Senior takes first in 3,200 meters Friday at section finals,
joins five other Morgan Hill athletes on the podium
GILROY — Lance Wolfsmith’s career led up to this moment, one last race under the lights at Gilroy’s Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
In his four years at Sobrato High School, Wolfsmith ran the 3,200 meters more times than he can recall, but never with as much pressure as he felt Friday in the CIF-Central Coast Section Finals meet. With his family, teammates, coaches and fans on hand, Wolfsmith toed the starting line amid, arguably, the toughest 12-man field in California. The top three finishers advanced to next weekend’s CIF State Championships in Clovis.
As Wolfsmith mentioned several times this season, anything less than first place would be a disappointment.
“CCS, to me, is even bigger than state,” he said Wednesday after accepting a full-ride scholarship to the Air Force Academy. “I’m going for the perfect record.”
Wolfsmith achieved perfection in record time.
Taking nothing for granted, the decorated distance star set a daunting pace through the first four laps, then outdueled Mountain View’s Garrett Rowe in a thrilling final lap to win in nine minutes, 7.10 seconds — the fastest mark in the section this year.
Rowe, the state’s top-ranked junior in cross country, followed in 9:08.17, and Palo Alto junior Philip Macquitty finished third (9:10.93).
Wolfsmith collapsed on the brick-red track afterward.
“I’ve never been so happy,” said Wolfsmith, who became the third CCS champion in Sobrato history. “The last 100 (meters) was beyond mental and physical. Seeing everyone in the stands cheering, it was motivating. I was praying the entire race for my strength to keep going — because I didn’t have it.”
Victory appeared in jeopardy for Wolfsmith midway through the race. He jumped out to a big lead in the first lap only to fall back into fourth by Lap 5.
“It wasn’t beyond my boundary. It was a really good pace for me,” Wolfsmith said. “I didn’t want to go out too slow. No one else wanted to do the work in the beginning. I’ve been favored for this race; I thought I should lead it out.”
Garcia-Elder brought out the best in Wolfsmith a year ago at CCS Finals, when he qualified for state with his previous-best time (9:11.86).
“He took it to another level this time,” his father and coach, Dave Wolfsmith, said. “Being a CCS champion, there are a lot of good athletes that never happens to. I didn’t want to put that pressure on him, but we both believed he could do it.”
After taking his place atop the podium, Lance Wolfsmith jumped down and walked toward the grandstand with his hands clasped over his head. Willow Glen senior Nohe Lema, a longtime foe, jumped in front of him to jokingly steal some of the cheers.
“Running against Lance was tough these past years,” said Lema, who won the 1,600 meters earlier Friday. “This was one of the most difficult 32s I’ve ran.”
Lance Wolfsmith has been mum about winning state this year, but will be one of the contenders Saturday in Clovis.
“I’m going to give it my all,” he said. “But right now, I kind of just want to let this moment last.”
Along with Wolfsmith, Morgan Hill’s entire six-person contingency ended up on the podium Friday, finishing no more than two places away from qualifying for state.
The big night started with Stephanie Armstrong’s hard-fought fifth-place finish in high jump. After missing her first two attempts at five feet, two inches, the 6-foot Live Oak junior willed herself over to tie for the third-best height of the day.
“My legs felt good. Everything felt great today,” said Armstrong, who made her second appearance at section finals. “I just had to focus and do my best.”
Saratoga senior Kiersten Dolbec took first at 5-6.
“Stephanie has a knack for rising up when her competition is good,” Live Oak coach Mike Sullivan said. “She made a good run for 5-6, trying to get that PR, but 5-4 was good, too. We’re happy for her.”
Armstrong plans to do club track this summer in preparation for next year.
“I want to go to state,” she said.
Running the 800 meters, Sobrato’s Alan Rios was “inches away” from joining Wolfsmith at state. Rios, a junior, trailed third-place Kevin Jani of Branham by less than five lengths after the final turn before making one last desperate push in the closing 100 meters.
He crossed in the same time (1:55.74) as Jani, losing by less than a hundredth of a second.
Pioneer junior Nathan Strum (1:54.84) held on to place first.
“One, fifty-five, that’s been my goal all season,” said Rios, who was making his CCS Finals debut. “I can’t be unhappy with this. Kevin, he’s a senior and he’s been running strong all season. He deserves it.
“I couldn’t have asked for more. Fourth place is right there. I know it’s the first loser for state, but I was happy to be there.”
Rios won a second medal 90 minutes later. Using whatever energy he had left, Rios joined Alex Meldrum, Ralph Jackson and Tim Cavanaugh in clocking the fifth-fastest time (3:23.85) in an electrifying 4×400-meter relay. The foursome erupted in celebration when the times were announced.
San Benito won in 3:21.74.
