It was a good day for distance.
First, Gilroy senior Arnulfo Velasquez won the 3200-meter run at
Saturday’s Avis Kelley Invitational with a time of 10:09.69, more
than ten seconds faster than second-place Kyle Tuttle of
Bellarmine.
Gilroy – It was a good day for distance.
First, Gilroy senior Arnulfo Velasquez won the 3200-meter run at Saturday’s Avis Kelley Invitational with a time of 10:09.69, more than ten seconds faster than second-place Kyle Tuttle of Bellarmine.
In the very next event, the girls’ 3200 meters, Gilroy had another top finisher in Kathleen Miller. She finished second with a personal record of 12:19.99.
Earlier in the day, thrower Bobby Best showed some distance of his own. The senior outperformed two other top Central Coast Section throwers Andrew Estko and Steve Power of Bellarmine in discus to take first place with a throw of 154-03. Best took second in shot put with a throw of 51-07.50, behind Power’s mark of 57-09.5.
The three athletes were Gilroy’s top performers at the 27-team meet, which returned to Gilroy High after a one-year absence with a stronger field than it’s had in years. The Gilroy girls’ team took fifth place with 24 points. The boys’ varsity squad finished seventh with 35 points. Enterprise (Redding) (99), Salinas (84) and Oak Grove (53) were the top three girls’ teams at the meet. In the boys’ standings, Monterey (83.5), Bellarmine (76) and Seaside (51) took the top three spots.
Also finishing strong for the Mustangs were Megan McAvoy (3rd place high jump, 6th place long jump, 10th place triple jump), Ariana Vera (3rd place 100m, 8th place 200m) and Miles Amodeo (4th place 300m hurdles, 5th place 110m hurdles).
It might have been a little home cooking that helped some of the Mustangs put up their good marks.
“I love home meets,” admitted Miller.
Miller, who also took fourth in the 1600, was fourth with two laps to go in the 3200-meter race but moved into third before the last lap and accelerated past North Monterey County’s Tanya Ferreira in the final 100 meters to finish second.
“I was thinking I could (finish higher than fourth), but I didn’t know what lap I was on,” Miller said about making her move up two placements late in the race. “I wasn’t thinking I would do this well. Going into (the 3200), I was kind of tired.”
In the discus, Best was the only thrower to hit a mark over 150 feet. He wasn’t as happy with his shot put attempts, but was pleased with the consistency of his throws.
“Today, I had a consecutive set or series of throws above 50 feet. I had trouble doing that last year,” Best said. “My two best throws of the day (in discus) went right out of bounds. I take it as a good sign that my last throw was just as good as my first one.”
Best said he’s looking forward to the next few weeks of Gilroy’s schedule, which are free of mid-week dual meets. He’ll have more time to train during the week and be ready for weekend invitationals.
“I’m hoping to find my way back into a groove and that by the end of the season that will translate into CCS and state and a PR,” Best said. “I haven’t been able to PR since last year.”
The Cal Poly-bound senior in football and track and field thought this year’s Avis Kelley Invitational was the strongest of the three he’s participated in.
“By the time I’m a sophomore or junior in college, hopefully it’ll be big,” he said.
Other notable finishers for Gilroy were Heather Leuchars (5th place 400m, 1:03.92), Amanda Kruegar (6th place 400m, 1:04.36), Samantha Doo (6th place triple jump, 30-03.5) and Chris Funk (6th place triple jump, 40-02.25).
Notes
The members of the South Valley Middle School track and field team served as the meet’s “Basket Brigade,” taking the warm-ups of the high school athletes competing in the meet from the starting line to the finish line.
Carly Kennedy was injured when she was struck in the forehead with a discus during Saturday Avis Kelley Invitational. The junior was helping out with the field event and was hit by an attempt thrown foul. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance and received several stitches, but returned to the track meet later in the day.
