One Mustang met expectations in two events, one Lady Mustang
swept three events, and one Gilroy track and field team took down
every opponent in its path to claim a Tri-County Athletic League
title.
GILROY – One Mustang met expectations in two events, one Lady Mustang swept three events, and one Gilroy track and field team took down every opponent in its path to claim a Tri-County Athletic League title.
Competing in the league championships at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex Friday, Peter Guenther successfully set up his run at Central Coast Section and possibly state titles in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles, setting new meet records in the process, while Sarah Unadia was magnificent in the 100 and 300 hurdles, as well as the high jump.
Gilroy’s frosh-soph boys won a team title running away, scoring 178 points. The next closest TCAL member was North Salinas, which would have needed more than double its production to match the Mustangs, finishing with 84 points.
The last time Gilroy won a title at the frosh-soph level was 2006, making Friday’s victory a possible predictor of better things to come. If the group is able to stay intact, Gilroy coach Jeff Myers said, a CCS title as a varsity team could be attained in two years time.
“We have to keep working towards that,” Myers said. “Everybody has to understand that they have to work together. They have to set goals for themselves.”
Two varsity athletes who clearly achieved their goals were Guenther and Unadia.
Guenther had an electrifying 110 hurdles race in which he was pushed to the limit by Salinas’ John Prader, who finished just four-tenths of a second behind Guenther at 14.59. Guenther’s time of 14.55 was almost a second faster than the previous TCAL Finals meet record.
“I couldn’t have run that without Prader right there,” Guenther said.
The senior sprinter went on to win the 300 hurdles by edging Prader (40.5), and Alvarez’s Mike Skinner (38.41) with a time of 38.25.
The three will see each other again at CCS in this week’s trials being held in Gilroy on Saturday.
“I’m just very thankful to have the best in CCS in my competitions in league, too,” Guenther said.
Unadia faced few competitors up to the task of challenging her Friday, as she breezed to victories in all three events.
“I think for [CCS] it’s going to require a lot more concentration and hard work because the girls are so much faster,” Unadia said.
Other Mustangs who put up strong performances included freshman Athena Alarcon qualifying for CCS in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, Kathleen Miller taking first in the 3,200 (11:34.8) and Sarina Sandoval taking third in the shot put (35 feet, 2 inches). By finishing in the top three of their respective events, GHS feature a total of five individuals at the CCS trials.
The frosh-soph boys’ runaway victory was hardly unexpected considering some of the athletes Myers held back from varsity competition, but the performances were still staggering in some respects. Especially when considering the Mustangs nearly swept the top three spots in several events. Most indicative of the team spirit shown by the JV boys was an excellent effort by the 4×100 relay squad of Romeo and Julius Travis, Jourdan Soares and Mario Gomez. The group had no trouble leaving the rest of the TCAL teams a good stretch behind. While each member of the foursome said they are trying to achieve their own goals, they also said Guenther serves as a measuring stick of where they want to get to.
“Peter Guenther is always an inspiration,” Julius Travis said.
Added Gomez, “We’re trying to follow in his footsteps.”
While several of the relay team members could have qualified for CCS had Myers allowed them to compete on the varsity level, there was little resentment once the coach’s decision sunk in.
“We have to do what’s best for the team,” Romeo Travis said. “Apparently, we’re doing pretty good.”
Below are full Gilroy results:
VARSITY GIRLS
EVENT PLACE NAME GRADE TIME/DIST.
100 5 Kalata, Chelsea 9 13.05
200 4 Foster, Lindsey 11 27.38
7 Kalata, Chelsea 9 27.83
9 Kalata, Ashley 10 28.75
400 6 Silacci, Savanna 9 65.22
800 3 Alarcon, Athena 9 2:27.96
8 Silacci, Savanna 9 2:35
10 Rodriguez, Brandie 11 2:45.84
1,600 3 Alarcon, Athena 9 5:18.90
4 Miller, Kathleen 12 5:25.87 3,200 1 Miller, Kathleen 12 11:34.8h
3 Alarcon, Athena 9 11:58.8h
4 Hernandez, Patricia 11 12:11.5h
5 Ruelas, Zee 9 12:16h
100 hurdles 1 Una Dia, Sarah 11 15.73
300 hurdles 1 Una Dia, Sarah 11 47.75
5 Hill, Chelsea 10 50.73
4×100 5 Gilroy 51.14
High jump 1 Una Dia, Sarah 11 5-04.00
Pole vault 10 Irwin, Samantha 9 7-06
Triple jump 5 Smith, Rachel 10 33-04
Shot put 3 Sandoval, Sarina 9 35-02
Discus 2 Johnson, Kimberly 12 100-08
7 Lowe, Porsha 12 89-01
JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS
100 5 Bertero, Lauren 10 13.76
7 Taylan, Serena 11 14.60
200 7 Bertero, Lauren 10 29.26
400 9 Leung, Kelly 10 7104
800 2 Esparza, Leticia 9 2:41.18
1600 7 Esparza, Leticia 9 6:04.40
100 hurdles 2 Burzota, Reyna 10 18.95
4×100 1 Gilroy 53.20
4×400 6 Gilroy 4:52.80
Long jump 4 Martinez, Stephanie 10 13-11
8 Burzota, Reyna 10 12-08
Triple jump 3 Martinez, Stephanie 10 30-09
Discus 6 Siao, Ruth 11 71-10
7 Huddleston, Tianna 10 71-05
VARSITY BOYS
400 9 Cortez, Carlos 12 55.13
800 7 Velasquez, Juan 11 2:07.54
1,600 8 Velasquez, Juan 11 4:51.29
110 hurdles 1 Guenther, Peter 12 14.55
300 hurdles 1 Guenther, Peter 12 38.25
Pole vault 10 Collins, Patrick 11 9-06.00
JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS
100 1 Travis, Julias 10 11.34
2 Soares, Jourdan 9 11.50
4 Travis, Romeo 10 11.80
200 1 Travis, Julias 10 23.16
2 Travis, Romeo 10 23.56
4 Gomez, Mario 9 24.25
400 6 Gomez, Mario 9 55.33
1600 3 Williams, Tim 10 4:50.40
3200 2 Williams, Tim 10 10:25.58
16 Gaeta, Humberto 9 11:54.75
110 hurdles 1 Martinez, Eric 10 17.56
3 Saccone, Michael 10 18.06
4 Ettema, Martin 9 18.72
6 Carabarin, Ian 9 19.34
300 hurdles 2 Martinez, Eric 10 45.38
3 Mikkleson, Andrew 9 46.49
4×100 1 Gilroy 44.57
4×400 5 Gilroy 3:52.48
High jump 1 Soares, Jourdan 9 5-10
3 Ikema, Chima 10 5-08
4 Travis, Romeo 10 5-06
6 Hebert, Steven 10 5-04
Pole vault 1 Martinez, Eric 10 11-06
2 Hughes, Patrick 9 10-06
3 Bassi, Zachary 9 10-06
8 Charvet, Troy 9 9-00
Long jump 1 Soares, Jourdan 9 21-01.50
4 Guenther, David 10 18-11.00
7 Mikkleson, Andrew 9 17-10.00
Triple Jump 7 Ikema, Chima 10 36-05.00
8 Martinez, Eric 10 36-01.00
9 Saccone, Michael 10 35-09.50
Shot put 6 Boyd, Austin 9 40-08
Discus 2 Ikema, Chima 10 122-03
4 Hebert, Steven 10 105-07
8 Boyd, Austin 9 95-03
