GILROY—Thursday’s home meet marked the end of an era for Christopher coach Jeff Myers. After 30 years, the track and field coach is retiring.
While San Benito’s expansive team outnumbered the Cougars, they still found a way to do Myers proud. The Balers swept Christopher, beating the varsity boys 102-28 and the girls 98-36, but the home team gave their coach a farewell present in the form of four new school records.
The boys kicked off the meet by breaking the Christopher record in the 4 x 100-meter relay. Brothers Isaiah and Isaac McCrimon, Tyler Parsley and Jordan Rodriguez blazed through the event in 43.77 seconds.
Having fought injuries all year, this was the first time these four had run together. The victory brought Myers back to his days coaching at Gilroy High, when he coached his sprinting coach Romeo Travis and his brother as they competed in the same relay.
“Seeing the connection is great,” Travis said, recalling the days when he ran with his brother. “They have the better handoff on the relay I’d say.”
The Cougars shined in the field events against San Benito. The highlight was Sienna Cordova, a sophomore, who broke the school’s discus record. She threw 98-10 for a first place finish and said it was “amazing” given she’d only thrown 70 feet the year before. She also won the shot put with a distance of 32-04.
“I was trying to keep calm and think about what I had to do and where I had to throw. I’m a competitive person and I didn’t want to fall behind,” she said. “It’s intimidating because I remember last year there were girls that threw over 100 feet.”
Christopher’s success in the field continued with Haley Romero winning the long jump. She leapt for 16-10.25 to claim her third individual first place finish of the meet, fourth overall.
Romero also won the 100m hurdles (17.01) and was part of the winning 4 x 100m relay, along with Olivia Baxter, Natalie Gutierrez and Vanessa Koontz. But the crowning moment for the Cougar was winning her newest event: the 300m hurdles.
Romero narrowly edged out San Benito’s Shannon Skowbo to win by .07 seconds.
“Christopher and San Benito always have a rivalry,” Romero said. “I just tried to push myself at the end and I was looking at the ground to see if her shadow was there, too. I was just pushing myself, but it wasn’t that bad though.”
Christopher also saw Gutierrez take first in the high jump with a 5-foot, 4-inch mark and in the 400m dash with a time of 59.96, just ahead of Koontz.
Koontz, also known as “Boom” for her quickness, claimed the 200m crown, finishing the race in 26.51. Baxter won the 100 for the Cougars in 13.34, just ahead of San Benito’s Rachel Peterson.
Isaac McCrimon had the lone individual victory for the boys. He took first in the long jump at 20-07. He was also a part of the winning 4 x400m relay. Abraham Longoria, Austin Hudson and Parsley were also part of that team.
Harrison Hamrick, Elijah Changco and RJ Clark shined for the Baler boys.
Hamrick won both the 100m (11.33) and 200m (23.17), while Changco took the 800m (2:03.53) and 1600m races (4:40.10.)
Clark was the 300m hurdles champ, finishing in a time of 46.01. He also won the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 4 inches.
In the field, Will Gularte won both the shot put and discus for San Benito. Danielle Casas took first in the pole vault with an impressive 9-foot leap.
Amy Quinones was the 800m champ for San Benito and won in a time of 2:59.72. She was also second in the high jump (5-2) and third in the 400m dash.
“Each school has raised the stakes for each other,” Myers said. “We’re raising the stakes for them and they’re responding. They’re raising the stakes for us and we’re responding.”
Even the Cougars’ JV squad fed off the competition and set two school records.
Daisy Pineda broke the previous pole vault record of 7-6, recording an 8-foot leap against San Benito to take first.
Devin Scatena, finished third in the shot put but it was good for a new Cougar record as he threw 40-feet, 3-inches. This result is even more impressive considering he’s still working to repair damaged tendons in his shoulder.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Scatena said. “I saw it pass (and I knew I broke the record). That was my goal for shot put and once I reached it I just knew I had to set a new goal.”
Myers began his career at his alma mater, Gilroy High, in 1985 and was mentored by legendary coach Avis Kelley. His 30-year career would take him around the Bay Area, coaching at Fremont-Sunnyvalle, St. Francis and Archbishop Mitty—where he won a Central Coast Section title in 2004—before returning to Gilroy. He took over the Christopher program when the school opened in 2009.
“I’m happy I was able to build the programs back up again and put Gilroy back on the map,” Myers said. “I’ve had great athletes at both schools.”
Myers was happy with the results of the dual meet and said he was trying not to dwell on his impending retirement. Instead, he wanted to focus on helping his Cougars do their best.
“To see the kids come out and perform this well and both sides compete is great,” Myers said. “This is a fun track meet, this is why you want to be out here. It is bittersweet because it’s ending, but it’s a great way to end.”
