Boys Seniors-Only North Coast Meet of Champions Highlights
100 Dash
Austin Kresley (Northgate) is in the lead by 10 meters and never looks back, pulling gradually away to a 0.2-second win. The group behind him is tight, with five athletes across the line in less than a tenth of a second. Ryan Searl (St. Helena) holds off Mister Davis (Alhambra) for second place, with Jayson Wade (Antioch), Jaymes Hart (Vallejo), and Brandon Frith (Bishop O'Dowd) just barely squeezed out of the final qualifying spot.
200 Dash
Kresley isn't able to separate from the field until the final 40 meters, but he does claim his second title of the meet. The three-way battle behind him is intense, with Hart and Frith going shoulder to shoulder with Tomas Kersulis (Foothill Pleasanton) all the way to the line. Frith, who has shown huge improvement his senior season, gets second by a few hundredths over Hart, relegating Kersulis to fourth.
400 Dash
When you're in a three-way battle for two state meet spots, you might as well go for it, leave it all on the track, and see what happens. That seems to be the mindset for Justin Patterson (Cardinal Newman), Harry Overstreet (Berkeley), and Nico Melendres (Moreau Catholic) in this race. The three go hard from the beginning, which also has the effect of forcing Kersulis to work harder than he probably wanted. Kersulis does pull away down the stretch and can cruise over the last 40 meters as the other three strain to finish. Patterson gets second, with Melendres right on his heels, edging Overstreet for third place.
800 Run
Once again we see a favorite followed by a cluster of athletes fighting for two spots in the state meet. In this case, it's Logan Moon (Casa Grande) pulling away for the win; he hits 56 on the first lap as he preps for the state meet, then dials it back a notch over the final 300. Charlie Kennedy (University) takes second with a late surge, getting past Gabriel Preciado (Heritage), who holds off Owen Wolford (Sir Francis Drake) and Ishaan Jain (Dublin) to advance.
1600 Run
Christopher Middleton-Pearson (Dublin) is just here to take care of business; he tucks in behind the first group, sitting on them before taking the lead at the bell. He opens enough of a lead to coast through the final 50 and take the title. Now it's on to the state meet and a run at the top 3. Colton Swinth (Maria Carrillo) and Amir Barkan (Sir Francis Drake) also separate, staying within three seconds of the leader to take second and third, respectively. Aidan McCarthy (Amador Valley) leads the next group, about 2 seconds behind Barkan.
3200 Run
The road to a double win isn't easy for Middleton-Pearson, as he has to face three challengers that are all running on fresh legs, having sat out the 1600. He finds himself in a pack with Anthony Guerra (Granada), Lyle Rumon (Marin Catholic), and Rory Smail (Maria Carrillo). Guerra pushes the pace hard through the middle portion of the race, hoping to take the edge off of the favorite's superior speed. The two separate over the final 800, and Middleton-Pearson does mount a charge for the title, but Guerra is able to fight him off and take the win. Smail then kicks past Rumon for the final qualifying position.
110 Hurdles
This is one of the most exciting races of the day, since there is no clear favorite coming into the race. Jonzi Smith (Pittsburg) is the quickest out of the blocks, but Zavier Rodrigues (Maria Carrillo) is faster down the stretch and claims the crown. Smith has to hold off Meinkaye Kaye (James Logan) to stay in second place, as Christo Malinov (Northgate) ends up in fourth.
300 Hurdles
Kaye enters this race as the top seed, and he exits with a section title and a new PR in the 38's. Behind him comes an absolute wall of contenders for second place, all virtually side by side coming out of the turn. Shane Kaiper (Northgate) edges ahead on the seventh hurdle, then holds off Kevin Mlynek (Acalanes) as both advance to the state meet. Aidan Hasselquist (Arcata) and Mehdi Aziz (Las Lomas) are just a step behind in one of the closes finishes of the day.
Long Jump
Anthony Chen (Irvington) opens the competition with a 22 foot mark right on his first attempt, setting the tone for the day. Peter Levine (Urban) responds soon after to take the lead by just over an inch, followed by Eric Wu (American), the first two of several lead changes. Kaiper gets into the game on his fourth jump, setting a new PR as he ups the ante on the favorites. Meanwhile, Devon Gilbert (Kennedy Richmond) has been stalking the leaders, moving up into the low 22's to threaten for a spot in the top three. Over the final two jumps, Chen and Wu move back in front of Kaiper, and the battle end with Chen holding the title.
Triple Jump
Joe Zhou (San Domenico) had a disappointing end to the 2019 season, but this year he takes control of the competition and takes the win without feeling too much pressure from the field. Lucas Long (Dublin), Kahlim Davis (Alameda), and Chen are left to compete for the remaining two state meet spots. Long edges into second place in the fourth round of jumps and that holds up through round six, leaving Davis in third. Late in the final, Anthony Moeckel (Petaluma) sets a new PR and gets past Chen for fourth place.
High Jump
The section is loaded with strong jumpers this year, making this one of the best events to watch today. Ahmon Jones (Antioch), who uncorked a 6-7 jump early this spring, is one of three jumpers to get over 6-4 on his first attempt, along with Zach Deering-Haddix (St. Mary's College) and Paul Randall (San Leandro). Luke Sendaydiego (Sonoma Valley) and Zavier Rodrigues (Maria Carrillo) clear on the second attempt, and Shane Fricke (Redwood) follows on his third jump. The bar goes to 6-6, where Rodrigues and Randall move into the lead by clearing on their first try. Jones, Deering-Haddix, and Sandaydiego also get over, but the magic stops there as all five fail to clear 6-8. That leaves Randall in first, Rodrigues in second, and a mess of a tiebreaker for third between Jones and Deering-Haddix. They go to a jump off, which results in Deering-Haddix taking the final qualifying spot.
Pole Vault
Owen McNamara (Acalanes) appears to be a bit off rhythm, missing once at 13, 13-6, and 14. However, he pulls it together at the right time and gets over 14-6 on the first try, before clearing a new PR of 15 feet to take the win. Joel Castillo (Washington) and Kainoa Lee (Moreau Catholic) also set new all-time bests, going 14-0 and 13-6, respectively, as they advance to the state meet.
Shot Put
Did we say the high jump and long jump were wide open, with lots of contenders? Meet the NCS shot put, where at least SEVEN athletes enter the meet with a chance to advance to the state meet, if not win overall. That includes two comeback stories and two breakout seasons - Jamar Sekona (Marin Catholic) and Ty Seligman (Freedom) are looking for redemption after disappointing junior years, while Trevor Sidlauskas (Miramonte) and Jacob Hawkins (Freedom) have exploded into new territory this spring. In the beginning of the competition, though, it's the consistency of Gary Furniss (James Logan) that propels him to the early lead. That holds up until the fourth round, when Sekona uncorks a 53-foot monster that wins him the competition, finally realizing the potential he showed as a sophomore. Furniss responds with a new PR, but still lands in second. Seligman has to hold off Sidlauskas and Hawkins to take third.
Discus
After topping out at just under 160 feet last spring, Hawkins opened 2020 with a 170, and he has been on top of the section rankings since. Samuel Davison (Cardinal Newman) has made almost as much improvement this year, and he enters today within range of the win. They stage an epic duel, both throwing in the upper 170's and trading off the lead several times before Davison pulls out the win. Hawkins gets another week to try to crack 180 and get revenge for the close loss. Sidlauskas finishes solidly in third, not really threatened by the rest of the field but over 10 feet behind the top two.