There were 16 records set by aspiring Olympians in Sunday afternoon’s 33rd annual Optimist/YMCA Track & Field Meet at Stadium by the Sea on the campus of Palisades High. New record holders were awarded medals which can be picked up at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA office at 821 Via de la Paz. This year’s event drew 150 youth athletes, who competed in 10 events ranging from the 50-meter dash to the shot put. Twelve-year-old Chase Bosworth, who attends Our Lady of Malibu, broke Janice Meredith’s 2000 shot put record of 19-9 by throwing the metal ball 34-3. Bosworth holds the Catholic Youth Organization’s state record in the event for her age group at 35-11. Bosworth also won the 200 in 30.60 on Sunday. ‘We had a great turnout, great weather and it was a lot of fun,’ said Stu Kaiser, who coordinated the event along with Jim Kirtley of the YMCA. ‘This is great for the community and there are some great athletes out here. It seems every year more and more records are broken.’ Courtney and Kennedy Corrin broke five meet records, with Courtney setting marks in three 5 & 6-year-old events and older sister Kennedy breaking two records in girls 7 & 8 events. Shortly after, Kendall Gustafson shaved five-tenths of a second off of older sister Lauren’s 2002 record to win the 9 & 10 girls’ 400 meters in 1:19.49. Brett Allchorn, an 11-year-old from Paul Revere Middle School, won the 100 in 15.09 and also won the 200 meters. Samantha Elander of Marquez Elementary won her heat of the girls’ 11 & 12-year-old 100 meters in 15.53 while 9 & 10-year-olds Paige Stoker and Kendall Gustafson won their heats in the 100. Canyon Charter School’s Jack Gelber won the 100 in the boys’ 9 & 10 division and his cousin, Austin Gelber, finished second. Spurred on by Paul Revere track coach Paul Foxson, 13-year-old Eric Rosen easily won the high jump. Christine Irvin, a 10-year-old from Corpus Christi, competed in the long jump, 100 meters and high jump events. She was joined by her nine-year-old friends, Scarlet Addas (who attends Carlthorp School) and Skylar Dykstra, whose older sister, Jenna, is a former volleyball standout at Marymount High. Patrick Finlan, a freshman at Palisades High, won the 800 in 2:27, won the long jump with a distance of 16-3 and completed his trifecta by clearing 4-2 to win the high jump. ‘I came here with the intention of winning all my events,’ said Finlan, who ran cross country and track for the Dolphins this year. ‘I train with a coach in Santa Monica and I like a lot of events. For school, I did everything: the 400, 800, the 4 x 400 relay, the 300 hurdles, the long jump and the triple jump but I think my favorite event is the 800.’ Tuekeha Huntley of Paul Revere cleared four feet to win the girls’ 13-15 high jump. ‘I’m glad I won but I can do much better. I’ve cleared 4-10 before at school.’ The annual meet provides youth of the community with a great opportunity to discover the fun and excitement of real track and field competition. All participants received an event t-shirt and the atmosphere was friendly and sportsmanlike. Kids were awarded ribbons for their participation and achievements.
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