With the championship season fast approaching, the Coronado Islanders track team stepped up with several outstanding performances at a league meet with Madison and the Jaguar Invite at Valley Center. Head coach Cameron Gary details the two events below.
4/11 League Meet – Madison
- The Islanders were in action for the two-team League meet (commonly called a “dual meet”) competition versus Madison HS. Although Madison was the physical venue for the meet, the Islanders served as the “home” team. Furthermore, Madison HS will serve as the venue for this season’s City League (Varsity) Championships. This provided the Islanders with an opportunity to compete in the same location where the league championships will be held.
- The Islanders got off to a strong start, winning the girls’ 4×800 and both genders of the 4×100 relay events. The girls’ sprint relay team consisting of senior Tatiana Potter, junior Lauren Gilhooly, senior Lindsey Balsley, and sophomore Summer Little won convincingly with a City League leading time of 49.38 seconds. This time also is the #7 time in the entire San Diego CIF section (over 90 teams).
- The boys sprint team consisting of junior Sean Groeneveld, junior Von Pritchett, sophomore Davin Collins, and junior David Castillo defeated Madison’s quartet, finishing with a winning time of 44.63 seconds. That time is ranked #2 in the City League.
- Varsity athletes who achieved standout performances included Potter, who won the girls’ 100m dash with a personal record (PR) time of 12.95 seconds. This time ranks her at #5 in the City League. Balsley and Little tied for second in the same race, running an identical time of 13.23 seconds. This time was a PR for Little and a season record for Balsley.
- In the boys’ 100m dash, Groeneveld and Collins finished second and third, respectively. Each notched PR times of 11.39 and 11.59 seconds, respectively. Groeneveld’s time ranks him #3 in the City League. Groeneveld bounced back to win the boys 200m dash event, with a time of 23.35 seconds. That was the season’s best time for him.
- Other Islander varsity event winners included Balsley and junior Reif Souder in the boys and girls respective 300m Hurdles races, senior Emily Hernandez in the girls Long Jump, junior Jackson Rohrs-Frazier in the boys High Jump, and both the boys and girls 4×400 relay teams. The girls’ team consisted of Balsley, Potter, Gilhooly and sophomore Micaela Gistaro. They ran a season’s best time of 4:19.80, which is the #1 time in the City League.
4/13 Jaguar Invitational
- The Islanders traveled to Valley Center to take part in the Jaguar Invitational on April 13. This meet is broken up into a morning and afternoon session. The Islanders competed in the morning session. This venue will be the site for the CIF Division 3 Championships.
- Several Islander athletes scored personal records (PRs) and won medals in their respective heats. Standout performances included sophomore Nathan Ayan, who ran a PR time of 2:00.88 in the boys 800m. This time ranks him #2 in the City League, right behind teammate Rafael Roos. Roos ran a PR time of 4:31.27 in the boys 1600m run. This time was a 20 second PR for him, and now ranks him at #2 in that event in the City League.
- Sophomore sprinter Davin Collins notched two PRs in his 100m (11.51s) and 200m (23.16s) races. What was notable about those times is that they rank him 4th and 2nd in the City League, respectively… And the place him within the top 18 sophomores in the San Diego CIF section, almost certainly assuring him a spot in this year’s Dick Wilkins Frosh/Soph Championships.
- Along the same lines, freshman high jumper Aiden Roberts cleared 5’7” in his event, almost certainly assuring him an entry into that meet as well.
- The Islander girls relay teams had a good day. The 4×100 team of senior Tatiana Potter, junior Lauren Gilhooly, senior Lindsey Balsley, and sophomore Summer Little finished second in the invitational heat with a time of 49.94 seconds. This same quartet returned to take third overall in the 4×400 relay with a City League leading time of 4:17.65. The Islander girl sprinters now lead the City League in both those events.
- Last but not least, Gilhooly continues to have a strong season. She won the invitational heats of the girls 100 and 200m dash events. She ran 11.87 seconds in the 100m, surpassing the meet record. However, the time was aided by a 2.3 mps wind (the limit is 2.0 mps). Although the victory still stands, the performance could not be accepted for meet record purposes. Gilhooly returned to run 24.71 seconds in the 200m dash. The wind in this race was 1.5 mps, and her time surpassed the meet record. Thus, Gilhooly’s time is now the Jaguar Invitational meet record.
For many more photos of all of our meets, visit IslanderTrack.com.
