By Walt Leung
Last season, members of both the Girls and Boys Varsity Track and Field teams made it to the CCS (Central Coast Section) meet held at the San Jose City College. On the girls’ team were alumni Timarya Baynard, Bianca Bryant, Kelia Surrency; seniors Angela Sanluis and Kiane Floyd and sophomore Jade McDowell. On the boys’ team were alumni Josh Morales and Daryon Baynard and seniors Caleb Guan, Alwin Matthew and Ryan Coburn.
Once again, the girls’ team highlighted the meet for Piedmont Hills, with Baynard winning the 400 meter dash with a time of 0:54.99 and Bryant winning the 800 meter run with a time of 2:10.95. Baynard also placed second in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.48. Other girls stepped up too, with Sanluis placing 25th in the 400 meter dash prelims, Surrency placing 27th in the 300 meter hurdles prelims, and McDowell placing 14th in the shot put. Floyd also made the trials cut for CCS in the high jump, but ultimately failed to advance.
On the boys’ side, Baynard finished 12th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:06.45 and Morales placed 6th in the discus throw.
Coming off of a huge season where the girls team broke CCS records by enormous margins, pressure was unusually high.
“Once you’re in that moment, it feels like you made it, but you’re not there yet. There’s so much more, like state,” exclaimed Sanluis.
This pressure may have caused relay mishaps at CCS. On the girls side, the 4×400 relay was disqualified in finals because a runner fell.
“Girls always had high expectations because they were the reigning champs. That’s probably why one of our runners fell. She was running on pressure at a pace faster than normal,” commented Matthew. “For the guys, we felt the pressure too.
On the boys’ side, the 4×400 relay failed to make finals, finishing 19th in the preliminaries. However, many members of the team are still optimistic about their chances this season.
“I’m trying to make CCS for the 2 mile,” exclaimed veteran distance runner Bryan Chu, who has made the CCS cut many times for cross-country but has yet to make it for track and field.
“We’re going for the 4×400 finals, definitely. All we have to do is each hit 51-52 and we can probably make it to finals, maybe even rank,” comments Matthew.
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