Falcon Invitational: Y.C.'s Barmore sweeps the board

Immediately following Yuba City High's huge win on the baseball diamond Friday night, Honker track athlete Bernell Barmore could be found in Winship Field's parking lot with his head buried in the hood of his car.

Sporting his letterman's jacket, Barmore feverishly checked all the belts and hoses and even had a buddy try to jump-start his car before deciding to forget about it.

"It's still there," Barmore said. "That made my night even worse. Went home and took a long shower and tried to rejuvenate. That sucked."

A rough ending to Barmore's Friday after he placed third in the 110-meter hurdles at the Del Oro Invitational in Loomis after almost falling down, a race he said he should have won.

He woke up early for Saturday's second annual Falcon Invitational at River Valley High, dead-set on washing away Friday with a strong showing.

It may not start, but at least Barmore can go pick up his car with four gold medals around his neck.

The senior placed first in all four events he competed in on Saturday, leading all participants. There were 10 teams in the field, including Yuba City, River Valley, Marysville and Live Oak representing the Mid-Valley.

River City swept the invitational, with the boys scoring a 118 and the girls earning an 87. Yuba City's boys finished second (97), River Valley was fourth (59), Marysville was seventh (54) with Live Oak coming in eighth (20).

The Falcons' varsity girls were third (81), with Marysville coming in fifth (69), Yuba City finishing seventh (30) and Live Oak ending up in eighth (20).

Barmore started his day with a redemption of Friday's loss, winning his 110-meter hurdle race with a time of 15.72 seconds.

Though his trail leg did catch a hurdle in the 300-meter race, Barmore still won with a 45.05-second showing. He also took home the 100-meter dash with an 11.43.

His most impressive showing was in the triple jump, where he is a section title contender. Barmore leapt 44 feet, 7 1/2 inches, easily besting the field.

Barmore's season-best 15.04 run in the 110 hurdles is the fourth-best time in the section. His best jump (44-9) ranks seventh.

"The competition I saw (at the Del Oro invite) was really good," Barmore said. "I had somebody to push me. Hopefully I see more of that until sub-sections."

River Valley freshman Leanne Jarvis was also coming off two meets in two days after competing in the Woody Wilson Invitational in Davis on Friday.

She's been running since she was 8 years old, and in her first season with the Falcons has already broken the school record for the 1600 (5:32.7) and 3200 (12:13).

On Saturday she won the 1600 with a 5:34.43 and teamed with Fenny Descuatan, Kym Crosby and Harkiren Everest for a victory in the 3200 relay (10:41.25).

Jarvis said her competitiveness drives her to compete with the older runners, despite her age.

"Running varsity can be intimidating sometimes, knowing that everybody is older than you and you're only a freshman," Jarvis said. "Once you get out there and start running it doesn't matter how old you are or what grade you're in. You're just running to win."

Clad in zebra-print sprinter shorts, Jarvis' teammates Kennedy and Crosby cleaned house for the Falcons, with Kennedy winning both the 300-meter hurdles (50.43) and the 100-meter hurdles (17.78).

Crosby's races were laughable with how far ahead she was.

The Chico State-bound senior holds the section's third-best time in the 400 (57.95) and won Saturday's race in 1:00.34.

She also won gold in the 400 relay (54.21) with Kennedy, Descuatan and Kiana Pedraza. Dale Williams was the Falcons' lone gold medalist on the boys side with a 42.5 heave in the shot put.

Representing the Northern Section, Live Oak senior Kaleb Allen put on a clinic in the 200 and 400.

The Lions' senior runner holds the Northern Section's top mark in the 200 (22.04) and ran a 22.84 at River Valley on Saturday.

Allen ran the 400 in 50.99 seconds for gold as well, though he said two races in one day takes a lot out of him.

Following his victory in the 200, Allen fell to the ground to remove his purple and gold spikes, revealing his blood-soaked sock.

"I had a fat blister, but it turned out good," Allen said. "I'm not going to lie, I didn't expect to run that (time) today."

Rounding out the Mid-Valley winners were Yuba City's Victor Ly, who won the discus with a throw of 125 feet. The Honkers' Holly McAllister won gold in the 3200 with a 13:26.50.

Kevin Lewis, Jo an Fernandez, Haden Barrow and Greg Geraldo won gold for Yuba City in the 3200 (9:14.23).

Laying on the infield with blistered feet, trying to regain his breath, Allen shared a sentiment many of his fellow competitors echoed following Saturday's meet.

"I'm pretty tired; this blister's killing me right now," Allen said. "I just want to go home, lay down and play some 'Call of Duty.'"