“That’s beyond anything we hoped to do,” Jackson, a junior, said. “Going in, I thought 3:23 was going to be good enough to make state. That was one hell of a race.”
Meldrum, who earlier placed eighth (40.08) in the 300-meter hurdles, used his start in Lane 1 to his advantage.
“I could see everyone ahead of me,” the senior said. “I knew what I had to do. I was thinking, ‘gotta catch them, gotta catch them.’ ”
Meldrum made a clean handoff to Jackson, who started his leg in seventh but finished fourth.
“I looked ahead and just knew I had to catch everybody,” he said.
Cavanaugh kept Sobrato in fifth, and Rios kept his ground through the anchor leg.
“That had to be the fastest 400 I’ve ever run,” Rios said. “That was crazy. My whole body was shot. It’s a great feeling.”
BOYS
TEAM
1, St. Francis (Mountain View), 47; 2, San Mateo, 30; 3, Evergreen Valley, 26; 4, Junipero Serra, 25; 5, Santa Cruz, 24; 6, Gilroy, 20; 7, Mitty, 19; 8, Wilcox, 18; 9, Sobrato 16; 9, Independence, 16; 11, San Benito (Hollister), 15; 12, St. Ignatius College Prep, 14; 13, Willow Glen, 13; 14, Aptos, 12; 14, Pioneer, 12; 14, Andrew Hill, 12; 17, Salinas, 11; 18, Bellarmine College Prep, 10; 18, Oak Grove, 10; 18, Half Moon Bay, 10; 21, Mt. Pleasant, 9.50; 22, Archbishop Riordan, 9; 23, Carlmont, 8; 23, Gunn, 8; 23, Valley Christian (San Jose), 8; 23, Silver Creek, 8; 23, Monterey, 8; 23, Mountain View, 8; 23, Piedmont Hills, 8; 30, Overfelt, 6; 30, Milpitas, 6; 30, Santa Teresa, 6; 30, Branham, 6; 30, Westmoor, 6; 30, Palo Alto, 6; 30, Scotts Valley, 6; 30, Everett Alvarez, 6; 38, Burlingame, 4; 39, Monte Vista Chr., 2; 39, Westmont, 2; 41, Palma, 1.50; 42, Seaside, 1; 42, Carmel, 1; 42, Pacific Grove, 1; 42, Woodside, 1.
INDIVIDUAL
4×100 – 1, St. Francis (Mountain View), 41.68; 2, Junipero Serra, 42.13; 3, Evergreen Valley, 43.06; 4, Santa Cruz, 43.19; 5, Scotts Valley, 43.20; 6, San Benito (Hollister), 43.35; 7, Palma, 43.44; 8, Mitty, 43.52. 1,600 – 1, Nohe Lema, Willow Glen, 4:15.42; 2, Rylan Hunt, Aptos, 4:19.98; 3, Greg Innes, St. Ignatius Col, 4:20.71; 4, Rogan Meza, Burlingame, 4:21.35; 5, Weston Strum, Pioneer, 4:22.49; 6, Valentino Julien, Willow Glen, 4:23.18; 7, Kyle Rae, Bellarmine, 4:23.82; 8, Nati Wolde, Willow Glen, 4:23.86; 9, Alex Cagwin, Bellarmine, 4:24.82; 10, Eric Safai, Los Altos, 4:25.94; 11, Alan Menezes, Saratoga, 4:29.31; 12, Max Bell, 4:31.14. 110 Hurdles – 1, Peter Guenther, Gilroy, 14.68; 2, Marcus Romo, Wilcox, 14.94; 3, Jeffrey Campbell, Mitty, 14.98; 4, John Paul Williams, Westmoor, 15.11; 5, Carter Lyman, St. Francis, 15.16; 6, Nolan O’Dowd, Santa Teresa, 15.30; 7, Christian Cusella, Los Gatos, 15.31; –, John Prader, Salinas, FS. 400 – 1, Josh Tran, Independence, 49.20; 2, Jaquelle Thompson, Piedmont Hills, 49.39; 3, Benjamin Knight, Overfelt, 49.47; 4, Winton Nguyen, Milpitas, 49.66; 5, Justin Montgomery, Bellarmine, 49.68; 6, Alex Craig, Woodside, 49.72; 7, Ryan Shorey, San Benito, 49.90; 8, Isaiah Dugall, Mt. Pleasant, 51.85. 100 – 1, Kendall Spencer, San Mateo, 10.68; 2, Zeke Sanders, Santa Cruz, 10.84; 3, Parnit Sainion, Andrew Hill, 10.87; 4, Glyn Borel, St. Francis, 10.91; 5, Don Andre Clark, Serra, 11.07; 6, Nate Harvey, Serra, 11.08; 7, Phillip Depond, St. Francis, 11.10; 8, Charles Chisom, Gunn, 11.16. 