This Spring, we're trying out a new mid-week pair of featured articles: the SoCal and NorCal Reports! We will shine the spotlight on some of the top performances from the previous weekend, then look ahead to the top upcoming meets.
Looking Back at Weekend 2:
This past weekend was very unusual if you have lived in California for the past few years. Rain and wind caused havoc at most meets and with this age of technology, it would not take you long to find photos and videos of the many invitationals that took place under less than ideal conditions. The above photo was taken by me at the Dan Gabor Invitational during the final race of the day, the boys 3200m.
The Dan Gabor Invitational is now a one day Track and Field meet that showcases the sprinters and field event athletes in the morning with the distance runners going late in the evening once all the sprint events are complete. The highlight of the entire meet came not from the track but the shot put ring. Amador Valley senior Nathan Esparza set a new NCS record in the shot put with a heave of 65'3.5". On the track, Brooke Starn (Monte Vista) won two events taking the 1600m in a wire to wire effort (4:57.40) and the 800 meters in 2:22.90. Miramonte freshman, Cassidy Haskell, continued her fine early season running by winning the 3200m in a time of 10:59.80.
At the Sacramento State Classic, another windy and wet affair, the highlight of the meet occurred in the boys 3200m as Michael Vernau of Davis stormed (pun intended) to a near PR effort of 9:11.32. You can check out parts of that race in the video above thanks to Jesuit coach, Walt Lange. Jurnee Woodward, Vacaville senior, raced to a sub 14 effort in the 100m hurdles with a winning time of 13.77. Out on the field, the two best mark took place in the boys discus with Jack Root of Oak Ridge (163'6") outdistanced Jack Gabbard of Vacaville (157'8").
You can check out pictures from the Mt. Pleasant Relays at this LINK. At the Willow Glen Invitational, the conditions really slowed down the track competitors. The best dual may have taken place in the 3200m where Justin Robison of Lynbrook outran Roman Munoz of King City (9:43.61 over 9:53.30). The two best marks out on the field were Katya Trushchankova of Lynbrook who long jumped 18'1" and Valley Christian SJ sophomore Athiya Iese who set a new PR in the shot put with a mark of 39'4.25". At the Big Cat Invitational, Ian Herculson of Maria Carrillo raced to a 10.8 hand timed effort in the 100m. Two of toughest runners in the Redwood Empire and NCS battled to the line in the 1600m with Daniel Pride of Santa Rosa nipping Brian Schulz of El Molino at the line, 4:34.31 to 4:34.36. Kristen Leung of Lowell was a double victor in the 1600m (5:04.54) and 3200m (10:53.8). Santa Rosa super soph, Kirsten Carter, added another event to her arsenal with a 48.0 effort in the 300m hurdles.
Looking Ahead to Weekend 3:
After a small reprieve of dry weather, the tents will be back in full force this weekend as multiple Track and Field meets take place all over Northern California. One of the top early season meets is the 32nd Annual K-Bell Invitational (heat sheets) which will take place at Los Gatos. The TKA Distance Carnival will take place at The King's Academy in Sunnyvale (heat sheets). The 16th annual San Rafael Twilight Relays will take place at San Rafael HS. Please note that the meet will start at 2:30pm (original starting time was 4pm). Heat sheets will be posted once they are official. The East Bay Invitational has been cancelled. One of the oldest invitationals in CA will take place once again at Alhambra with the Tim Bruder Martinez Relays. Albany HS will host the Albany Throwdown showcasing the throwers. The Sacramento area (SJS) will host the following meets: Welton "Moe" Moore Relays at Grant HS, Randy Sturgean Invitational at Granite Bay HS, Port City Invitational at Bear Creek HS and the Mark Macres Invitational at Monterey Trail HS.
All meet directors should send results to Jeff George at jgeorge@milesplit.com. Photos and videos should be sent to jgeorge@milesplit.com and albertjcaruana@gmail.com.