MJC record holders to compete at track and field state championships

In a way, Taylor Snaer was destined to run track at Modesto Junior College.

Her father, Demitrius Snaer, who was a two-time track All-American at Fresno State, has been coaching the Pirates for 20 years and would bring his daughter to the track when she was as young as 2 years old.

Fast forward years later and they are back on the Pirates’ track, this time for practices and meets. They have traveled all over the West Coast together for college events.

“We have a great relationship, on the track, off the track, we don’t have any issues. It’s perfect,” Taylor said. “I’ve been running for him my whole life. I don’t think I’ve ever had a different track coach. Our relationship has just grown stronger and better.”

Despite injuries as a senior, she qualified for the state meet. Taylor passed up on a handful of Division I scholarship offers to run for her dad at MJC and it has paid off. She is the school record holder in the 100, 200, 400 and the 4x100. Her accomplishments also extend past the Central Valley as she has run times qualifying her for the U.S. Olympic trials. She also qualified for the U20 team.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Demitrius Snaer said. “My wife and I sometimes we lay in bed and we look up at the ceiling and we think about all the things that she’s accomplished and it’s just like, wow.”

This weekend, Snaer will take his daughter and 17 other MJC men’s and women’s track and field athletes to Saddleback College for the 3C2A track and field championships on May 17 and 18.

MJC has turned in great individual and team results all season including men’s and women’s conference championships and a women’s NorCal title. On May 3-4, the top placers from the NorCal Finals qualified for state.

Their goals for this weekend’s state finals are lofty: PR’s and podium team finishes for both the men’s and women’s sides. But their coach thinks it’s possible.

“We’ve always had pretty successful teams, but I would say collectively as a men’s and women’s team. This is probably our best that we’ve had,” Demitrius Snaer said.

Said his daughter: “I love this team. It’s great coming here every day with a group that wants to be here and work hard. Being around that atmosphere has made me grow for the better.”

Women’s 4x100 record setters excited for opportunity

In track and field, when you set out to break a record, it rarely ever happens. But when you’re running worry free, that’s when special things happen.

The MJC women’s 4x100 team knows that all too well.

The quartet of Josalynn Ragland, Snaer, Kyndell Johnston and Kylie Davis broke the MJC record, finishing in 47.63 seconds at the Jim Linthicum Invitational at De Anza College. The previous record of 47.69 seconds stood since 1986.

“I didn’t even know until we got done,” Johnston said. “I was like, ‘Are you serious?’”

The second time they broke the record, they say, was more special because they did it on the MJC track. And conditions could not have been better. They recorded the fastest time in school history.

“It was a nice day, it wasn’t windy or anything,” said Ragland, a Pitman High graduate. “The sun was out, it was hot. So there were a lot of PR’s happening that day, so opening up with that was really nice.”

The school 4x100 record has been broken three different times this season alone with three different anchors. Ragland, Snaer, Johnston and Kylie Nunes hold the fastest time, 47.01 seconds. Alyson Schneider ran the anchor leg in the team’s other 47.63 seconds result.

Hailing from Hilmar High, Johnston says she did not think she would compete in the 4x100 at MJC, but as a constant third leg on all of the team’s record breaking teams, she has grown in the event and has grown closer to her teammates in her freshman year.

“We’re all like family, that’s why we have so much success,” she said. “In our 4x100 team it just clicked, like sisters in a way. So when we’re on the track, it’s a lot easier.”

Ragland is making her second appearance at the state meet this weekend. Last season as a freshman, she helped the 4x100 team finish in 48.43 seconds, good for fifth.

She embraces her role as one of the team’s veterans, encouraging the freshmen to push through mistakes.

“If they’re in their head, I’m just like, ‘It’s OK. We have another meet. There’s going to be success down the road,’” Ragland said.

Both admit there are nerves heading into the biggest meet of the season, but the nerves are good. Johnston keeps tabs on the competition, checking other schools times online. But they know they’ve put in the hours.

“We’ve been working hard for this, this is why we’re here,” Ragland said. “We’re super excited for it to be here so we can compete.”

From rivals to teammates

Like Snaer, Joey Stout essentially grew up on the MJC track.

Stout has run track since he was a child, but quickly made his mark on the football field at Pitman High. By his senior season, he became one of the most exciting receivers and returners in the CCAL.

As a football player at MJC, Stout was an All-State slot receiver during his freshman campaign and hopes for a big sophomore season.

“I came out here right after football season,” Stout said. “Typically I do track for conditioning to stay fit for football, but I kind of fell a little bit more in love with the sport. I mean, it’s a great sport to be in love with. It keeps you fit and everything but being on this team and being able to improve as much as I have, it’s just been amazing.”

Stout is competing to score points alongside a number of former CCAL rivals. Rusty Jones, a Downey High graduate, and Stout are each on the Pirates’ all-time Top 10 records lists. Jones is No. 9 in the 100 and No. 7 in the 200. Stout is No. 3 in the 200 and No. 4 in the 400.

“We’ll just be standing there and we’ll be like, ‘Alright, so let’s go one-two. Like I don’t care who gets first or second as long as we’re one-two.’ So we’re ultimately there to push each other now instead of go against each other.”

Enochs High graduate Keith Orona thought his calling was in football. He even spent his first year of college as one of MJC’s quarterbacks.

Then he made the switch to track full time. The workouts are much different, transitioning from sprints and lateral training in football to distance sprints and lactic training in track. It’s an adjustment that took him “a couple months” to get used to and he is still learning. But making the switch is a decision he says he doesn’t regret at all.

“It’s been nice having a little bit of relief on the bones and on the muscles overall, I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “I think it’s been the best decision for myself and I’m looking forward to hopefully the next few years to come on the track.”

This weekend he will compete in 10 events over two days as a decathlete and will also throw discus. He had some track experience, competing in high jump and long jump at Enochs, but was new to the running events. He says he was hesitant when approached about doing the decathlon, but embraced the challenge. In the first weekend of May, he was crowned a NorCal champion.

“I didn’t know about the decathlon until I actually got to MJC last year,” Orona said. Coach (Brian) Beeman was trying to convince me to do it. Midway through the season, I was like I’ll give it a try. And then after that, it’s just it’s been my favorite thing to do.

“The cool thing about the decathlon is if one event doesn’t go your way, you have nine other events to make something right. So it’s pretty cool. And it really just tests your mentality.”

MJC track and field state qualifiers

Men

Joey Stout: 200, 400, 4x100, 4x400

Rusty Jones: 100, 200, 4x100, 4x400

Kainoa Ontai: 4x100 and 4x400

Ben Plaa: 4x400

Blake Gross: Decathlon and 4x100

Keith Orona: Decathlon and Discus

Adan Salgado: 10k

Semaj Moore: Hammer Throw

Luke Appleby: Pole Vault

Women

Taylor Snaer: 100, 200, 4x100, 4x400

Kyndell Johnston: 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 4x100, 4x400

Camila Stephens: 4x400

Alyson Schneider: Long Jump and 4x100

Kylie Davis: 100 hurdles

Josalynn Ragland: 4x100 and 4x400

Camrenne Genilla: Heptathlon and Javelin Throw

McKenna Alderman: Heptathlon and High Jump

Jocelyn Pedretti: Heptathlon, Discus, Javelin

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