Gilroy
– Two South Valley Middle School track and field athletes made
school history last week at the Santa Clara County East Side
sectional track meet.
Gilroy – Two South Valley Middle School track and field athletes made school history last week at the Santa Clara County East Side sectional track meet.
Juan Velasquez and Ramiro Diaz broke school records in the mile that had stood strong at South Valley since well before they were born. At the sectional meet, Velasquez, a seventh grader, ran the mile in 5:18, breaking the “C” division boys’ school record of 5:20, which was previously set by J. Reed in 1981. Diaz, an eighth grader, set a new “B” division boys’ school record of 5:08. The old record had stood since 1987, when Ernesto Solorio ran the mile of 5:09.
Both Velasquez and Diaz took first in their divisions at the meet, which drew 27 schools. South Valley had 28 kids compete.
It wasn’t really a question of if the boys would break the records, but rather, when. South Valley track and field running coach Shane Tamez said Velasquez and Diaz stood out at every meet leading up to the sectionals.
“There was a time to beat and they kept on working at it to achieve it,” said Tamez. “At one point they got really, really close so they tried even harder and last week, they broke the record.”
Tamez said Velasquez and Diaz’s record-breaking performances were the culmination of more than a year’s worth of work.
“They’ve been working on (breaking the records),” said Tamez. “We gave them a stopwatch to work with. They’ve spent practice time and individual time and were going on runs together on weekends. … Here at practice, they train with each other and motivate one another to push themselves beyond.”
It doesn’t hurt that both boys have running in their blood.
“Both kids come from running families,” said South Valley track and field coach Gena Gonzales. Juan Velasquez is the younger brother of Arnulfo Velasquez, the Gilroy High junior who qualified in the 3200m at the recent Central Coast Section (CCS) Track and Field Semifinals.
