Sobrato teams earns split at Westmont but lose precious ground
in standings
CAMPBELL
Steven Villarreal appeared to be the only Sobrato High School athlete who was happy, nay, content with their performance in the April 7 Santa Teresa Division track and field meet at Westmont High School.
On a windy afternoon in which the SHS girls watched their first conference team title all but slip away while the boys, already undermanned, left plenty of points on the table, Villareal flirted with a new personal record and for that was in rare company.
The junior match his PR of 20 feet, six inches in long jump — only after scratching at 21-1.
“I was mad, but it could have been a lot worse,” he said. “Everyone was blowing up today.”
Both Sobrato teams beat Prospect but lost soundly to Westmont, a result that weighed on the minds of some of the SHS girls, who lost a battle of unbeatens with Westmont by 96-36 score. They were mostly dissatisfied with their individual tallies.
“Definitely not happy about that,” Rebekah Inouye said of her 4-8 mark in high jump; her PR is 5 feet.
“After that first loss (in the 4×100-meter relay), everything just sort of fell apart,” sprinter Cassandra Valenzuela said. “We were pretty down, and a lot of people had small injuries and soreness. We were scrambling to fill in events.”
Had they been healthy and in top form, the Sobrato girls still would have faced a tall order against the Warriors, whose roster depth is more fit for the A division. Westmont had a 2-to-1 superiority, according to SHS coach Fred Rios.
“We had some good performances up front. As a team, it just didn’t happen for us,” he said, and then later, “In preparation, I went over everyone’s assignments prior to the meet, but due to circumstances I had to make some last-minute changes. With our small number of athletes, making changes has a big domino effect. … Our girls had to compete in multiple events whereas Westmont had fresh competitors for each event.”
Sobrato’s lone winner in the meet, which also included Willow Glen, was senior Marissa Benjamin, who won the 100 meters in 12.87 seconds. Valenzuela placed second at 400 meters (67.39), and Cybil Pace (28.83) and Jaclyn Pereira (29.84) were Nos. 2-3 in the 200, with Pereira adding a second-place effort in long jump (14-7). Rebecca Rottenborn took third in the 300-meter hurdles (54.39).
The Sobrato girls had something to cheer.
“We’re 5-1,” said Valenzuela, a senior. “This is the best season we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Among the top finishers for the SHS boys (3-3), Villarreal took second in both jumping events, clearing 5-6 on the apron, and Obi Mbonu was third at 100 meters (11.57). Brandon Mancini launched 13 feet to tie for first in pole vault.
Both Sobrato teams hope to have a better showing next time at Westmont, the site of this year’s Santa Teresa Division Finals.
“We’ll definitely be better prepared next time, more used to meets with a lot of teams,” senior distance runner Winston van Keulen said. “We’ll put on a better show.”
