Photo Galleries »

2012: The Star's Boys' Track Athletes of the Year

See larger JOEL GONZALEZ CAMARILLO 1,600 Gonzalez's best time this season in the 1,600 was 4 minutes, 13.72 seconds, which put him at No. 22 in the state. That gave him the best time among all Ventura County athletes. He was also third best in the county in the 800 at 1:56.55. The 5-foot-10, 140-pound junior also had a top time of 9:29.03 in the 3,200. Gonzalez was named Explorer of the Year for the Moorpark station. His hobbies include playing soccer and performing magic and yo-yo tricks. He enjoys eating spaghetti, pasta and pizza. His favorite movie is '21 Jump Street,' his favorite TV show is 'Family Guy' and his favorite athlete is soccer player Lionel Mazzi.

Photo by Juan Carlo, Ventura County Star

JOEL GONZALEZ

CAMARILLO

1,600

Gonzalez's best time this season in the 1,600 was 4 minutes, 13.72 seconds, which put him at No. 22 in the state. That gave him the best time among all Ventura County athletes. He was also third best in the county in the 800 at 1:56.55. The 5-foot-10, 140-pound junior also had a top time of 9:29.03 in the 3,200. Gonzalez was named Explorer of the Year for the Moorpark station. His hobbies include playing soccer and performing magic and yo-yo tricks. He enjoys eating spaghetti, pasta and pizza. His favorite movie is "21 Jump Street," his favorite TV show is "Family Guy" and his favorite athlete is soccer player Lionel Mazzi.

Buy this photo

Photo Rating:
Gallery Rating:

