Gilroy High’s Garcia-Elder Complex will host the 2007 Central
Coast Section Track and Field Championships on May 25.
Gilroy High’s Garcia-Elder Complex will host the 2007 Central Coast Section Track and Field Championships on May 25.
The announcement was made Thursday by the CCS. San Jose City College was originally scheduled to host the event, but conflicts with the school’s graduation ceremonies made it impossible to keep the date. SJCC offered May 23 as an alternative date, but CCS decided to move the venue to Garcia-Elder Complex.
“It’s a great facility and one that we would look to going in the future, not only for finals but even the semis,” said CCS assistant commissioner Steve Stearns. “We felt it was more important to keep date as originally scheduled.”
“This is a terrific honor,” said GHS athletic director Jack Daley. “It will be a great opportunity to see the best track and field athletes our section has to offer. If people are happy with how it turns out, maybe we’ll get both ends of it next year.”
Gilroy will host the Tri-County Athletic League finals May 11 with the CCS semifinals the following week at San Jose City College.
GHS track and field coach Jeff Myers was thrilled by the decision. Myers, Daley, assistant coach Frankie Valadez and GHS computer whiz Dane Boulton were on hand Wednesday to show off the facility to two CCS administrators and the meet director. Stearns, CCS events coordinator Ray Mailovich and meet director Steve Filios from St. Francis-Mountain View were on hand for the 45-minute presentation.
“I knew City College was having trouble because of graduation,” Myers said. “In two of six years it happened had that it had to move to Los Gatos, which has an excellent facility. Once I heard the finals were in jeopardy again, I thought Gilroy because of the new facility with nine lanes, that maybe we can be considered an alternate site.”
Myers praised the GHS athletes who spent Tuesday cleaning up the facility.
“The kids did a great job,” Myers said. “Everything looked really nice. I’m very proud of the kids and staff, that we can host something like this. It’s a big honor and we’re privileged to have this opportunity to host this event.”
All 11 competing leagues will share in the responsibility for running the event. The TCAL will be in charge of the boys pole vault. Other leagues will be in charge of the jumps, hurdles, weights, etc.
“We’ll run the concession stand more than anything else,” Myers said.
The top nine athletes in each event compete in the CCS meet, with the top three advancing to the state meet in Sacramento.
