The track and field season finished up recently with the Blossom Valley Athletic League finals on May 10 at Santa Teresa High and the Central Coast Section prelims and finals at Gilroy High on May 17 and May 24.
Top performers from the city of Morgan Hill were Sobrato’s Shaunise Tuua, Vijay Gali, Cali Barberi, Ava Valone and Kevin Havens.
In the CCS Finals on May 24, Tuua competed in the girls 100 and in the 300 hurdles, with her top finish being in the former with a fourth-place time of 12.63.
“I think I worked pretty hard to get here,” said Tuua, after the 100. “It’s better than I expected this season. I like the sprints more but the hurdles are growing on me.”
In the 800, Barberi raced home in 2:19.16 for ninth place. In the boys 300 hurdles, Gali came around in 40.47 for seventh place. Valone and Havens did well in the May 17 prelims but did not finish high enough to advance to the finals.
In the BVAL finals back on May 10, Live Oak was represented best by Jayden Mendoza, with an 11.36 100 meters finish that placed him seventh. Jason Momrow cleared 5-2 in the high jump for 12th place. The boys 4×100 relay team came around in 45.75 for 12th place. The quartet included Isaac Watson, Joshua Cachola, Justin Ruffner and Mendoza.
Sobrato had a host of big performances at the BVAL meet. On the boys side, Havens covered the 300 hurdles in 39.58 to finish first, with Gali in third at 40.60. Alexander Delgado came in eighth in the 100 in 11.37 and 11th in the long jump with a leap of 20-0.75. Jonathan Brackensick cleared 5-8 in the high jump for fifth place and Christopher Baker threw the shot 43-0.5 for sixth.
Other fine performances were Gali in 12th in the 110 hurdles in 17.30 and Colin Curto in 11th in the 200 in 23.28.
The Bulldogs’ relay teams excelled. In the 4×100, they finished fourth in 43.87 with a team of Jacob Amaro, Delgado, Curto and Gali. In the 4×400, they finished third in 3:28.75 with a crew of Amaro, Gali, Bode Chester and Curto.
On the Sobrato girls’ side, Tuua starred with a 12.27 100 to finish first. She also was second in the 300 hurdles in 47.46 and fifth in the long jump at 15-6.
Ava Valone was the runner-up to Tuua in the 100, clocking 12.47, and also took fifth in the triple jump at 34-4.
Temperance Guerrero threw the shot 31-9.5 for third place.
Barberi collected a pair of fifth-place finishes, running the 800 in 2:23.04 and the 1600 in 5:14.81.
Ellie Valone leaped 15-2.5 for ninth in the long jump, Samantha Jenkins circled the oval in 1:04.92 for 12th place in the 400 and Ellen Ruskin cleared the 100 hurdles in 17.38 for tenth place.
In the relays, Sobrato shined. In the 4×100, the Bulldogs won the race in 49.15. The team consisted of Ellie Valone, Yaretzi Ortiz, Maina Ponce and Kylie Duley. In the 4×400, Sobrato finished seventh with a quartet of Barberi, Jenkins, Nidhi Gali and Sophia de los Santos.
During the season, Sobrato student-athletes set an amazing total of eight new school records. Tuua posted school-best marks of 12.25 in the 100, 25.56 in the 200 and 46.70 in the 300 hurdles.
Barberi stamped her name all over the distances side of the record book. The sophomore ran 2:19.01 in the 800, 5:08.78 in the 1600 and 11:36.12 in the 3200. The mark in the 3200 smashed a 17-year old record by 9.14 seconds.
On the boys’ side, the 4×100 relay team established a new school mark at 43.74 and Baker threw the discus 136-6, furthest in school history.
