The track and field team traveled to Millbrae to compete in their second PAL meet of the season on Wednesday. The Bears put up an impressive performance, qualifying four runners for the PAL championships next month and winning multiple events.
Junior Will Abdella and seniors Alexander Petry, Akhil Sunkara, and Oliver Loza led the meet with a first place finish in the 4x100M relay, dusting their competition. Petry also placed first in the 100M and 200M races, qualifying him for the PAL championships in both events. Junior Cason Mitchell and senior Thomas Bernadicou secured podium spots in the 800M, taking first and second place comfortably.
Sophomore Evan Chopra and seniors Lucas Selvik, John Cutler, and Christian Matsui ended the boys’ meet winning the 4x400M relay in a season-best time of 3:37. Chopra and Cutler also found success in the 1600M, securing first and second respectively.
“I’m very happy with the team performance and I think we really showed the league what we’re made of,” Cutler said.
“What makes us different from other teams is we have runners who really want it, who are at practice every day, and who invest so much time into this sport because they want to win,” he added. “The team has been running the fastest they ever have, so I’m excited to see where this season goes.”
Freshman star Caroline Pflaum and junior Paige McGaraghan both qualified for the PAL championship in the 3200M, placing first and fifth respectively. Juniors Gabi Jansen-Olliges and Skylar Hodges took fourth and fifth in the 100M, with Hodges also securing fourth in the 200M. Junior Mia Sanchez put up an impressive second-place performance in the 800M, barely falling short of first.
“Being able to come out every day with my teammates to work on our speed and seeing the results in meets is really rewarding and fun. Everyone did so well and there were a ton of PR’s all across the field,” Pflaum said. “The season gets off to a quick start but we still have a ton of big meets ahead of us. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
The Bears race will return to the track on Saturday at the Dublin Distance Fiesta in East Bay.
