The City College track team completed its final meet at home Saturday, hosting the preliminary qualifiers for the conference finals on April 29.

The team finished strong sporting first place finishes in both track and field events.

“I believe just about everybody qualified on both the men and women’s side,” Coach Keith Kephart said. “Not many schools can say that.”

Though the Vaqueros didn’t have many first place finishes, Kephart is happy with the results.

“When we’re talking about prelims it’s more strategy to qualify into the finals than it is about performance,” he explained.

Jarius Maloy finished first in the shot put. Kephart said Maloy has a good shot at winning state. He also qualified for discus, but fell short of the mark for the hammer throw by two inches.

Dallon Williams took first in the 10,000-meter run. The 3,000-meter steeplechase will be run at the conference finals without a qualifier.

Carly Harris also had a strong day qualifying in both the 800-meter and 1500-meter runs.

“I have a decent shot to make it at state,” Harris said. “I’m running seventh in So. Cal. right now and if I get top six I can move on.”

Kephart is eyeing a top-three finish for both the men and women’s teams, though he says the men have a better shot at state.

The biggest challenge for the women will be Moorpark and their dominant throwing team, widely regarded as the best throwing team in the state, said Kephart.

“They just blow everybody out of the water in throws so they don’t have to do much in track,” Kephart pointed out.

This is especially hard because the women’s side is more track oriented. But things are looking up as every female City College triple-jumper or high jumper qualified for the finals. Now, the women should give Moorpark a run for their money.

Last year the men placed third at the conference level while the women took first.

“Of course we graduated 95 percent of our team, so we have some pretty big shoes to fill,” Kephart joked.

City College hasn’t always been privy to this kind of success. Before Coach Kephart took the reigns last year, the team finished 11 out of 13 on the women’s side and 12 out of 13 on the men’s side.

Kephart said if his team can keep up the new rules he implemented, they will post a strong showing at the conference finals.