Lopez best in T-CAL with throw of 140 feet-three inches
SALINAS – Senior thrower Brian Lopez was the Gilroy High varsity track team’s only league champion in this year’s Tri-County Athletic League Track & Field Finals held at Salinas High.
Lopez hurled the discus 148 feet-three inches to top the T-CAL field and also placed second in the shot put with a distance of 51 feet-six inches – short of only Hollister senior Clay Peer (52-06.75).
Junior sprinter Raquel Butler brought home a pair of second-place finishes in the 400-meter and the 200-meter dashes – trailing only Hollister’s Jamie O’Brian in both events. Butler crossed the finish line in 59.06 in the 400m, but O’Brian took the tape in 57.79. In the 200m, Butler finished in 26.04 – edged by O’Brian in 25.48.
Junior thrower Sam Sicard took second in the discus with a distance of 112 feet-11 inches and fourth in shot put with a distance of 31 feet-three 1/2 inches.
In addition, junior Laila Correa placed seventh in the 400m in 66.63 and juniro Sharleen Rojas finished fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 33 feet-one 1/2 inches.
The boys varsity team scored 18 points for a sixth-place finish in T-CALs with Hollister (174) winning the team championship, while the Lady Mustangs accumulated 32 team points to take fifth in T-CALs with the Lady Haybalers (193) taking home the team title.
In junior varsity action, sophomore runner Stephanie Radtke won the 1,600-meter run in 5:54.73 and sophomore teammate Sierra Barozza won the discus with a first-place toss of 106 feet-eight inches. Barozza also placed second in the shot put with a distance of 27 feet-3/4 inches and eighth in the 100-meter hurdles in 22.38.
JV-er Lauren Anderson finished fourth in the discus with a toss of 74 feet-seven inches and ninth in the shot put with a distance of 22 feet-nine 1/4 inches. In addition, freshman Cassandra mane placed second in the high jump with a height of four feet-six inches and freshman Chelsea Giasnapp took fourth in the high jump with a height of four feet-two inches.
The Lady Mustang JV-ers placed fourth as a team in T-CALs with 44 points as Live Oak won the JV crown with 144 team points.
In the frosh/soph meet, the Gilroy boys 4 x 100 relay team took the tape in 45.70 and the boys 4 x 400 relay placed third in 3:52.19. Sophomore Brandon Cortez won both the 100-meter dash in 11.51 and the 200-meter dash in 23.17, while freshman Robert Best won both the shot put with a distance of 48 feet and the discus with a throw of 137 feet-11 inches.
Freshman runner Arnulfo Velasquez placed third in the 1,600-meter run in 4:52.18 and second in the 3,200-meter run in 10:42.20. Sophomore Darrin Amerson finished third in the 800-meter in 2:12.66 and sixth in the 1,600m in 5:01.93.
In addition, sophomore Christian Javier placed third in the triple jump with a distance of 37 feet-three inches and fourth in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet-one 1/4 inches. Freshman Mailes Amodeo was sixth in the 300-meter hurdles in 48.12. Sophomore Jacob Trujillo finished fifth in the 200-meter run in 24.70. Freshman Allan Chan placed eighth in the 3,200-meter run in 11:54.40. Freshmen Jeremy Abrahan was fifth in discus at 103 feet-two inches and sophomore Gideon Morikang was tied for fifth in the high jump with a height of five feet-four inches.
The Gilroy boys frosh-soph squad finished in third place with 94.50 team points with Salinas (115.50) placing first and Hollister (107.50) second.
