Senior Manny Mendoza represented Ceres High’s boys’ track and field team for the final time earlier this month while racing at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships.

Junior Jaiden Boss gained valuable experience at the state-qualifying meet on May 17 in Davis.

“They competed,” said head coach Brett Johnson. “It was fun to watch their growth (this season).”

A first-time Masters participant, Mendoza was disqualified in the 400 for a lane violation.

“He ran the race,” noted Johnson. “He started off faster than he normally does. That’s a competition. You have to do something different. They said he was DQ’d for a lane violation. We didn’t get any clarification. Nothing was communicated at the finish.”

“I knew it was going to be a lot tougher at Masters,” said Mendoza. “I had to have a different mentality. I was prepared. I had some intense practices. The workouts were a lot more intense.”

Mendoza had no idea he was disqualified from the race.

“I didn’t even know until now,” he said. “My time wouldn’t have qualified me (for state) either way. It was a fun experience finally getting to Masters. I really wanted to make it before the end of my four years. That was my goal.”

Mendoza set a personal record while placing third in the 400 (51.11) at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV Championships.

He took third in the 400 (52.57) at the Western Athletic Conference Finals.

Mendoza enjoyed his best year to date during his fourth and final season with the Bulldogs.

Johnson said he is proud of Mendoza, noting that “he really took it serious. He trained hard. He improved tremendously.”

“I took all four years seriously,” stated Mendoza. “I’m going to miss hanging out with all of my friends. Racing against people I know from football as fun.”

Mendoza wasn’t a fan of the 400 as a freshman, Johnson recalled, but said “when he embraced it, that’s when he started to see improvement.”

Boss finished 20th in the 300 hurdles (42.83) and 22nd in the 110 hurdles (16.09) while competing at Masters for the first time.

“For his first time going there, I thought he did well,” Johnson said. “It’s not like he ran poorly.”

Boss said that his overall goal was to “get experience and see what the competition was like. Everything was faster. I think I did pretty good for a junior. My performance was decent. There’s definitely things I could have done better. I can for sure see myself going to state next year.”

Boss took third in the 110 hurdles (15.80) and 300 hurdles (41.61) at the Division-IV Championships. He set personal records in both events. He took second in both the 300 hurdles (42.59) and 110 hurdles (16.48) at the WAC Finals.

Boss enjoyed a lot of success this year despite being slowed by injuries.

He was sidelined for two-and-a-half weeks after being diagnosed with arthritis in his back.

“He had a rough start to the season,” Johnson said. “I don’t think he reached his full potential this year. Once he got healthy and his confidence back, that’s when he showed what he’s capable of.”

“Everything was going good,” Boss added. “My back gave out at one meet. My pain level was nine out of 10. It felt like I was getting tasered. After that, I took a break. We were halfway through the season. It wasn’t that big of a deal coming back. There’s been a little bit of aching. Other than that, it’s been pretty mellow.”

Boss ranks fifth in the 300 hurdles and seventh in the 110 hurdles in the Ceres High boys track and field program’s history.

“To be honest, I’ve done better than my expectations,” he said. “Freshman year, I didn’t know what I was doing. Hurdles are a lot more technical than all of the other races. Your form is everything.”