As with most trials, there are errors.
Wednesday’s Tri-County Athletic League track and field trials
held at North Salinas was no exception. But for the most part, the
Gilroy track and field team was well-represented with eight varsity
Mustang athletes qualifying to Saturday’s TCAL Championships at
Live Oak.
By Ana Patejdl and Nathan Mixter
As with most trials, there are errors.
Wednesday’s Tri-County Athletic League track and field trials held at North Salinas was no exception. But for the most part, the Gilroy track and field team was well-represented with eight varsity Mustang athletes qualifying to Saturday’s TCAL Championships at Live Oak.
Leading the way was senior thrower Bobby Best, who won both the shot put (43-11 feet) and discus (163-09). Best was particularly dominant in the discus, beating runner up Chris Brandy of North Salinas by nearly 30 feet.
“There was no wind. It was kind of a dead day,” said Gilroy throwing coach Rich Martinez. “If there had been wind, (Best) would have hit 170…He did exactly what we wanted him to do.”
On the girls’ side, junior Megan McAvoy qualified in all three jumping events. She reached marks of 14-4.5 in the long jump (8th) and 32.03 in the triple jump (3rd) Wednesday.
One of the biggest disappointments for Gilroy head coach Jeff Myers was sophomore Samantha Doo’s failure to qualify in the long jump. Doo faulted on all of her attempts.
“She battled back from injury all season,” he said.
Miles Amodeo (2nd in 110H; 3rd in 300 IH), Ismael Guttierez (4th in discus) and Arnulfo Velasquez (5th in 1600) also qualified for Saturday’s boys’ varsity competition.
In addition to McAvoy, Kathleen Miller (4th in 1600), Heather Leuchars (4th in 400) and Lauren Anderson (7th in discus) qualified for the girls.
In the frosh/soph boys’ competition, Derek Pesta became the 3200-meter league champion with a time of 10:35.15. Jaime Reyes (1st in 800 and 1600, 3rd in 3200), Peter Guenther (1st in 100, 65H, 300IH), Tyler Hill (2nd in 300IH, 65H) and Geraldo Rodriguez (2nd in shot put) qualified for Saturday. For the JV girls, Rebekah Komar (100 and 200) and Amanda Krueger (200 and 400) also qualified.
~ Ana Patejdl
Warriors’ Winning Streak Hits Nine
One down, two more to go.
Anchorpoint Christian High School is on the brink of a Central Coast Section playoff berth. After defeating visiting Latino College Prep 9-4 Thursday, the Warriors are looking to win their final two games this week to qualify for the Division III CCS playoffs as a first-year varsity program.
If the Warriors can beat visiting Mid Penn today and North Valley Saturday at Mission College, they will be tied with St. Thomas More, which finished 11-1 in the Coastal Athletic League. Anchorpoint (9-10, 9-1 CAL) would then hold the deciding tie-breaker since it win the last head-to-head matchup against St. Thomas More 3-0.
The Warriors have won nine games in a row thanks in large part to their stealing ability. They are 145-for-151 this season. Nick Sandoval, who catches and bats leadoff, is 46-for-46 so far. He stole four bases Thursday.
“Our speed is what is going to help us if we make the playoffs. That and our pitching,” said Anchorpoint assistant coach Johnny Ramirez. “They’ve got that little swagger going. I’ve never seen so many people going to games. Everyone always loves you when you are winning.”
Julian Toscano pitched 5 2/3 innings for the victory against Latino College Prep. He struck out seven, walked three and gave up six hits. Offensively, Toscano was 2-for-4. Victor Rodriguez picked up his third save in a row after pitching the final two innings. He was 2-for-3 at the plate.
Mario Mariscal went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and had three stolen bases. Freshman Clayton Eslick was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and four stolen bases.
Eslick (.692 league) and Robert Apolinar (.688 league) are leading the team in hitting.
~ Nathan Mixter
