2022 Central Coast Section Track and Field - Top Boys To Watch
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To the credit of the Central Coast Section office, individuals and teams were able to participate in two section meets in the spring of 2021 which included a section final in late June at Soquel HS (above photo). As we look ahead to the upcoming season, we wanted to highlight some of the top returning athletes which you can check out below. Included are their personal records in their main events as well as their place at the section final. We will continue to update this list as the season gets underway.
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Kathir Balakrishnan (Fremont/Jr.) 110m Hurdles/300m Hurdles
PRs: 110m Hurdles 15.17/300m Hurdles 38.68
Kathir Balakrishnan (photo above courtesy of Fremont HS website) was one of the top hurdlers in the section last year. He won the majority of both hurdle races and finished 2nd in the 110 meter hurdles in a PR of 15.17. He recorded an undefeated campaign in the longer hurdle race with a time of 38.68.Harrison Dance (Saratoga/Sr.) 1600/3200
PRs: 1600m 4:12.26/3200m 9:15.20
Harrison Dance was one of the top distance runners this past fall in cross country. Last year in the spring, Dance duked it out with an impressive group of seniors and finished in 3rd place in the 1600m as he rolled to his PR time of 4:12.26.PRs: 100m 11.22/Long Jump 22-8.5
Harker was impressive last spring with a young time that performed well at the section final. They finished in 5th place in the 400m relay with an all-sophomore lineup. One of those sprinters was Andrew Fu who also won the long jump while posting one of the longest jumps in the section earlier in the season.Evan Johnson (Stevenson/Sr.) 100/200
PRs: 100m 10.85/200m 22.10
The best sprinter last year was also a junior and will be returning to repeat as the section champion in the 100m and 200m. He recorded both his PRs at the section final as he impressively beat some talented seniors.
Jeremy Kain (Scotts Valley/Sr.) 1600/3200
PRs: 1600m 4:10.91/3200m 9:17.68
In 2017, 12-year-old Jeremy Kain ran a mile in 4:36.80 which remains the world record for a mile for 12 year olds. Fast forward a few years later and Kain has continued his fast running including a victory at last year's unofficial state championship at the end of the season with a PR of 4:10.91.
Jacob Kiesman (Valley Christian/Sr.) Shot Put/Discus
PRs: Shot Put 55-6.5/Discus 146-3
Valley Christian has had an impressive group of throwers in the past decade including section record holder Elena Bruckner. Last season, junior thrower Jacob Kiesman continued the
Logan Lehnert (St. Ignatius/Sr.) Pole Vault
PRs: Pole Vault 15-0
Last season, Bellarmine senior Leo-Garcia-Czarkowski won the pole vault with a mark of 15-0. HIs points helped Bellarmine rally to the team title. Finishing in 2nd place was St. Ignatius junior Logan Lehnert who also recorded the same mark. He will be a huge favorite to stand at the top of the podium this season.
Yutaka Roberts (El Camino/Sr.) 400/800
PRs: 400m 49.56/800m 1:53.32
Yutaka Roberts (Jose Carlos Fajardo photo) recorded one of the most impressive doubles I have ever witnessed at the CCS finals. He won the 400m with a PR of 49.56. Just a few minutes later with only the two 100 meter races and girls' 800 meters in between, Roberts raced the 800 meters and won over a fairly competitive field. He has already recorded an impressive 1:19.53 600 meters race this winter and will be favored to win both races again.
Albert Caruana is a Bay Area-based coach and a regular contributor to MileSplitCA