The Islander track team had a great showing last weekend at the Viking Sunset Relays.
Head Track and Field coach Cameron Gary supplies the details below.
March 8 – Viking Sunset Relays
The Islander Track & Field team was in action on Saturday, March 8 at the Viking Sunset Relays, held at La Jolla High School. This meet was formerly the “Viking Relays” and held during the midday hours in mid-April, and the last couple years in early March. This year, the meet organizers experimented with a slightly different format, starting the meet during the afternoon hours with the intention of finishing under the lights at night. In addition to this change, this year’s meet included Mixed-Gender relay events, similar to what is seen at the Olympic Games and World Championships.
The Islanders were once again led by senior standout sprinter Lauren Gilhooly, who took first (overall) in the 100m and 200m dash events, running times of 12.04 and 24.97 seconds, respectively. She also ran the 200m leg on the women’s 800m Sprint Medley Relay. She was joined by sophomore Maya Wilson (100m leg), junior Summer Little (100m leg), and junior Micaela Gistaro (400m leg). This quartet clocked an outstanding time of 1:48.85, which is the top time in the San Diego CIF section and the third fastest time in the United States this season.
Another (overall) event winner was junior distance standout Nathan Ayan, who won the 800m run with a season’s best performance of 2:02.85. He was followed by junior Andrew Buck, who placed second with a personal record (PR) time of 2:06.74.
Other (overall) top ten finishers included Gistaro, who placed second in the women’s 400m dash, clocking a PR time of 59.52 seconds. Her time ranks her eighth in the San Diego CIF section. Junior Davin Collins placed third overall in the men’s 200m Dash, clocking a time of 23.53 seconds. He also finished ninth in the men’s 100m Dash, with a time of 11.72s.
Freshman long jumper Claudia Wagner placed fourth in the women’s Long Jump with a PR leap of 16 feet. Sophomore Aiden Roberts placed fourth in the men’s High Jump with a leap of 5’2”. The men’s 800m Sprint Medley of junior William Heyen, senior David Castillo, Collins, and junior Mason Gibbs also placed fourth, with a time of 1:41.10s. This time currently ranks them fifth in the San Diego CIF section.
Other top ten finishes were recorded by sophomore Trey Stallworth (fifth) and freshman Liam Morocco (tenth) in the men’s Long Jump, with leaps of 19’2.50” and 18’6”, respectively. In the women’s 100m Dash, Wilson took sixth overall, winning her heat and clocking a time of 13.58s. Junior thrower Eddie Gonzalez took eighth and seventh in the Shot Put and Discus, throwing 36’7” and 103’1”, respectively. Sophomore Xavier Marsh recorded a ninth-place finish in the men’s 400m Dash, clocking a PR time of 54.76s.
The Mixed Relays are not officially recognized CIF (championship) events, so they were run more as “exhibition” events at this meet. The islanders entered two teams, with sophomore Lily Humphrey, Gibbs, freshman Emily Albin, and Stallworth comprising the 4×100 squad. They finished third overall with a time of 52.00 seconds. Wilson, Gibbs, freshman Victoria Hernandez, and sophomore Meliq Avetyan comprised the 4×400 squad, finishing second overall with a time of 4:11.23.
A select group of Islander varsity athletes will be in action on March 15 at the Don Jones Bronco Invitational, taking place at Rancho Bernardo high school.
