Morgan Hill
– Jaimie Silva kept a serious face as she prepared to toss the
discus.
It was the first time the Gilroy High senior had ever tossed a
discus in a scoring meet.
Morgan Hill – Jaimie Silva kept a serious face as she prepared to toss the discus.
It was the first time the Gilroy High senior had ever tossed a discus in a scoring meet. Her effort reflected that. And yet, her attitude reflected what GHS head coach Jeff Myers called the “spirit of the sport.”
“It was fun,” Silva said. “It was new.”
Because the Mustangs were missing numerous athletes in many events, Myers was forced to mix and match whenever possible. Thus, Christine Bobula wound up doing the triple jump and Chris Moore threw the shot put.
Salinas had the most numbers as far as athletes, and the most points when the fourth annual W.V. “Doc” Raymond Relays concluded Saturday at Live Oak High. The Gilroy girls finished 10 points back of the Cowboys with 96. The GHS boys, minus the sprinters, hurdles and jumpers, were third with 54, trailing the Cowboys (117.99) and Piedmont Hills (66).
“It was nice to see teammates being there for each other,” Myers said. “The kids did a great job helping each other.”
The Gilroy girls got off to a great start on a cool, windy day as sophomore Kathleen Miller won a close 2-mile race in 12:42.34, edging Sobrato’s Abhi Devaraj (12:44.30) and fellow Mustang Brandie Rodriguez (12:45.43). The GHS team that included Kristina Schmidt and Christine Bobula finished first overall.
In the high jump, the Gilroy team of Megan McAvoy, Sarah Unadia and Silva was first. The GHS 4 x 100, distance medley, 4 x 200, 800 sprint medley, 4 x 800 and 4 x 400 teams all took seconds.
Among the Mustang boys, Derek Pesta was second in the 2-mile at a season-best 10:14.02. Jaime Reyes, Juan Velsaquez and Agustin Serafio were on the winning 4 x 3,200 relay team. The 4 x 800 team of Reyes, Dylan Whitmer, Uriel Garcia and Serafio was second.
Also, the weightmen 4 x 100 relay team of Gilbert Aguirre, Deena Morsilli, Kim Johnson and Ismael Gutierrez sped to victory in 53.74.
The format was decidedly different from Tri-County Athletic Meets and other competition other than the Wildcatz Relays. Meet director Dean Raymond, the Live Oak track coach, likes the format.
“I think it’s nice format to bring team unity, where you have to depend on your teammates,” said Raymond of the event, named after his late father. “It brings a sense of camaraderie.”
That’s just what Myers thought as well. He only wished he had more team members present for the meet.
Gilroy is in action at 3:30pm Thursday when it hosts Alisal in a Tri-County Athletic League meet.
