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Photograph by Dai Sugano
Final Surge: Del Mar's D.J. Ozan was edged out for second in the 800, but he won the 1,600 at CCS.
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Ozan, Mastin win CCS titles
Del Mar girls' softballers split pair in playoffs
By Dick Sparrer
It was quite a day for the Blossom Valley Athletic League, and Del Mar athletes were a big part of it.
D.J. Ozan, Ruben Mastin and Garrett Jones of Del Mar brought home four of the 56 places that athletes from the BVAL won at the rugged Central Coast Section track and field championships held May 28 at San Jose City College.
And the Del Mar threesome isn't finished yet. All three have qualified for the state track and field meet set for June 4-5 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento.
Ozan ran to a CCS victory in the 1,600 meters and added a third in the 800 to qualify for state competition in two events.
Mastin won a CCS title in the high jump, and Jones finished third in the pole vault to earn a state trip.
The top three placers in each event at the Section finals advance to the state meet.
Ozan outran Josh Campbell of North Monterey County to the finish line to win the 1,600 meters at the CCS finals. Ozan finished in 4:21.26 for the victory, with Campbell a close second in 4:21.39.
Ozan finished third in the close finish in the 800 meters. He ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Chris Puga of Mills down the final stretch, only to have Puga nip him at the wire to get second. Puga finished in 1:55.31, with Ozan third in 1:55.35.
Mastin flew over the bar at 6-6 to finish ahead of the field in the high jump at the CCS finals. His nearest rivals were Ty Edwards of Hollister and Darren Williams of Hill, who each topped 6-4.
Jones went 14-6 in the pole vault to get third overall and win a berth in the state meet.
Ozan also helped the Del Mar 4x400 relay team to a finish-place finish in 3:26.17, and distance runner Dawit Gezahengn was sixth in the 3,200 meters in 9:34.00.
The effort was good enough to get the Dons into the top five in the team standings. Del Mar ended up fifth with 35 points. Bellarmine was fourth at 38.
T.J. Aimonetti of Westmont also placed at CCS, but came up short in his bid for a state trip. The senior heaved the shot put 51-4 to finish sixth overall in the boys field.
In girls action, Shannon Smith of Del Mar placed eighth in the high jump at 4-10.
Vafaei wins qualifier
Mani Vafaei of Prospect had to settle for third place in the league finals, but the Panthers tennis ace more than made up for that finish with a championship in the CCS individual qualifier last week.
Vafaei handled Rajiv Batra of Leland 7-5, 7-5 in the semi-finals, then won by injury default over Henry Chau of Piedmont Hills in the finals to win a place in the CCS tournament that begins May 25 at the Imperial Courts.
Vafaei opened play in the tournament in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League with a 6-4, 6-1 win over an Oak Grove opponent, but lost 6-0, 6-2 to a Santa Teresa foe in the semi-finals. Vafaei came back with a 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) win in the third-place match to clinch third in the division.
He advanced to the CCS qualifying tournament and finished first to qualify for the CCS finals May 25-27.
Vafaei lost his first match at the finals, though, falling 6-1, 6-2 to sixth-seeded Sean Bhola of Live Oak.
Dons split
The Del Mar girls softball team split a pair of games in the CCS Division II playoffs, crushing St. Ignatius 19-0 before losing 5-2 to St. Francis in the semifinals.
Shannon Kagel tossed a three-hit shutout to lead the Dons past the Wildcats.
Rosie Garcia had four hits, including a double, to drive in four runs in the win. Emily DeLong doubled and singled twice to drive in two runs, and Jennifer Nixon and Heather Saugen had two hits apiece and knocked in two runs each. Brooke Charland also had two hits.
Kagel was stuck with the loss when the Dons fell to the Lancers a game later. Kagel finished the year with a solid 13-5 pitching record, and the Dons ended up 21-9 overall.
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Campbell, California
