Coming back after spring break, Islander Track was in full swing for two meets in three days. Thursday was a dual meet against Lincoln High School and Saturday was the Arcadia Invitational.
The Arcadia Invitational, at Arcadia High School in the Los Angeles area, attracts some of the best athletes from over 700 schools in the country. Only four of Coronado’s athletes qualified for this meet.
Alysah Hickey might have had the best performance of the day, as argued by Green. Although she qualified for three events (100m, high jump and long jump) with the strongest athletes in the “night” meet, Hickey requested to compete in the day meet for the high jump. After 5-3 it was just Alysah and one opponent. Her competitor cleared 5-7, but went out on 5-9. Alysah made 5-9 on her second try – see video below. “Because our school record is 5-10.25, she [then] had the bar set at 5-10.5,” shares Green, “which she nearly made on her second try.” The night high jump was won at 5-8.
Ian Hurlburt also qualified for the invitational, as he has won every single 800-meter race he’s entered this season. Hurlburt used his strategy of staying with the pack and outkicking everyone in the end. It did not surprise us that he won his heat with a time of 1:55.15 while breaking a school record that was previously set by Erik Armes (1:55.22). Teresa Perez, who also holds the school record in the 800-meter, improved her time, clocking 2:18.43. Competing in the Heptathlon (100-meter dash, shot put, high jump, 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, javelin throw, and 800-meter run spread out over two days), Ruthie Grant-Williams set a PR score of 4017 points and is currently ranked second in this event within the San Diego Section. In the 100-meter hurdles, Grant-Williams broke her previous school record with a time of 15.34 seconds.
Thursday’s dual meet against Lincoln High School proved an easy win for both the boys’ and girls’ teams. In the 100-meter and 200-meter, the boys’ team ran several Personal Records (PR’s). Nicholas Dunn placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.36 seconds, followed closely by Shane Alihan who finished in 11.72 seconds. Runners who PR’d in this event included Leo Adams (12.16), Ben Cahill (12.26), Ryan Meachum (12.32), Hayden Dunlap (12.48), Kainoa Potter (12.50), and Zakaree Kevicki (12.82). In the 200-meter, Dunn was, once again, Coronado’s top finisher and PR’d at 23.24 seconds. Other PR’s were Alihan (24.56), Cahill (25.16), and Jesse Vernallis (26.14). The Lincoln boys had no hurdlers so Jack Miller won both the 110 and 300 hurdle races. Potter picked-up second-place points in the 400 with 57.98.
In the distance events, Coronado was able to take the decisive win, since Lincoln High School lacked distance runners. Luke Klingenberg, Chris Russel, and Nicholas Inzunza swept the 1600-meter event, with respective times of 4:55, 5:10, and 5:11. “Klingenberg and Russel went 1-2 in the 800 with 2:12 and 2:20,” says Coach Green. “Brad Busby and Danny Mineo cruised to a 1-2 finish in the 3200 with times of 11:07 and 11:12.” Coronado also took the win in the 4×100 relay, with a time of 45.07—the team comprised of Ian Hurlburt, Alihan, Cahill, and Dunn.
Kobuk Van Houten and Liam Casey went 1-3 in the high jump and went 2-3 in the long jump. Coach Green says, “For the first time in several years, we have a pretty good throws team, despite not having a discus facility to practice at.” Dunlap won the shot put with 35 feet 6 inches. Joseph Whalen was third with 32-2 followed by Nate Kim (28-11), Jack Weisbrod (27-1.5), and Andrew Needham (27-0.5). In the discus, the order was Weisbrod (2nd with 80-7), Kim (3rd with 80-6), Whalen (73-9), and Needham (72-0)
The girls’ team was more successful in the short-distance events, as Alysah Hickey won the 100-meter dash, clocking 12.36. Abigail Whittemore (2nd) and Daniela Rassvetaieff (3rd) followed with respective times of 13.46 and 14.56. Lincoln’s female team also did not have any distance runners, while Coronado has a full team of high-performing distance runners. Madden Hundley, Abigail Hundley, and Annie Holland swept the 800-meter race with times around 2:37. “Sofia Van Arsdale ran the 1600-meter race for the first time along with the boys’ race with a time of 5:32,” comments Coach Green, while Jessica Ehret easily won the 3200-meter race, with a 12:51 finish.
In the field events, Coronado has an interdistrict transfer, Victoria Perez—their only female thrower. “She has PRs of 34 feet 4 inches in the shot put and 107 feet 4 inches for the discus,” shares Coach Green. “These were while she was at North Harrison High School in Ramsey, Indiana. Her shot put PR is well over our school record, and both her shot put and discus marks are better than anyone else in our league. She won both the shot and discus with throws of 31-0 and 105-3 respectively.” Other wins included Sydney Zoehrer’s high jump at 4-6, Regina Czerewko’s pole vault at 6-3, Grant-Williams 100 hurdles in 16:14, and Whittemore triple jump 28-5.
Congratulations to the Islanders track team!
Upcoming Meet:
Thursday, April 19 vs. Clairemont and Kearny High Schools at Kearny High School @ 3:30 PM
