Old River Elementary wins Carnival of Champions

Photos courtesy Downey Unified School District

DOWNEY -- For the third consecutive year, Old River Elementary won the Carnival of Champions, an annual competition in which approximately 500 fourth and fifth graders compete in track and field events. 

Old River racked up 222 points at Saturday's competition, which was held at Warren High School. They were followed by Rio San Gabriel and Price. 

Multiple records were broken at this year's competition. In the 50-meter dash, Aniyah Johnson of Carpenter Elementary finished with a time 7.44 seconds, beating the previous record that was set in 2009 by a Rio San Gabriel student. 

Myah Alvarado of Old River ran the 100-meter dash in 13.59 seconds, which broke the previous record set in 2007 by a Carpenter student. 

The mixed-coed relay team from Old River finished the 400-meter race in 59.37 seconds, setting a new record. 

Carnival of Champions is now in its 52nd year. The competition was resurrected in 2013 after a three-year hiatus.