A year from now, Peter Guenther won’t be satisfied with taking
23rd in the 300 hurdles at the CIF State Track
&
amp; Field Championships.
Setting his second-best time of the season (39.5 seconds) in the
second heat of the 30-man preliminaries taking place Friday at
Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif., Guenther, only a junior, was
one of 11 non-seniors competing in the event.
A year from now, Peter Guenther won’t be satisfied with taking 23rd in the 300 hurdles at the CIF State Track & Field Championships.
Setting his second-best time of the season (39.5 seconds) in the second heat of the 30-man preliminaries taking place Friday at Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif., Guenther, only a junior, was one of 11 non-seniors competing in the event.
While he wasn’t one of the top nine to advance to the finals on Saturday, Guenther did have the tenth best time of freshmen, sophomores and juniors.
And that’s the best part about the Gilroy High sprinter’s journey this season. Guenther is viewing his last race of the year as starting blocks for 2009, which should turn out to be quite a season for the young runner considering the majority of his competition at state this year will be long gone due to graduation.
“It’s going to be real good for me next year because I’ll be able to be one of the top guys going into state,” he said. “That will put me in the finals, if not better.”
To get better, Guenther will be dropping the 100-meter dash from the list of events he competes in, which includes the 4×100 relay, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. In its place, Guenther will be shifting his focus to the 400. The idea is that training in the 400 will aid his progress in both of the hurdle events.
“I’m going to adjust how I run so I can run faster, longer rather than really fast, short,” Guenther said.
Guenther’s place of 23rd matched his qualifying time’s position entering the state meet, which left the junior knowing he met expectations. As is often the case when one reaches the state level, the marks become blistering fast.
“After the first 200 (meters), they all just took off like Eric. And a lot of them beat Eric,” Guenther said of his heat, which included the Central Coast Section champion in the 300, Eric Surprenant of Lynbrook.
“I couldn’t believe how fast they ran.”
According to GHS head coach Jeff Myers, this year was mostly about acclimating to the atmosphere of a state meet and soaking up the experience.
“He went as far as he could,” Myers said. “He didn’t run bad, the other guys just ran faster.”
Watching national records being set in other events was all part of the thrill for Guenther.
“Watching everybody and seeing nationals records broken, it was just a great experience for me,” he said.
“He was into the meet all the way,” Myers said. “He didn’t just focus on the hurdles.”
The focus going into next season, however, will be on making state a far more personal affair.
“Having an experience of already being there, I probably won’t be as nervous next year when I come in,” Guenther said. “I’ll already know what to expect.”
One person Guenther can count on pushing him towards his goals is Alvarez High School’s Mike Skinner. Skinner, who is also a junior, finished fifth in his eight-man heat with a time of 39.16, just three spots ahead of Guenther in the overall standings. Guenther took sixth in his seven-man heat.
The pair should see plenty of each other through Tri-County Athletic League duals as well as local weekend meets.
“It will be a good battle between those two guys, in league and CCS,” Myers said.
Guenther agreed with that assessment.
“It’s going to be great that we can push each other all year,” he said. “Hopefully, [I’ll] get a lot better.”
