GHS senior breaks school high jump record on state’s biggest
stage; 4×100 relay team misses cut but finishes race.
CLOVIS – The Gilroy High School record in the high jump had eluded Sarah Una’Dia all season.
She narrowly missed the mark three weeks ago at the Tri-County Athletic League finals, clipping the bar with her heel as she floated to the pad below. It was an identical story at the Central Coast Section Championships on May 27. However, Una’Dia placed third at CCS, giving her one last shot to etch her name in the history books as the school’s best high jumper.
That shot came at last weekend’s CIF State Track and Field Championships.
“I didn’t have an expectation, I just had a goal to clear the height,” a modest Una’Dia said Monday.
Riding the adrenaline induced by participating in the state’s prestigious meet, the senior rose to the occasion, clearing 5 feet, 6 inches during Friday’s preliminaries.
Una’Dia broke a 26-year-old record of 5-04 set by Jaime Raisanen in 1984, a height Una’Dia tied last season.
The record was hers, and so was a spot in Saturday’s final group.
Though she no-heighted in the finals, Una’Dia cherished her experience.
“What mattered is that I qualified for the finals,” she said. “I felt honored to even go to state and to represent Gilroy, a small town, at such a big meet.”
Lydia French of Thousand Oaks triumphed in a jump-off to claim the state title, with 5-10 being the winning height.
Una’Dia was just one athlete of five representing the Mustangs in four events at the state finals in Clovis.
“It was a magical season,” GHS head coach Jeff Myers said. “We had really good results all year. The kids kept it up all season.”
With only six days of practice as a unit, the boys 4×100 relay team, David Guenther, Julius Travis, Romeo Travis and Eric Martinez, didn’t hold themselves to high expectations, only wanting a personal record.
Technically, the foursome did that in their first race together, but officially a 44.46 they posted in their preliminary heat Friday was two seconds off of their 42.42, which won them gold at CCS.
Martinez filled in for sophomore Jourdan Soares, who had to sit out the race due to a knee injury.
“We were hoping to get the baton around,” Myers said. “We knew that it would be tough to move on.”
The Mustangs executed each baton handoff but missed the cut for the finals.
Long Beach Poly grabbed the state championship with a 41:13.
Julius Travis entered the meet with the state’s eighth fastest time (10.67) in the 100-meter dash and was slotted into one of the fastest heats of the day. He clocked a 10.8, missing the cut for Saturday’s final heat and finished 20th.
Julius ran a 22.07 in the 200 to conclude a busy meet, placing 23rd.
The Travis brothers, Guenther, Soares and Martinez will all be back next season, a sign that bodes well for GHS boys track.
“They got to run at a state meet and get the exposure to the speed,” he said. “They will be better next year.”
