• San Clemente softball lost a battle to MaxPrep’s national No. 2 Great Oak of Temecula, 3-2, in the CIF-SS Division 1 second round.
• San Clemente boys volleyball traveled to National No. 1 Newport Harbor and was swept, 25-21, 25-18, 25-17, in the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals.
• Both Triton lacrosse teams lost in the US Lacrosse Orange County quarterfinals. The boys lost at Foothill, 12-10, and the girls lost at St. Margaret’s, 13-6.