SRHS team stands out at league championship
By Hector Trujillo
Thanks to a long and arduous season that saw the Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) track and field team have several standout performances, the Falcons were able to use that momentum to show off their talents at the Western League Championship held at University City on May 8.
“It’s been very impressive,” said SRHS head track and field coach Kadrina Coffee. “They were all locked in and focused.”
Scripps Ranch High was moved to the more challenging Division 1 for 2026 due to its increased student enrollment this year, but the Falcons ended up setting 11 records in terms of performances at the Western League Championship, with two of those being school records, along with two top-tens in the girls 800m and 1600m.
The boys also recorded top-tens in the 400m, the mile, the 4x400m relay and pole vault, with senior Zachary Marsh running a 21:88 in the 200m which was good for second place overall and also broke the school record of 21:91.
John Melancon also had a strong showing in the same event by finishing at 22:40 which was good for fourth place overall.
Marsh also stood out in the 400m with a time of 48:31, placing him fifth overall in the county while beating out second-place finisher Bradley Ramos of Point Loma High by 17 seconds.
The 1600m saw Nathan Bamford finish in first place at 4:12:87, while teammate Benjamin Stephens came in third with a 4:19:46, and the 4x400m team finished at 3:19:46 just behind first-place Point Loma High at 3:19:32.
The SRHS women were not to be outdone thanks to the performances of juniors Riley Martin – who set the school record with a 4:59:15 in the 1600m, which was good for fifth place overall – and Ellie Cannon who finished in sixth place at 4:59:19.
Tegan Koranda finished in fifth place in the 800m at 2:18:97 while Martin ended in seventh place with a 2:20:74.
“All of our top elite athletes have a goal in mind, and that goal is getting to State,” Coffee said.
SRHS athletes also performed impressively in the CIF-SDS Division 1 Championships on May 16. The Falcons 4×400 men’s relay team of Oleksandr Predybailo, Zachary Marsh, Nicholas Cheng and John Melancon took first place with a time of 3:17.19. Zachary Marsh captured third place in the men’s 400m with a time of 48.02. Nathan Bamford took third place in the men’s 1600m with a time of 4:15.10. Riley Martin earned third place in the women’s 800m with a time of 2:13.32.
The 2026 CIF State Track & Field Championships will be held on Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30 at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif.