On Saturday, April 6, the Islander Track & Field team represented Coronado at two invitational meets—one of which took them to Los Angeles. According to Coach George Green, the Arcadia Invite, held at Arcadia High School, is the premier high school track & field meet with over 4,000 athletes from all over the US competing. As one of Coronado’s top athletes, senior Alysah Hickey dominated in both jumping events. Initially entered in the invitational section of the High Jump and Long Jump, Hickey had to enter in the open section of the High Jump due to a scheduling conflict. She won this event handily, with a mark of 5 feet-9 inches, as the second-place mark was 5-5. As this event took place in the morning, Hickey could now concentrate on the evening Long Jump event. On her last attempt, she won with a mark of 19 feet-11.25 inches.
“If she had competed in the invite high jump, she would have won that as well as the winning height was 5 feet 8 inches,” says Coach Green. “Alysah was the only San Diego Section Athlete to win an Invitational event at the meet.”
As a versatile athlete, senior Ruthie Grant-Williams entered in the open-section heptathlon, which is a seven-event competition taking place over two days. The High Jump, 100-meter dash, Shot Put, and 200-meter race were held on the first day, followed by the Long Jump, Javelin, and 800-meter race on the second day. Her best events were the High Jump, in which she leaped 5 feet-4 inches, and the 100-meter hurdles, clocking 15.34 seconds. Coach Green comments, “Had the wind reading been .3 meters per second slower, this time would have lowered Ruthie’s school record which is currently 15.50 set at the Escondido Invite last season.” Competing against some of the top athletes in the country, Grant-Williams placed ninth in the heptathlon.
Some of the Islander Track athletes stayed closer to home, entering in the Seventh Annual Arnie Robinson Invite held at Mesa College. “This Invite is becoming more popular every season as it offers a full range of both junior college and high school events,” says Coach Green. Sophomore Sofia Van Arsdale won the 800-meter after taking the lead from the gun with a meet record time of 2:19.85. Also running on the track, senior Regina Czerewko clocked two PRs in the 400-meter and 200-meter, with times of 65.02 and 29.27 seconds, respectively. Senior Victoria Perez, thrower for the Islanders, took third place in the Shot Put, with a 33-foot throw, and seventh in the Discus Throw, with a 112 foot-6 inch toss.
Leading the Islanders in the boys’ races, senior Nicholas Dunn placed fifth in the 100-meter dash, with a PR time of 11.30 seconds. Following Dunn was junior Kainoa Potter, who finished in 12.04 seconds. Dunn and Potter also ran in the 200-meter race, clocking times of 21.27 and 24.39 seconds, respectively. Running in the 400-meter, sophomore Noah Wahamaki lowered his PR with a time of 59.08 seconds.
Just prior to the two successful meets on Saturday, the Islanders competed in a dual meet with Lincoln High School on Thursday (4/4). For the girls, senior Sarah Barns and Czerewko took first and second in the 200-meter, clocking respective times of 29.28 and 30.17 seconds. Barns also competed in and won the 300-meter hurdles in 50.29 seconds, followed by sophomore Jasmine Chaney in second. In the 400-meter, Van Arsdale, Barns, and Czerewko took the first three places, with respective times of 62.37, 64.07, and 66.67 seconds. Perez won both of her specialty events, the Shot Put and the Discus Throw.
In the boys’ races, Dunn came close to first in both the 100-meter and 200-meter, with times of 11.37 and 23.03 seconds, the latter being a PR. Potter placed fourth in the 100-meter, clocking 11.92 seconds; Shane Alihan, Zane Delcore, and Orion James all finished under 13 seconds. In the 1600, Cole and Landon Mullins took first and second place with times of 5:08.5 and 5:11.6, respectively. Brad Busby, Conor Youngblood, and Xavier Baltazar followed, respectively finishing in 5:37.0, 5:38.2, and 5:52.2.
Upcoming Meet:
Thursday, April 18 vs. Kearny and Clairemont High Schools at Clairemont High School @ 3:30 PM
