Ojai Valley School runners posted powerful performances at the Omega League track and field final last Friday, with three OVS athletes emerging as league champions in four contested events.
Junior Karin Hahn was a double champion for OVS, earning victories in the 800 and 1600 meter runs. Karin also anchored the girls 4 x 400 meter relay to a second-place finish. Fellow junior Soren Saye won the boys 800 meter while also running a leg of the second-place 4 X 400 meter relay.
Sophomore Prudence Currey Schafer took the 400 meter crown in a personal best time. She also finished second in the 200 meter dash and ran the opening leg of the 4 X 100 relay. Going back to the fall, Prudence was also the Omega League cross country champion, marking the first time an OVS athlete has won league titles in both sports.
All three runners are headed to CIF Southern Section Divisional Preliminaries on Saturday at Carpinteria High School.
OVS coach Fred Alvarez said he was pleased with the way his runners performed in the league final, especially given that this was the first track season the Omega League has been able to stage since 2019 because of COVID-related cancellations.
“I was just happy to have to have a track season this year and to give our athletes an opportunity to run,” Mr. Alvarez said. “As a team, our runners performed powerfully, and I was really happy that within the group we crowned three new Omega League champions in four events. I’m looking forward to seeing them really test their talent at CIF.”
In other performances of note, junior Eli Roston came within a second of qualifying for CIF in the 1600, while junior Clara Ferrer Ferreira earned two second places finishes in the 1600 and the 800, setting personal best times.
The team has progressed plenty since the start of the season, and with only a handful of seniors on the team, the future is exciting.
“We were able to build a solid foundation this year,” Mr. Alvarez said. “I can’t wait to see how these athletes perform in the future.”
