James Walker’s friends and teammates at Live Oak High School
were onto something when they coaxed him into running track this
season
SAN JOSE
James Walker’s friends and teammates at Live Oak High School were onto something when they coaxed him into running track this season.
With his speed and strength, Walker has been a mainstay for the resurgent boys soccer program the last four years, culminating with the Acorns’ run to the Central Coast Section Division III final in winter. But the senior had little interest for “running in circles” until this offseason, with his schedule suddenly wide open.
“I thought, ‘Why not?’ Might as well try it,” he said in April.
Thursday at Blossom Valley Athletic League finals, Walker set an LOHS record in the 400-meter relay with Kean Vaziry, T.J. Ornduff and Daw, who placed second in 43.87, and later helped his Santa Teresa Division-champion mile relay win a BVAL title going away in 3:27.63 at Mount Pleasant High School.
Walker, who joins Alex Haferbecker, Jacob Montoya and Daw as the second-fastest 4×400 in the section, also won the 100 in a personal-best 10.91 and took second at 200 meters (22.43).
“There was a lot of overlap between events,” LOHS coach Mike Sullivan said afterward, not to downplay Walker’s achievements. “But to have a three-hour span and go your hardest in four sprints — knowing you have to go your hardest — really says a lot.”
Sullivan was relieved to see his 400-meter relay finally break the school’s all-time mark. Those four were among 17 locals who qualified for CCS Semifinals, held May 21 at Gilroy’s Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
“We had been gunning for the school record in the 4x(100) all season,” Sullivan said. “Now we can just focus on doing our best with no pressure at CCS.”
The LOHS boys had a tremendous meet, starting with the opening 400-meter relay. They received a big effort from Daw, who qualified for sectionals in high jump, his specialty, with a third-place effort (5 feet, 10 inches) on top of the two relays.
Live Oak’s Blair Zerr and Afari Li-Anyane also stepped up in hurdles, with Zerr making the top-eight cut in both events, placing fourth (16.25) at 110 meters and eighth (42.15) at 300, and La-Anyane taking third (16.06) in the 110.
There were few disappointments on the boys side for Sobrato. The usual suspects took care of business, as pole vaulters Brandon Mancini and Jackson Reid tied for second at 13 feet, Steven Villarreal took third in high jump (5-10), and Winston van Keulen eighth in the mile (4:41.69), making the most of an at-large berth the senior earned at Santa Teresa Division Finals.
Sophomore Ryan Corvese lived up to van Keulen’s praise earlier this season by qualifying for sectionals in 4:39.56, which was good for seventh.
Sobrato’s division-champion girls 4×100 (Kate van Keulen, Cybil Pace, Cassandra Valenzuela and Marissa Benjamin) missed the cut by less than a second in 52.37. Benjamin rebounded with a fifth-place effort at 400 meters (1:00.45).
Kayleen Meldrum tied for third in pole vault (8-6), and Rebekah Inouye tied for fourth in high jump (4-8), also for Sobrato.
Emily Guthormsen will be the LOHS girls’ lone representative next week after the freshman posted an impressive eighth-fastest mile time (5:43.74).
