M-A’s track and field team put up a dominant performance at the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) trials this past Thursday. 13 Bears qualified for the PAL Varsity Finals this Saturday. There, they’ll compete to qualify for the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs, the last stage of competition before the state championships.
Junior John Cutler and seniors Timothy Rousseau, Rowan Pecson, and Aidan Doherty broke the school record for the 4x800M relay with a time of 8:08, beating the time of 8:18 that they set just last week. Doherty and Pecson placed first in their heats for the 1600M and will race again in PAL finals along with Rousseau. Cutler and sophomore Aidan Sharp both qualified for the 800M.
Doherty said, “My coach and I talked about what I had to do to qualify for finals, and I got it done pretty comfortably. Overall, the team had really strong runs, and a lot of people set personal records. The guys just came in and executed.”
Seniors Tatum Olesen, Annie Pflaum, Cleo Rehkopf—who were part of the team that set the fastest 4x1600M time in the nation last year—teamed up with sophomore Louisa Pflaum to dominate the 4x800M, winning the league title. Olesen and Annie Pflaum each won their heats in both the 1600M and 800M. Rehkopf also had an amazing performance, qualifying for the 1600M.
Sophomore Paige McGaraghan, who also qualified, said, “It was really fun. The entire frosh-soph team was there to cheer us on. It was a really big, cool event, especially since it was here at M-A.”
Sophomore Kei’Niyah Talton left the competition in her dust, winning both the 100M and 200M dashes. Senior Jolene Chu also put in a strong performance to qualify for the 100M.
Junior Sara Nordlund, often mistaken for a kangaroo, won both the 100M and 300M hurdles in dominant fashion. She came close to the school’s 100M hurdle record with a time of 15.28—even through a headwind. Senior Joseph Salceda also excelled, qualifying with a personal best in the 300M.
Doherty said, “The team is set up well to succeed. We know how to run our races, we’re competing really well, and everyone’s feeling fit. I started running at M-A during COVID, so it was a very different time, but I’ve had a great time with the team, the coaches, and everyone who’s come along with us as we’ve grown.”
Come out to M-A on May 4th to support our Bears at PAL Championships!
