Track and field teams get opportunity to bond at Raymond
Relays
Morgan Hill – On Saturday, 14 track and field teams converged at Live Oak High School for the third annual W.V. “Doc” Raymond Relays and each team got the opportunity to get to know each other and build team chemistry.
The relays are held in honor of “Doc” Raymond, Acorn coach Dean Raymond’s father, who died in 1999 and was a major benefactor of the track team over the years.
“Well the relays are different because it’s a team effort when usually it’s an individual race. You get to know your teammates better,” said the Acorns’ Lisa Herrera, who ran in the girls varsity long distance relay. “You’re used to seeing them (teammates) as opponents and you learn to appreciate them and their skills more.”
“We could not have had more perfect weather today,” added Herrera.
Joining the Acorns on the track were teams representing Sobrato, Gilroy, North Salinas, Salinas, Monterey, Leland, Seaside, Aptos and Independence to name a few.
The relays are a team-centered event, rather than just individual events, meaning the top three times, heights and distances from each team are recorded and added together for the team time, height and distance. Every event is a relay and according to Live Oak coach Dean Raymond an indirect benefit of having all events be relays is it brings a team closer together.
“I’ve gotten good feedback from coaches and athletes,” said Raymond. “They enjoyed the relays, saying it was bigger and better than last year. I think the athletes feel it brings the team together. It gives teams an opportunity to bond and pull for each other. It’s a nice change, a different perspective.”
Both the Live Oak and Sobrato track and field teams performed well at the relays, recording several third and fourth place finishes.
“We had some good performances,” said Raymond. “There’s also the benefit of seeing other teams that you haven’t seen compete yet.”
The Acorns senior Cobbie Jones did not run in any races due to an injury, but she did help Live Oak earn second place in the girls discus and fourth place in the girls shotput relays. The boys shotput team of Tom Russo, Tom Sparling and Jimmy Mallette finished in second place for the Acorns, as did the boys high jump team of Andrew Taylor, Dustin Muhn and Steve Silveira. Live Oak also captured a third place finish with their coed 4×400 hurdles team of Nic Muhn, Katie Armstrong, Hannah Hart and Jon Hart.
“The Raymond Relays were about our speed,” said Sobrato coach Dennis Martin. “We were able to score some points. It was a good track meet. The intent of the relays is about building team chemistry. It makes them unite with other team members. I think they enjoyed it. They put a real effort out there. I was surprised at how many kids stayed to the end of the meet to watch and cheer on other athletes.”
The Sobrato Bulldogs 4×100 relay team of Jennifer Tran, Amanda Paul, Amber Masoni and Remy Birchmier won their heat and finished fifth overall.
“I think it was a really good race because it was the first time we’ve run together,” said Tran. “We had good communication. There’s more teamwork and more competition.”
“I’m so happy,” added Birchmier. “The relays are more fun.”
Bulldog freshman Lance Wolfsmith had an outstanding performance for his long distance relay team, vaulting the team from 10th place to fourth on his leg of the race. Wolfsmith, Chris Sergent, Erik Woodruff and Murilo Almeida finished fourth in the boys varsity distance medley.
