Twenty members from M-A’s track and field team traveled to Gilroy High School to compete in CCS semifinals on Saturday. The Bears had an outstanding meet, with ten members qualifying to compete in CCS finals this Saturday.
In the boys 1600M race, junior Evan Chopra sped his way to second place with an outstanding and school record-breaking time of 4:10.19. Chopra then went on to run the 800M race, where he placed second again with a time of 1:55.35, allowing him to advance to CCS finals for both events.
Senior Aidan Sharp also ran in the boys 1600M, taking seventh place with an impressive time of 4:19.38. In the boys 3200M race, senior Cason Mitchell took fifth place with a time of 9:24.07. Both Mitchell and Sharp will be advancing to CCS finals in their respective races.
“I was pretty stoked to get to move on to CCS finals,” Mitchell said. “I was lucky enough to do that sophomore year but I wasn’t able to do it last year, so just getting back to the same place that I was at sophomore year is a great feeling.”
Senior JT Roeder will be advancing to CCS finals in both the boys 100M and 200M races after placing ninth in the 100M with a time of 10.48, and placing fifth in the 200M with a time of 21.80.
On the girls end, senior Katie Cueva tied for first in the pole vault, jumping an exceptional height of 10-00.00. Senior Lily Pellican followed closely, taking ninth place with a height of 9-06.00, allowing both Cueva and Pellican to qualify for CCS finals.
“I couldn’t really jump how high I wanted to because they cut off the competition. I just jumped exactly how much it took me to win,” Cueva said. “I’m looking forward to Saturday because I’ll get to show what I can do and I’m really hoping to go for the CCS title.”
In the girls 4x800M relay, seniors Mia Sanchez, Louisa Pflaum, and Paige McGaraghan, along with sophomore Caroline Pflaum, took 12th place, barely allowing them to qualify for CCS finals. The Bears displayed excellent teamwork, earning the 10th fastest time in M-A history at 10:04.14.
Sophomore Kyle Gabriel also competed in the boys 100M, 200M and high jump. He took 32nd place in the 100M with a time of 11.27 and 24th place in the 200M with a time of 23.00. Gabriel also took 24th in the high jump, where he jumped 5-08.00.
Junior Calvin Blanford raced the boys 1600M, where he took 18th place with a time of 4:29.30. In the boys 3200M, junior Ben Salceda finished in 17th place with a time of 9:43.98.
The boys 4x100M relay team of Gabriel, Roeder, and juniors Adam Tjernlund and Emmett Seeger took 26th, running a time of 44.31. In the boys 4x800M relay, juniors Oscar Wettermark and Grant Bennitt, along with Blanford and Sharp, ran a competitive time of 8:19.31, taking 13th place and only narrowly missing the opportunity to advance to finals.
Junior Fane Mataele competed in the girls shot put and discus. Mataele earned 19th in shot put with a distance of 32-05.00 and 20th in discus with a distance of 100-00.
In the girls 300M hurdles, junior Alex Jones took 19th place in a narrow race. She finished with a time of 48.91, just one hundreth of a second behind the person in front of her.
McGaraghan also raced in the girls 1600M, where she finished in 23rd place with a time of 5:25.74, and sophomore Alli Brottem competed in the the girls 3200M, taking 30th place with a time of 12:52.52.
“I think this just proves we’re ready and we’re as good as anyone in the Central Coast Section,” Mitchell said. “We’re just excited to keep moving on.”
The Bears will compete in CCS finals on Saturday at Gilroy High School.
