The Thousand Oaks track team is heating up at just the right time, and senior Lucas Schneider is leading the charge. After missing the first half of the season due to injury, Schneider is back in top form—and he proved it at Saturday's CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Preliminaries at Yorba Linda High.
Schneider clocked the fastest boys 300-meter hurdle time in Division 3 with a blistering 38.38 seconds, and also secured sixth place in the 110-meter hurdles at 14.65. He'll look to defend his Division 3 section title next Saturday at Moorpark High—a familiar setting for the standout athlete.
Last spring, Schneider placed third at the section's Masters Meet before making a statement at the state final, where his 36.94 earned him a third-place finish. With momentum on his side, he's poised for another deep postseason run.
Moorpark's Davis Benson also turned heads, recording the best qualifying marks in Division 3 for the boys 110 hurdles with a school-record 14.11 and a long jump of 22 feet, 3.50 inches. He tied for first with teammate Dean Guzman in the high jump at 6-0.
In Division 2 action at Ontario, both county co-record holders in the boys 100-meter dash advanced: Demare Dezeurn of Westlake (10.45) and Jaden Griffin of Newbury Park (10.46). Dezeurn, who transferred from Bishop Alemany, previously won Division 4 titles in 2024 and 2025.
On the girls' side, Calabasas dominated the sprints, placing four athletes in the top four spots for the 100-meter dash: Olivia Kirk (11.62), Marley Scoggins (11.65), Malia Rainey (11.65), and Devyn Sproles (11.84). Moorpark's Gianna Gonzales also qualified with a 12.02.
The 200-meter finals will feature a strong local contingent: Kirk (23.73), Rainey (23.78), Sproles (23.92), Scoggins (23.95), Moorpark's Camilla Peltonen (23.94), and Oaks Christian's Savannah Williams (24.37). Peltonen's time moved her to No. 6 on the all-time county performance list for the 200, and she also placed third in the 400 at 55.78.
In the girls pole vault, defending Division 2 champion Taya Frodis and teammate Charlie Curtis of Thousand Oaks qualified alongside Shaylee Torres, Kai Laber, and Branna Burke of Ventura. Frodis cleared 10-9 to lead the pack.
With finals week ahead, local athletes are proving that Ventura County track is alive and well—and ready for the spotlight.