A little light at the end of a whirlwind week shined upon the
Gilroy High track and field team Saturday at the Bill Kearney
Invitational hosted by Salinas High School.
A little light at the end of a whirlwind week shined upon the Gilroy High track and field team Saturday at the Bill Kearney Invitational hosted by Salinas High School.
Dealing with distractions stemming from the firing of former head coach Alvin Harrison after his arrest for felony driving under the influence while on a school field trip April 7, the Mustangs and their coaching staff regrouped following a diligent week of practice and produced a quaility outing at the Bill Kearney.
“It was nice and kind of a relief to get out there and do well,” GHS track coach Ryan Johnston said.
With focus shifted back toward the student-athletes, runners, jumpers and throwers alike led the boys’ squad to a tie for third overall and the girls side to seventh. The boys compiled 54 points equaling Salinas and just 11 less than meet champion Arroyo Grande, which also took first in the girls’ competition. Gilroy’s 21 points was six shy of Madera and Paso Robles, which finished tied for fifth.
“It was good for them to get back and just concentrate on their events and nothing else,” Johnston said. “It was a nice showing.”
Gold medals in three events padded point totals on both sides. Samantha Una Dia (16.32 seconds) edged Leland’s Elani Fkiaras (16.45) in the 100-meter hurdles finals and Jourdan Soares (11.03 Personal record) and Julius Travis (11.16) finished one, two, respectively, in the 100-meter dash.
“It was the first time they were really pushed,” Johnston said. “They pushed each other and went all out.”
The boys 4X100 relay (David Guenther, Romeo Travis, Julius Travis and Soares) appeared back in form with its first sub-43 second race of the season, clocking a 42.76 and climbing closer to its school record 42.42, which it set during last season’s section championship effort.
Chima Ikeme posted a personal best in the discus, placing sixth with a 148-foot-8 inch throw while Cordero Gonzales narrowly missed matching his best, taking sixth in the shot put with a 48-5.50. Ikeme is now fourth in the section in the discus. Eric Martinez pole vaulted to a bronze, clearing the bar at 12-03, and Guenther set a personal record in the triple jump with a 44–01 for his second straight Invite gold in the event.
With no Tri-Country Athletic League meet on the docket this week, the team is looking ahead to Friday’s Top 8 meet in Los Gatos. And with the invite-only meet looming, Johnston said he plans on ratcheting up the practice regimen a notch or two.
“There had been a move away from hard practices and I want to get them back so they stay where they are at and get better,” Johnston said.
The Mustangs will take 13 members of the team to Top 8, which requires participants to hold a time or mark in the top eight of the section this season.
Top 8 participants:
Savannah Silacci, Athena Alarcon, Angeline Kimbo, Chelsey Kalata, Samantha Una Dia, Julius Travis, Romeo Travis, David Guenther, Jourdan Soares, Cordero Gonzales, Chima Ikeme, Eric Martinez and Luis Magana.
