Seven track and field athletes have made it past the NorCal regional meet and have qualified for the State Championships.

According to The Fresno Bee, freshman Matt Waters won the men’s decathlon on day one of the trials with 6,637 points, beating the nearest competitor by more than 200 points.

On the second day, Waters qualified first place for State in the pole vault and high jump. He also qualified in the 110-meter hurdles, long jump and discus.

Also qualifying first at regionals for the Rams were: Joe Opoku (800-meter run); Nate Moses (discus); Christian Millard (hammer, shot put and discus); Courtney Gooch (800-meter run); and Lauren Radke (high jump). In addition, Korina Gonzalez was a double qualifier for State, in the discus and hammer.

Previously, both the women’s and men’s track and field teams won their respective Central Valley Conference championships, while more than a half-dozen individuals stand among the leaders in the state in their own events.

Head coach Kent Pagel said Waters, a native of New York, won the NorCal decathlon championship. “He’s not only leading the state in the decathlon,” Pagel said, “he’s leading the country’s junior colleges.”

Pagel also noted Moses, Millard, Isai Orea and Kaven Waysome as key performers on the men’s team. Moses leads the NorCal region in both the discus and the shot put. Millard leads the region in the hammer and discus throws. Orea is third in the region in both the 5k and 10k runs. And Waysome, a native of Jamaica, leads the region in the 400m run.

From the women’s team, Pagel noted that Jodie Ban leads the state in the javelin throw. Gonzales leads the region in the discus and hammer throws, while Goziam Okolie leads the state in the triple jump.