Live Oak
’s Cobbie Jones had no problem judging the difficulty of her
800-meter race at Friday’s Central Coast Section Top 8 Classic.
Going up against the section’s top competition in her favorite
event, Jones ranked it as one of the hardest races she’s run, right
up there with a soggy dual meet she
competed in earlier this season at Hollister-San Benito High.
“(This was the hardest), except for one at Hollister because it was
muddy,” Jones said. “But that (one) was kind of fun.”
Live Oak’s Cobbie Jones had no problem judging the difficulty of her 800-meter race at Friday’s Central Coast Section Top 8 Classic.
Going up against the section’s top competition in her favorite event, Jones ranked it as one of the hardest races she’s run, right up there with a soggy dual meet she competed in earlier this season at Hollister-San Benito High.
“(This was the hardest), except for one at Hollister because it was muddy,” Jones said. “But that (one) was kind of fun.”
Friday’s race? Not so fun. Still, Jones fought cold weather and a strong headwind down the stretch to finish third in the half–mile race with a time of 2:14.55, trailing Archbishop Mitty’s Christine Whalen (2:13.08) and Saratoga’s Alicia Follmar (2:13.13).
“It wasn’t the best day,” Jones said. “(With 200 meters left) I was trying to kick hard, but I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Jones, who set the LO school record (2:11.83) in the event at the State Finals last year but whose best 800 time this year is 2:12.72, had also competed in a dual meet with North Salinas Thursday, which left her a little less energized for the big meet Friday than she would have liked.
“I cruised (against North Salinas), but it still takes a little something (out of you),” Jones said.
Jones’ main distance rival in the area, San Benito’s Amanda Boyd, took second in the 3,200 (11:21.50) and fifth in the 1,600 (5:15.07).
On the boys side, the ‘Balers Jesse Rice took second in the 400 (49.57) and Chuck Thompson took fourth in the 100 (11.47). The ‘Balers also had three top 10 finishers in pole vault, Todd Merrigan (third place, 15–00), Matt Wynne (6th place, 14–06) and Josh Schrader (seventh, 14–00). Merrigan’s vault broke the Hollister-SB pole vault school record, previously held by former UCLA and NFL quarterback Cade McNown. The ‘Baler boys 1,600 relay team also took fourth with a time of 3:32.43.
Gilroy High throwers Robert Best and Sierra Barozza also placed at the meet.
LO softball
An outstanding season took a flight of fancy for the Live Oak High softball team at the Watsonville Tournament last weekend.
After advancing to the tourney finals with a 2-0 victory over Capuchino on Saturday, LO found itself matched up against league rival Hollister-San Benito – a team it had just played three days earlier.
But with a steady rain coming down, both Acorn coach Barry McDonnell and Haybaler coach Scott Smith agreed to forgo the tourney finale.
That’s when things got a little strange.
As the two teams enjoyed each other’s company in sportsmanlike fashion, even taking a group photo to commemorate the moment, Smith suggested, tongue firmly in cheek, settling things with a contest of Rochambeau.
LO’s Juliette Bowers won the first showdown and April Herrera lost the second before Alyssa Adamo’s scissors gambit in the third, and deciding, matchup was trumped by a Haybalers’ rock.
LO (17-5 overall) won its semifinal game behind the two-hit, 11-strikeout pitching of Bowers, who also slammed a home run off the foul pole. Herrera also had an RBI sacrifice fly.
The Acorns were originally scheduled to play Saratoga in the semifinals but Capuchino protested the pool play tiebreaker results and qualified for the semis as a result.
LO (4-1 in league) returns to Tri-County Athletic League play this week, hosting North Salinas on Tuesday and playing at Salinas on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the LO baseball team enters the final two and half weeks of play in first place in the TCAL, half a game ahead of second-place Gilroy.
