Peter Guenther ran the best race of his life Friday night, and
he couldn’t have been much more disappointed.
It wasn’t his start in the 300 hurdles at Friday’s Central Coast
Section track and field Championships that bothered him, but rather
his finish. Leading the pack for the first 200 meters of the race,
which was held in front of family and friends at Garcia-Elder
Sports Complex in Gilroy, Guenther simply ran out of gas down the
stretch as his steps became less precise and his lead vanished.
”
I’m a sprinter,
”
Guenther said immediately following the race.
”
I’m better in the short distances. I just gotta work on the last
100 (meters).
”
He crossed the line in 39.15 seconds, breaking his own personal
record of 39.9, but the time resulted in a fourth-place finish.
Only the top three advance to the state finals being held Saturday
at Cerritos Jr. College in Southern California.
But as Guenther realized at the time, it’s not how you start but
how you finish. And Guenther’s season is far from over.
Peter Guenther ran the best race of his life Friday night, and he couldn’t have been much more disappointed.
It wasn’t his start in the 300 hurdles at Friday’s Central Coast Section track and field Championships that bothered him, but rather his finish. Leading the pack for the first 200 meters of the race, which was held in front of family and friends at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex in Gilroy, Guenther simply ran out of gas down the stretch as his steps became less precise and his lead vanished.
“I’m a sprinter,” Guenther said immediately following the race. “I’m better in the short distances. I just gotta work on the last 100 (meters).”
He crossed the line in 39.15 seconds, breaking his own personal record of 39.9, but the time resulted in a fourth-place finish. Only the top three advance to the state finals being held Saturday at Cerritos Jr. College in Southern California.
But as Guenther realized at the time, it’s not how you start but how you finish. And Guenther’s season is far from over.
Mykel Block of Monterey, which won five events and a CCS team title on the boys’ side, took second in the 300 hurdles, but decided after the event he would pull out of the race at state to focus on other events. The move transformed Guenther’s disappointment into sheer delight as he was given Block’s spot.
“Now it feels great,” the junior said. “I can’t ask for anything more.”
The same could be said for each of Gilroy’s representatives at the meet, who all medaled by placing in the top six.
Guenther and seniors Steven Heisey, Travis Reyes and Nick Rodriquez, were looking for a personal record in the 4×100 relay, which was achieved with a time of 43.16 seconds. The mark was good enough for a fifth-place tie with Mt. Pleasant.
Aside from a shaky hand-off to start, which could be blamed on running risky, the time was all the group could ask for.
“You gotta push it at this level,” Gilroy head coach Jeff Myers said. “If you want to make state, you gotta go for it.”
Gilroy’s Alison Green tied Stephanie Armstrong of Live Oak for sixth place in the high jump by clearing five feet, a mark Green is hoping will launch her forward in the years to come.
“I think next year I’ll be much better,” she said. “Now that I’ve made it this far, I’ll know what to expect.”
Kathleen Miller set the second-fastest time in school history in the 3,200 by finishing in 11:12.26. The mark stands only behind Miller’s performance in the CCS finals last year, when she crossed the line 1.26 seconds quicker.
Leading the pack for the first mile, Miller said she was a bit unnerved about being the front-runner that far into the race.
“I don’t know what I was thinking that first mile,” Miller said with a laugh.
“One second. It’s comforting, but kind of disappointing.”
While the meet was an overall success for GHS, it may have been the final get-together for Myers as the Mustangs’ coach. A track and field coach of 23 years, with the past three being spent in Gilroy in his second stint with the school, Myers is in search of a new job that will allow him to take the time off required to coach.
“I’m definitely not giving up yet, but it’s just a matter of getting this job over in the summertime and seeing what happens,” he said. “Everybody is kind of looking out for me right now, and I appreciate it so much.”
In the final team standings, Gilroy finished 36th on the girls’ side, while the boys placed 26th.