  • DARION ZIMMERMAN RIO MESA 400 Zimmerman's time of 48.18 seconds at the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Championships tied the Rio Mesa school record set by Jamison Jordan, tied him for 12th best in the state this year and put him at No. 8 all time in Ventura County. Zimmerman won the Ventura County title in 48.60 seconds, and is part of the Rio Mesa 4x400 relay team that won the state title in 3:16.21 and the 4x100 relay that was missed by 0.003 seconds of another title. The 5-foot-7, 137-pound senior has yet to make a college choice. He likes hanging out with friends, playing video games and eating banana splits. He enjoys watching 'The Boondocks' and 'Avatar' and listening to Kanye West. Zimmerman's favorite team is the LSU Tigers and his favorite athlete is Floyd Mayweather Jr.
  • Blake Selig is headed to UCLA after competing in the 100, 200, long jump and relays at Rio Mesa High.
  • GENO ARTHUR RIO MESA 3,200 Arthur took third place in the CIF-SS Division 3 3,200 with a time of 9 minutes, 19.74 seconds, which notched him at No. 53 in the state and No. 31 in the Southern Section. He also won the Ventura County Championship in the event in 9:23.26. The 5-foot-11, 137-pound senior plans to attend Oberlin College. Academically, Arthur won Star Scholar and Rio Mesa Scholar-Athlete awards. He enjoys church group, playing the guitar, running and hanging out with friends. The Angels are his favorite team, Drew Brees is his favorite athlete and pizza is his favorite food. He likes listening to Of Monsters and Men, watching the movie 'Inception' and the TV show 'Doctor Who.'
  • ERIC BEILKE VENTURA SHOT PUT Beilke won two titles at the April 27 Ventura County Championship at Moorpark High, taking the championship in the shot put at 54 feet, 5 inches and also in the discus (169-5½). His best shot put this season was 54-9½, which put him at No. 40 in the state, and his best throw in the discus was 176-10, which was good enough to put him at No. 14 statewide. The 6-foot-1, 250-pound junior says his favorite food is beef.
  • JOEL GONZALEZ CAMARILLO 1,600 Gonzalez's best time this season in the 1,600 was 4 minutes, 13.72 seconds, which put him at No. 22 in the state. That gave him the best time among all Ventura County athletes. He was also third best in the county in the 800 at 1:56.55. The 5-foot-10, 140-pound junior also had a top time of 9:29.03 in the 3,200. Gonzalez was named Explorer of the Year for the Moorpark station. His hobbies include playing soccer and performing magic and yo-yo tricks. He enjoys eating spaghetti, pasta and pizza. His favorite movie is '21 Jump Street,' his favorite TV show is 'Family Guy' and his favorite athlete is soccer player Lionel Mazzi.
  • BRANDON HUGHES MOORPARK 300 HURDLES Hughes' best time in the 300 hurdles this season was 39.70 seconds, taking second in the Marmonte League Championships. In the 110 hurdles, Hughes took fifth place in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 Championships with a time of 14.84. The Musketeers benefited from Hughes' versatility. His best in the discus was 161-7 and he was also a part of the 4x100 relay that had a 43.11 best. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior is headed for Fresno State. He was honored with a Principal's Award at Moorpark. His hobbies include swimming, eating and sleeping. He likes watching 'Family Guy' and 'Step Brothers.' His favorite food is spaghetti. His favorite athlete in Clay Matthews.
  • ADAM LUCERO CAMARILLO 3,200 Lucero had the county's fastest time in the event at 9 minutes, 14.49 seconds in April at the Mount SAC Invitational, which ranked him at 30th in the state. In the 1,600, Lucero placed second at the Ventura County Championships in 4:22.80. The 6-foot, 145-pound senior will be attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after earning scholar-athlete honors with a 3.5 GPA. He enjoys watching 'South Park' and 'Family Guy' and eating hamburgers. 'Avatar' is his favorite movie, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eminem are his favorite performers and Steve Prefontaine is his favorite athlete.
  • CHRISTIAN McNAIR RIO MESA DISCUS McNair's best throw in the discus in 2012 was 168 feet, 8 inches, which put him 27th in the state and 14th in the CIF-Southern Section. McNair was second in the Ventura County Championships with a throw of 166-5½. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior plans to go to Ventura College next year. He enjoys playing football and lifting weights, along with eating tri-tip. McNair likes watching 'SportsCenter' and 'Gladiator' and listening to Three Days Grace. His favorite team is the Indianapolis Colts and his favorite player is their former quarterback, Peyton Manning.
  • KYLE MEDINA VENTURA 800 Medina took second in the CIF-SS Division 3 800 in 1 minute, 54.52 seconds and had a best of 1:54.35 this season. The junior also turned in a time of 4:17.91 in the 1,600, and was also part of the Cougars' 4x400 relay team. A 5-9¾, 145-pound junior, Medina was the 800 anchor on Ventura's sprint medley team, which won the Arcadia Invitational in 3:29.59. Medina enjoys hanging out with friends, eating pasta, cheesecake and sweet potatoes and watching 'Modern Family.' His favorite movie is 'Never Back Down' and his favorite singer is Taylor Swift. His favorite athlete is 800 runner Nick Symmonds and his favorite team is Oregon track and field.
  • CAMERON ROACH RIO MESA 200 Roach placed third in the CIF-SS Division 3 200 in a personal-best 21.59 seconds and was sixth in the CIF-SS Division 3 100 in 10.79. He was also a part of Rio Mesa's 4x100 relay team (40.95), which won the Division 3 title and 4x400 relay team (3:16.02), which took third. Both qualified for the state meet, where the 4x400 team won the title in 3:16.21 and the 4x100 was second (41.13) by 0.003 seconds. The 6-foot-2, 179-pound senior plans to go to St. John's. Roach's likes reading, hiking and swimming and eating steak. His favorite movie is 'Yellow Submarine' and he likes watching '1000 Ways to Die' on TV. Allyson Felix is his favorite athlete and his top team is Florida State.
  • SHANE RYAN VENTURA HIGH JUMP Ryan tied for ninth best in the state with his jump of 6 feet, 8 inches at the April Mount SAC Relays. He won the event in the Ventura County Championships with a mark of 6-4. Ryan took eighth in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 Championships at 6-1. Ryan also turned in a best of 49.7 in the 400 and was part of school record-breaking sprint medley and distance medley relay teams. The 6-foot-4, 173-pound senior, headed for UC Davis, had a 4.32 GPA and took National Honor Society, California Scholastic Federation and Kiwanis Scholar-Athlete Community Service awards. Ryan likes hiking, tennis and swimming. His favorites include 'That '70s Show,' 'Warrior,' 'Remember the Titans,' 'Miracle,' 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' Manchester United, decathlete Ashton Eaton, burritos, pasta and ice cream.
  • VINNIE SAUCER OAKS CHRISTIAN 200 Saucer's time of 21.42 seconds in the 200 at the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 finals was the eighth best time in California in 2012 and 50th best in the nation. He was arguably even better in the 100, clocking in at 10.54 at the same meet, good for sixth in the state and 26th in the nation. Saucer was also a key element of Oaks Christian's 4x100 and 4x400 relays, with the 4x100 advancing to the state meet. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound junior is a fan of 'The Boondocks' TV show, enjoys watching 'Remember the Titans' and eating spaghetti. His favorite team is the San Francisco 49ers, his favorite athlete is LeBron James and his favorite singer is J. Cole.
  • BLAKE SELIG RIO MESA 100, LONG JUMP Selig was key in versatility for the Spartans, competing in the 100, 200, long jump and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. The 4x400 won the state title in 3:16.21 and the 4x100 was second by 0.003 seconds. He had a wind-aided time of 10.50 seconds in the 100 at the CIF-Southern Section Divisionals. A week later, his legal time of 10.65 at the Masters Meet was 12th best in the state and tied him for No. 7 on the all-time Ventura County list. He placed fifth at the state meet (10.73). His long jump of 24-1¼ at the county championships was a meet record, put him at No. 4 in the state and No. 8 in the U.S., and tied for third in Ventura County history. The 5-11, 150-pound Selig is going to UCLA. He enjoys surfing and watching 'NCIS' and 'The Guardian.' Also among his favorites: the Los Angeles Kings, Carl Lewis, Justin Bieber and his mom's homemade macaroni and cheese.
  • CONNOR STARK OAK PARK POLE VAULT Stark's personal best of 16 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault this season — set March 15 at a meet with Westlake and El Camino Real — put him third in the state and 11th in the nation. He was second at the state meet for the second straight year, with this year's mark at 16-4. Stark won the county championship with a mark of 16-0 and was fourth in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Championships at Mount San Antonio College in 15-3. His vault of 15-9 was good for first at the CIF-SS Masters Meet. The 6-foot, 175-pound Stark will be joining his pole-vaulting sisters Madison and Aubree at UCLA. Connor enjoys watching 'Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory' and the Lakers, eating sushi and listening to 2 Chainz.
  • ANTHONY TEART RIO MESA TRIPLE JUMP Teart won the Ventura County championship in the triple jump with a leap of 44 feet. He also placed eighth in the 110 hurdles at the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Championships at Mount SAC with a time of 15.31 seconds. Teart's best time in the hurdles was 14.79 set in the CIF-SS Division 3 prelims. Teart was part of the 4x400 relay team to win the state meet in 3:16.21. His favorite film is 'John Q' and his favorite singer is Frank Ocean. Teart is a fan of the Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo. He likes eating pizza and watching 'SpongeBob SquarePants.'
  • Blake Selig (right) and Rio Mesa coach Brian FitzGerald had a father-son type relationship, with FitzGerald saying the do-it-all senior "made coaching easy for me and he made it exciting."

Related Stories for 2012: The Star's Boys' Track Athletes of the Year

Comments on this photo » Disabled

Featured Promotions

Videos


Social

Wire

Features