Merrigan, Schroder, Boyd look to set new marks at State
Merrigan, Schroder, Boyd look to set new marks at State
n By Scott Campbell Staff writer
Hollister – At first thought, hitting the road at 6am on the day of the biggest meet of the year didn’t sound like such a good idea to San Benito pole vault coach Julio Trinidad. But then he remembered just who he was riding with.
Based on the success Todd Merrigan and Josh Schroder have had vaulting on the day of long road trips, Trinidad has reason to expect big things when the trio sets off for Norwalk, Calif. (Los Angeles County) and the CIF State Championships this morning.
“For some reason, they do really well when they’re trapped in the car,” said Trinidad, who recalled strong showing his vaulters have had after recent trips to San Diego and Reno, NV. “They’re liked caged animals – ready to break out of the cage.”
Based on their performances in the past couple of weeks, the ‘Balers could not be more ready to test themselves against California’s best. Schroder, a junior, is a week removed from setting his PR by clearing 14-11 to take third place at the Central Coast Section Finals. And Merrigan, the CCS runner-up at 15-4, broke his own San Benito record the previous two weeks, a mark that now stands at 15-6.
The duo became the first pair of athletes to advance to State in the same event in San Benito history, according to a search performed by current and former ‘Baler coaches.
As a senior, Merrigan looks to make even more San Benito history at his final meet.
Asked his goals heading into State for the second straight year, Merrigan said: “Minimum of 16-0. … I would say I’m going to get 16-0. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get it, too. Biggest meet of the year, I’ve got to get it.”
He hit that mark to set his PR last summer in Clovis, Calif., and, after battling injuries earlier this season, appears to be approaching that sacred mark for the first time in a high school meet.
“Todd’s good to go right now,” Trinidad said when asked about Merrigan’s prospects. “He’s capable of that 15-6 jump easy. He’s capable of 16-0 as long as he stays clean in the air. … Todd’s ready to go big. That guy is just a blood-thirsty animal. That’s how aggressive and hungry he is.”
“I really want to raise the school record and that’s pretty much it,” said Merrigan, who finished 20th at 14-4 in the State meet as a junior. “I want to make it unbeatable.”
His qualifying mark of 15-4 landed him the ninth seed in the preliminaries. The top-nine finishers will advance to Saturday’s finals.
After a successful strategy of starting at a high height at the CCS Finals resulted in his best performance to date, Schroder looks to mimic that approach.
“I’m probably going to have to play it big like I did last week,” said Schroder, who enters the preliminaries seeded 11th. “If I can hit that first height, that first attempt … If I want to make it to Saturday, I’d have to hit 15-6, which is possible, but I haven’t ever hit it at practice. I’d need to pull of good heights. When I need to step it up, I can make it happen.”
After watching his star junior clear the 14-11 bar with room to spare last week, Trinidad said Schroder will need a similar jump to have a shot at the finals.
“He’s going to have to get the PR again to actually move on,” the ‘Balers’ pole vault coach said. “He’s been jumping big the last few weeks. … He would’ve hit 15-0 if the bar was at 15-0 on Friday night.”
Schroder shared his thoughts heading into his first State appearance.
“I’m going in pretty confident because, as long as I get my mindset, I can already see myself looking at the runway on Saturday,” Schroder related. “The finals is like the ending. Getting to the finals would be like getting No. 1 in State tomorrow.”
With the poles packed and the road trip set to begin, Trinidad said he was looking forward to seeing the final chapter of a memorable season.
Boyd Set for State
Hollister – One more meet. One last chance for Haybaler glory.
The CIF State Championships, which begin today in Norwalk, Calif., mark Amanda’s Boyd’s final competition as a San Benito runner. Already the school’s record-holder in all of the distance events, the Northern Arizona-bound senior added another feather in her cap by qualifying for State in a different event than she did as a junior.
After advancing in 2005 as the Central Coast Section’s runner-up in the 3200-meter race, Boyd took second in the 1600 at the CCS Finals last Friday to punch her ticket to Norwalk. Her time of 5:01.22 was a PR and set a new San Benito mark.
“I know what to expect. I know these girls aren’t messing around,” Boyd said.
She also said athletes have a tendency to make the prestigious meet even bigger than it is.
“It’s just a big meet with a name that a lot of girls get scared of,” said Boyd, who finished 18th in the 3200 last season. “I know it’s just a race to better your times.”
Not surprisingly, Boyd has a time drop at the front of her mind heading into tonight’s preliminaries.
“Obviously, I want to break 5:00,” Boyd related. “I want to do more than 5:00; get comfortably under 5:00 – like 4:57 … well, 4:59. I want to end my high school on a good note. I want to do that for me. For myself.”
One notable difference between the 3200 and 1600-meter events at the CIF State Championships is that the 3200 is a finals-only event – a one-time competition on Saturday – whereas the 1600 includes a preliminaries race as well. In order to have a shot at the finals in the 1600, Boyd essentially needs to record a top-nine time in tonight’s preliminaries. The top-three finishers from each of the two preliminaries heats and the next three fastest runners advance to the finals.
Whereas breaking the five-minute barrier would have vaulted Boyd into the finals in each of the past two years, it appears that she will need an even larger time-drop to crack Saturday’s competition. This season marks an exceptionally strong 1600-meter field, a group that includes five 2005 finalists and each of the top-three finishers from last season.
“They’ve never had a field this strong, ever, coming into the finals,” San Benito distance coach Jess Morales said. “That says a lot right there.”
Boyd’s qualifying time of 5:01.22 landed her the 20th seed in the preliminaries. The ninth seed, Kauren Tarver of Serrano High (Southern Section), took third place in last year’s finals. Tarver enters the preliminaries with a qualifying time of 4:56.49.
Knowing that she likely needs a comparable time to advance, Boyd she believes she’s capable of that mark.
“There’s no reason why the 5, 6, 7 spot, the 4:56 pace, that I can’t handle it,” Boyd said.
After seeing his pupil excel thanks to a fast start at the CCS Finals, Morales said Boyd needs to focus on staying with the pace-setters in the beginning.
“We’ve been working a lot on the starts,” Morales said. “She’s going to have to be aggressive … and go with the people at the start. If they do go out fast in the 800, that would be good for her style of racing.”
“I’m not really too worried about her trying to break that 5:00 (mark). If she goes out with that group, it’ll happen,” the ‘Balers’ distance coach continued. “Those girls will get her there.”
With her distinguished San Benito career at its peak, Boyd reflected on her final goals as a ‘Baler.
“What do I have left to accomplish?” Boyd repeated. “Really, just to run, trackwise, just to run a good solid mile. I’ve always wanted to get a solid mile down. … So close. So close. Just one spot, picking it up can change the whole race.”
