Boys Seniors-Only Central Coast Section Finals Highlights
100 Dash
Azjani McGill (Monterey) and Kurtis Lee (Evergreen Valley) finished 1-2 in the 2019 section finals, and they finish 1-2 again today - but in the opposite order. Lee scores the mild upset (if it can be called that), beating McGill for the first time in a championship meet by getting a rocket start and holding off a late charge. They are both finalist caliber at the state meet next week, as evidenced by their low-10.6 times today. Francisco Sanchez (Menlo-Atherton) also went to the state meet last spring; today he has to hold off a closing Deven Vanderbilt (Valley Christian CC) in the final 20 meters to score a return trip.
200 Dash
McGill is a beast in the 200, a legitimate candidate to go sub-21, and he was going to be hard to beat BEFORE he lost in the 100. He blasts through the curve and explodes onto the straight, leaving no doubt with a commanding win. Lee stays relatively close to secure second place comfortably, while Vanderbilt pushes past a tired Omodiaogbe Oboh (Santa Teresa) to take third and move on.
400 Dash
Oboh, a heavy favorite coming into the race, faces a somewhat unexpected and serious challenge in the final 200 from Kolton McCrossen (Live Oak), who drops a huge PR by running under 48.5 and forces Oboh to go faster than he probably wanted. The fast race also pulls Matthew Mills (Cupertino) under 49, separating the top three from the rest of the field by nearly a second - Jonaven Kuhn (Carlmont) breaks 50 to lead the next group.
800 Run
Garrett MacQuiddy (Westmont) uses the race to sharpen up for the state meet, going through the first 400 in 54 before dialing it back and cruising to the win. Euan Cairns (St. Francis Mountain View) is the only other runner able to stay close, earning him second place. That leaves Justin Chiao (Gunn) and Devon Nuti (Willow Glen), partly cooked by the wicked early pace, to dig deep for a final push to the line to try to take third. In a reversal of their 2019 finish, Nuti is able to squeak by and claim the last qualifying spot, as both runners fall to the track, exhausted, with new 1:55 PR's.
1600 Run
As we anticipated, MacQuiddy stays in this race one week longer than he did last year, setting up a duel for the title with Juan Pablo Garcia (St. Francis Mountain View). MacQuiddy stalks the favorite for the first 800, hoping to kick past in the final stretch, but Garcia won't allow it - he drops the hammer with 600 to go and is able to separate enough to lock in the victory. Adam Sage (Los Altos), better known for the 3200 as a junior, has been impressive in his 1600 improvement this spring, and he takes third over Esteban Deniz (King City) and Ishaan Singh (Evergreen Valley).
3200 Run
This is the most wide open of the distance races today, with no clear favorite coming in. Sage takes control with 800 to go and pulls away by about 10 meters to win over a clearly fatigued Garcia. Singh, who has shown greater interest and speed in the 3200 than in previous seasons, is able to hold off Ricardo Diaz (King City) to advance to the state meet.
110 Hurdles
Nolan Grieve (Santa Teresa) narrowly missed out on making the state meet in 2019, but today he rolls to the section title and locks in his place in Clovis. Scott Toney (St. Francis Mountain View) is the only challenger, staying close through 8 hurdles before Grieve closes out strong. The race for third is intense, with Max Gerhardt (Crystal Springs Uplands) edging out Dominic Sangster (Bellarmine) and Darren Wu (Evergreen Valley) to advance.
300 Hurdles
Peter Fan (Lynbrook) and Gerhardt are shoulder to shoulder all the way through eight hurdles before Fan pulls slightly ahead for the win. That leaves Gerhardt in second place, a tenth ahead of Wu, who in turn had to hold off Ethan Le (Santa Teresa) to secure the final qualifying spot.
Long Jump
We've seen this three-person battle coming for a while, since Jonaven Kuhn (Carlmont) and Solomon Kang (Milpitas) both jumped 21 feet early this year. That put them in position to challenge Jared Vazquez (Santa Teresa), the top returner from the 2019 section finals. After two appearances in this meet, Vazquez makes his first trip to the state meet with a section title in his pocket. Mateo Gomez (Santa Teresa) and Keola Sylva (Christopher) challenge Kuhn and Kang for the other two qualifying spots in an exciting battle over all six jumps. All three exceed 22 feet, with Gomez taking second and Kang hanging on to third.
Triple Jump
Vazquez peaked in the section finals last year, then didn't perform as well as he wanted at the state meet. This year, the defending CCS champion has been more consistent in the 46 - 47. Seth Hoque (Valley Christian), on the other hand, did make the state finals in 2019. He pushes Vazquez the whole competition before he can earn the repeat win, the two of them separating from third-place finisher Silva.
High Jump
Hunter Heger (Carmel) gets over 6-2 on his first attempt, then clears 6-4 to claim the win. Elijah Kodad (Seaside) and Jack Fukuda (Santa Clara) also get over 6-4, but need multiple jumps, while Henok Engidasew (St. Ignatius) tops out at 6-2 to finish fourth. Kodad takes second place based on misses as he and Fukuda advance to the state meet.
Pole Vault
This is one of the best events to watch today, as Scott Toney (St. Francis Mountain View) and Vicentejordan Vanderlipe (Alvarez) duel for the section title and prepare for the state meet. Vanderlipe clears 16-6 and makes three strong attempts at 17 feet, which Toney gets over to claim the crown. John Horan (Sequoia), whose season ended with a no height at the finals last year, gets over 15 feet to move on to the state meet this time.
Shot Put
Davin Kenney (Santa Teresa), the top returner from last year's finals, is in control of this competition from the beginning. He throws 53 feet for the first time to punch his ticket to Clovis, putting more than a foot between him and the next two throwers. Angel Rocha (Carmel) and Ashton Headley (King City) each hold second place at different points during the six rounds of throws, until a late push from Justin Lewinski (Bellarmine) puts him in second place. Headley holds off Rocha for the third and final qualifying spot.
Discus
Shane Aberg (Archbishop Mitty) claims the title here, but Davin Kiesby (Scotts Valley) doesn't make it easy for him. Kiesby has had a great senior season, improving by 10 feet over his junior best, but he still come up a few feet short of knocking off the top returner in the section. Isaac Gonzalez (San Benito) relies on his consistency to hold off Eke Songi (Menlo-Atherton) and Francisco Sandoval (King City) for third place.