Peter Guenther’s time management skills cannot be
questioned.
The senior hurdler from Gilroy High made commitments to take
part in four events Friday night, and he pulled them all off in
style.
Competing at the Central Coast Section track and field
championships held at Gilroy High, Guenther’s busy schedule
included singing the National Anthem, becoming just the second
person in GHS history to win two CCS titles in the same season and
booking over to the other side of campus minutes after his second
victory to take part in a concert with the school choir.
GILROY – Peter Guenther’s time management skills cannot be questioned.
The senior hurdler from Gilroy High made commitments to take part in four events Friday night, and he pulled them all off in style.
Competing at the Central Coast Section track and field championships held at Gilroy High, Guenther’s busy schedule included singing the National Anthem, becoming just the second person in GHS history to win two CCS titles in the same season and booking over to the other side of campus minutes after his second victory to take part in a concert with the school choir.
“And I got prom [Saturday],” Guenther said before leaving the meet.
Two of them to be exact – Guenther and his date split time between Gilroy’s prom and another for Westmont High School.
Singing came first, but dancing, celebrating and more singing would come after Guenther beat the area’s best in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.
The GHS senior won the 110 in 14.68 seconds, well off his personal best (14.55) but well ahead of the rest of the field after Salinas’ John Prader, expected to be Guenther’s biggest challenger in the event, was disqualified for a false start.
“It’s a shame, a little false start,” Guenther said of Prader’s DQ. “He would’ve pushed me harder.”
Archbishop Mitty’s Jeffrey Campbell provided more of a shove than a push in the 300. Guenther and Campbell came down the straightaway even, leaving both runners no choice but to throw their bodies over the finish line in an attempt to cross first. The result was a personal record time of 38.16 seconds for Guenther, who edged Campbell by a mere four hundredths of a second. Exhausted to the point that he admitted being dizzy coming off the track, Guenther didn’t even realize he had struck an ironically peaceful pose following his dive, as his head rested on a hand propped up by his elbow while his legs were crossed.
“I heard my family cheering that last hurdle,” said Guenther, adding that he stuttered before his last jump. “I wanted to do it for them and my coaches.”
The senior sprinter and Ron Seanez, a GHS graduate in 1981 who also serves as assistant coach at the school, are now the only Mustangs to win two CCS track titles in the same season. Fittingly, Seanez’ titles came in roughly the same events – the 110 and 330 hurdles. The latter event was measured in yards in Seanez’s day, making it 1.752 meters longer than Guenther’s race.
“It took 28 years for someone else to do it,” Seanez said. “In my opinion, it’s very unique to have two people do it in the same events from the same school.
“He has come a long way from the first year I had him as a freshman. I knew he had potential, but I don’t believe he knew he had the potential. I told him, ‘These hurdles are going to take you places.'”
The next stop for Guenther, who will be running for UC Riverside on scholarship next year, is a return trip to the state meet, which will be held Friday and Saturday in Clovis.
Two other Mustangs competing Friday saw their seasons come to an end, as senior long-distance runner Kathleen Miller finished fifth in the 3,200 and junior Sarah Unadia took seventh in the high jump.
Unadia’s highest jump measured five feet, well below her personal best of 5-foot-4, which would have been good enough for second place.
“For her to be here is a great experience,” Gilroy head coach Jeff Myers said. “She didn’t compete well but the experience will pay off for her next season.”
Unadia wasn’t quite sure why she struggled, but she did echo her coach’s thoughts that next year will be different.
“Last year I only made it to (CCS) trials and I didn’t do so well. This year I made it to the finals,” Unadia said. “Next year my goal is to make it to state.”
Miller wasn’t able to break her own school record, coming a little more than six seconds shy by finishing with a time of 11:15.98, but she said she was satisfied with the final race of her storied GHS career.
“Now that it’s over, it’s a mixture of relief and sorrow because I’m going to really miss everybody,” Miller said.
Cathy Silva, who along with husband Art Silva coached Miller in cross country and track, said the senior’s mark on both programs is almost immeasurable.
“Art and I were just talking about how great it has been to have her as an example to the other runners,” said Cathy Silva, noting Miller’s outstanding work ethic in and out of the classroom. “She’s been a great role model to our girls and we’re going to miss her.”
