With only weeks left in the season the track and field teams began throwing, vaulting, jumping and running with extra intensity.

Any doubts that the Warriors could qualify for state disappeared as they tore through the competition Friday at the Southern California regional finals at Mt. San Antonio College.

“We’ve been doing well all season, and we continue to have big performances,” coach Dean Lofgren said. “Everything we do throughout the season and in the fall is geared toward the last few weeks.”

The track and field teams will return to Mt. San Antonio College for the Southern California regional finals and state qualifiers tomorrow.

“You have to go in there and just do what you have to do,” Alex Tuliau, discus thrower, said. “It’s not like it’s our first time going there.”

Tuliau qualified in the discus along with Jason Harrell and Jovan Beason.

“I picked up the discus when I started EC, but shotput is my main event,” Beason said. “Coach has always been telling me that I’m a discus thrower, so maybe this is a true testament to what I actually am.”

Derion Taylor, triple jumper, reached seventh on the EC All-Time Top 10 List with a jump of 48 feet and 11 3/4 inches.

“This week is about preparing mentally for this big meet because physically they’re ready,” assistant coach Darryl Geurin said.

Qualifying in the 10,000-meter for the state finals, Maria Colin ran 39 minutes and 5.91 seconds placing her seventh in the race.

“The pressure going into these meets tends to be self-imposed and (the coaches) try to take the pressure off the team,” Lofgren said.

Due to dehydration and a quadricep strain, Jose Lezama dropped out of the 10,000-meter but will compete in the 5,000-meter final tomorrow.

“The purpose of the meet is not only to score well for the team, but to do as well as you can,” Lofgren said.

Isis Garland achieved a personal record of 24.49 seconds qualifying her in the 200-meter along with Shale’ Garland with a time of 24.30.

Shale’ Garland heads to the finals as the top qualifier in the 400-meter while Amanda Young achieved a personal record of 57.85 seconds in the event.

“We have some high end people that are going to score points,” Lofgren said. “There’s good spirits, they’re competing well and everybody’s healthy.”

Additionally, the women’s relay team won in the 400-meter and the 1,600-meter with times of 46.31 seconds and 3:48.66, respectively. The team consisted of Isis Garland, Shale’ Garland, Ronisha Vallery and Young.

“If you’ve thrown well, jumped well and run well, just go out, stay relaxed and do it again,” Lofgren said.

“It’s more important to stay relaxed in the big meets than to go in with high pressure thinking you’re going to go out and kill the world,” Lofgren said. “Those are the ones that walk away with their tail between their legs, bummed out that things didn’t go the way they planned.”