When Brenden White unleashed a personal-record (PR) shot put throw of 46 feet, 2 inches in the first meet of the season, he was mildly surprised. But White doesn’t plan on stopping there; in fact, he has a goal of throwing 50 feet by the end of the season. If the Live Oak High senior hits that mark, he’ll be a strong contender to finish on the podium at the Central Coast Section Championships in May.
White is one of several athletes who have the potential to make the CCS Semifinals and possibly beyond. Other impact athletes on the boys side include Brandon Miner (high jump and hurdles), Greg Sperry (400 meter run), Kolton McCrossen, Cole Davis and Christian Guary. The latter two are part of Live Oak’s 4×100 relay team.
“The 4×100 boys and girls relay teams are definitely hitting times to make the CCS Semis,” Acorns coach Alberto said.
On the girls side, senior Kaylah Grant returns in her quest to make a return trip to the CIF State Championships in the 3200 meter run. Grant placed third last year in the CCS Finals to punch her ticket to state, and a fourth-place finish in the 1600 meant she was close to competing in two events at state.
Grant, who is just starting to build her mileage up after recovering from a hip injury, can’t wait to return to competition, especially the prestigious Stanford Invitational on March 30 and 31. Grant wants to go sub 5 minutes in the 1600 by the end of the season, and continue building up her mileage so she can peak for the league and section championships.
“I’m getting in some good interval training now that I’m all healed up,” Grant said. “I definitely want to go faster, race smarter and be able to have a stronger kick at the end of races.”
Grant is excited to see young talent on the team, including Karlie Lema, who has impressed with fast times in several events, most notably the 100 yard dash. Freshman Audrey Reed (800, 1600), Tessa Seda (400), Sarah Jacob (100, relays) and Adina Simonsen (high jump and relays) are expected to be impact performers throughout the season.
Seda and Sperry have been dominant in their best events in league meets, with Sperry winning five of seven 400-meter during last year’s Blossom Valley League season, and Seda running dominant times compared to the rest of the BVAL in the 400 as well. White expressed confidence that he can establish additional PRs in the shot put and discus going forward.
“My goal is to get all my marks way up,” he said. “Through some extra weight training and practice, I’m looking to increase my discus to the 140, 150 feet range. In practice, I always try to work on technique instead of power so I can refine it and get better. Hopefully, I’ll be able to transfer power into it and ultimately that will get me farther marks. We’ve got a pretty good throwing coach (Suarez), and he’s always got a watchful eye when we’re throwing. He’ll let us know if we’re throwing too high, if we’re messing up somewhere in the middle of a throw and what we can change for the next throw.”
The Acorns have a nice blend of talented athletes from all grade levels, which should make for a solid season.
“Tessa is very exciting to watch, and Sarah has been very strong in the 100 since her freshman year,” Suarez said. “Adina is a very strong sprinter and athletic, and Karlie is tall, fast and amazing. She runs as fast as some of our top boys.”
Lema broke four frosh-soph school records—in the 100 meters, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump—with the 100 also being a varsity record in the team’s first dual meet of the season. After a standout season on the soccer team—where Lema was an unstoppable force at striker—Lema has impressed on the track.
