‘A’ Boys win school’s seventh county championship; Athletes win
10 events
GILROY – Despite not having an adequate track on school grounds, the Brownell Academy track team flourished at this year’s Santa Clara County Track & Field Championships – claiming the school’s seventh county title in the ‘A’ Boys Division as well as 10 individual champions.
“That’s more first-places than we’ve every gotten,” head coach Jeff Ross said. “All of us just are extremely proud of the team. The best thing is everybody deserved what they got. We had no attitude problems. Everyone just worked hard every day.”
It was not until a week after the May 22 county meet at Silver Creek High School that the total team scores were tabulated and the Brownell staff was notified they won the top boys class.
“They just went crazy,” said Ross, whose squad finished second in league. “Our school has won three county championships this year in ‘C’ boys cross country, eighth-grade boys hoops and then track. Three in one year is pretty big. And we’re supposed to be the school without athletes since we don’t have the facilities.”
The ‘A’ Boys squad hauled in four first-place marks – starting with the 4 x 400 relay that took the tape in :48.6. The all-eighth-grade unit was made up of Destre Jones, Jo Jo Gutierrez, Thomas Evans and Michael Martinez.
“We did a lot of relay exchanges (during practices),” Ross said. “The other teams may have been faster, but you have to make solid exchanges and that’s what we were best at.”
Jones rejoined the relay team late in the season after pulling his groin early on. The sprinter had to work hard to get back on the team – regaining his spot in a run-off to make the difference in the county meet.
“I knew he was fast,” said Ross of Jones. “I just wanted to make sure he was healthy. It all worked out good in the end.”
T. Evans also won two more individual events – breaking the school record in the high jump clearing five feet-nine inches and finishing first in the 70-meter hurdles.
“He’s a great kid. He has so much athletic ability. He’s a happy-go-lucky kid,” said Ross of T. Evans. “He’s always got a big, gigantic smile on his face.”
Evans – who was the undefeated Brownell basketball team’s sixth man – received a received a scholarship to attend Saint Francis High School. The standout athlete also played in the Super Bowl for Pee Wee Football with his team in Palo Alto.
Gutierrez – a top Gilroy Browns running back – also claimed the 100-meter dash championship with a first-place time of 11.5.
“He didn’t win at league and he didn’t win every race, but he did at the big meet and those are signs of a champion,” said Ross of Gutierrez. “I’m sure Gilroy High will love having him on their football team.”
Gutierrez followed in the footsteps of his older brother – who also won a county title at Brownell Academy and gave him pointers during the track season.
“He was pushing the weights a lot harder than anyone else,” Ross said. “Like Thomas, he always has a beautiful smile on his face all the time.”
There are five divisions in junior high track. Combining all its teams scores, Brownell finished third in the overall competition with 153 total points – winning every sprint event they competed in.
“We knew our seventh grade ‘C’ boys would be strong and we knew our seventh grade girls were strong. But we didn’t have a lot of depth in ‘A’ boys. But we had the quality,” Ross said. “We’ve won other championships, but these kids were really together, especially the ‘C’ team was really focused.”
The ‘C’ Boys placed second in their division – compiling 59 team points – behind only Leyva Junior High within the Evergreen School District in San Jose
The 4 x 400 relay team of eight-graders Steven Gonzalez, Michael Stevens, Michael Le, and Ryan Cost took first place at the county meet in :53.13. In addition, Le won the 100-meter dash in 13.6 at the ‘C’ level.
The seventh grade girls – who placed third overall – also won the 4 x 400 relay race in :55.3. The top unit was made up of Jasmine Evans, Mariah Masteroni, Kylie Estrada and Liz Komar.
Not to be outdone by her older brother, Thomas, sixth-grader Jasmine Evans won three more individual county titles. She was tops in the long jump (14 feet-seven inches); the triple jump (30 feet-seven inches); and the 100-meter dash in 13.3.
“They feed off each other,” said Ross of the Evans who have a dedicated father who brought them to Stanford for additional training.
Along with Ross, the Brownell track team is coached by Dylan Fullington, Charla Mittman and Tom Brozene. Each coach heads up specific events in the different divisions.
“It’s a pleasure working with friends. Everyone knows their jobs,” said Ross, who is already looking to the future. “Next year our seventh grade girls – all the big points winners – are coming back.”
In addition, Brownell is awaiting the arrival of fifth-grader Jackie Evans – who practiced some with the junior high team, running in the 800-meter and the mile.
“She’s going to win both events next year,” Ross said.
Ross also wanted to recognize the efforts of Frank Subia – who joined the team one week before the league finals. Subia competed in the 800-meter – placing second in league and sixth in the county.
“He got one point and that one point was huge for the ‘A’ Boys because they won by only one point,” Ross said.
