At the Coronado Islander Track & Field banquet last Wednesday, Lauren Gilhooly and Nathan Ayan were named the girls’ and boys’ MVPs. Both were the top point scorers for their respective teams.
Gilhooly set new school records in the 100-meter dash (11.70) and the 200-meter dash (24.36). For the 100 and 200-meter dashes, she placed second to state leader Madison High School’s Amirah Shaheed in the league, division, and section championships. She also led the girls’ 4×100 and 4×400 teams to league and division championships. Her runner-up place in the 100-meter dash at the section meet qualified her for this weekend’s state meet in Clovis, California. The California State meet is one of the most difficult to qualify for because, unlike most other states, there are no divisions. At Fridays’ prelims, Gilhooly missed qualifying for the finals on Saturday by .32 seconds. She’ll be back next year. She finished the season with the 14th best time for the 100 in the state out of thousands of PRs recorded by Athletic.net.
Ayan was the 800-meter champion at the league and division meets. At the section meet, he made the podium with an eighth place finish overall while running a personal record of 1:58.22. Ayan led the boys’ 4×400 team to the league championship and a fifth-place finish at the division championships. He is also a member of the boys’ 4×800 school record team.
The ISF awards (for Integrity, Sportsmanship, and Friendship) went to seniors Tatiana Potter and Rafael Roos. Potter was a key runner in the girls’ 4×100 and 4×400 relays. The 4×100 team, consisting of Potter, Gilhooly, Lindsey Balsley, and Summer Little, placed first at the league and division championships and fourth at the section meet. The 4×400 team with the same girls were the league champs and placed fourth at the division finals.
Roos placed a close second in the league and the division finals behind Ayan in the 800-meter run. At the section meet, he placed 12th overall for the 800 among all San Diego runners. Like Ayan, he was a key runner in the boys’ 4×400 team and the school record 4×800 team. His PR for the 800-meter run was 1:58.35.
In addition to Roos, Potter, and Balsley, senior plaques went to Jack Shumaker, Emily Fernandez, and Marco Velarde. Balsley, named the City League Field Athlete of the Year, received a special coaches award for her performance in various events. In addition to her relay legs, she was the City Champ in the long jump, fifth in the division meet, and eighth in the section meet. She was the City Champ in the 300-meter hurdles and fifth in the division meet.
Newcomer of the Year plaques went to Davin Collins and Little for the sprints. Most Improved plaques went to Garret Shumaker for throws and Stefanie Romero for distance events. Other coaches awards went to Eddie Gonzalez as the Islanders’ Top Thrower of the Year and Aiden Roberts for sprints, high jump, and long jump. Romero, Jaya Jost, Edie Alicandri, and Megan Norris received plaques for establishing a 4×800 school record for girls.