800 – 1, Nathan Strum, Pioneer, 1:54.84; 2, Jake Arveson, Monterey, 1:55.45; 3, Kevin Jani, Branham, 1:55.74; 4, Alan Rios, Sobrato, 1:55.74; 5, Ryan Thomas, Evergreen Valey, 1:57.18; 6, David Perez, Salinas, 1:57.75; 7, Kian Banks, Saratoga, 1:58.34; 8, Steven Nichols, Independence, 2:03.81. 300 Hurdles – 1, Peter Guenther, Gilroy, 38.16; 2, Jeffrey Campbell, Mitty, 38.20; 3, Mike Skinner, Everett Alvarez, 38.98; 4, Nolan O’Dowd, Santa Teresa, 39.14; 5, Phillip Depond, St. Francis, 39.22; 6, Michael Vickers, Carmel, 39.62; 7, Ryo Kubozono, Cupertino, 39.95; 8, Alex Meldrum, Sobrato, 40.08. 200 – 1, Kendall Spencer, San Mateo, 21.72; 2, Zeke Sanders, Santa Cruz, 22.11; 3, Parnit Sainion, Andrew Hill, 22.19; 4, Charles Chisom, Gunn, 22.57; 5, Winton Nguyen, Milpitas, 22.58; 6, Dominik Arbet, Westmont, 22.91; 7, Don Andre Clark, Serra, 23.00; 8, Byron Marshall, Valley Christian, 23.24. 3,200 – 1, Lance Wolfsmith, Sobrato, 9:07.10, 2, Garrett Rowe, Mountain View, 9:08.17; 3, Philip Macquitty, Palo Alto, 9:10.93; 4, Mitch Moriarty, Aptos, 9:11.57; 5, Nohe Lema, Willow Glen, 9:12.89; 6, Paul Summers, Gunn, 9:13.68; 7, Will Geiken, Los Gatos, 9:20.86; 8, Daniel Filipcik, Woodside, 9:21.73; 9, Lawrence Smith, Bellarmine, 9:24.50; 10, Marcos Hinojosa, Bellarmine, 9:28.53; 11, Skyler Cummins, Palo Alto, 9:37.67; 12, Tyre Johnson, Palma, 9:43.06. 4×400 – 1, San Benito (Hollister), 3:21.74; 2, Bellarmine College Prep, 3:22.76; 3, Independence, 3:22.77; 4, Scotts Valley, 3:23.35; 5, Sobrato, 3:23.85; 6, St. Francis (Mountain View), 3:23.88; 7, Mitty, 3:24.37; 8, Mt. Pleasant, 3:28.36. High Jump – 1, Frank Lima, Half Moon Bay, 6-06.00; 2, Derion Taylor, Evergreen Valley, 6-04.00; 3, Dalyn Pacheco, Serra, 6-04.00; 4, Aaron Thompson, Riordan, 6-04.00; 4, Marcus Anderson, Gunn, 6-04.00; 6, Greg Talley, Westmont, 6-02.00; 7, Lasjohn Johnson, St. Franci, 6-00.00; 7, Jake Davis, King City, 6-00.00. Pole Vault – 1, John Prader, Salinas, 15-10.00; 2, Fedor Garin, Carlmont, 15-06.00; 3, Chris Bet, Serra, 15-02.00; 4, Shawn Toney, St. Francis, 15-02.00; 5, John Tran, Mt. Pleasant, 14-06.00; 5, Alex Bassi, Palma, 14-06.00; 7, Andy Curry, Soquel, 14-00.00; 8, Eric Dill, St. Ignatius Col, 13-06.00. Long Jump – 1, Kendall Spencer, San Mateo, 23-05.50; 2, Byron Marshall, Valley Christian, 22-06.50; 3, Aaron Thompson, Riordan, 22-06.50; 4, Lasjohn Johnson, St. Francis, 22-00.00; 5, Aaron Feliciano, Westmoor, 21-09.00; 6, Nick Pfeiffer, Pacific Grove, 21-08.50; 7, Anthony Andrighetto, St. Francis, 21-03.50; 8, Marcus Romo, Wilcox, 20-09.50. Triple Jump – 1, Derion Taylor, Evergreen Valley, 47-03.50; 2, Lasjohn Johnson, St. Francis, 46-01.50; 3, Vanera Chuun, Mt. Pleasant, 46-00.50; 4, Taylor Kientzel, Santa Cruz, 45-08.00; 5, Dalyn Pacheco, Serra, 44-02.00; 6, Everett Dailey, Mitty, 42-10.00; 7, Oscar Pearson, Alisal, 42-04.50. Discus – 1, Derek White, Oak Grove, 162-09; 2, CJ Nwuzi, Silver Creek, 162-05; 3, Jeffrey Butler, St. Francis, 158-07; 4, Frankie Martinez, San Benito, 155-03; 5, Seth Mazerik, M.V.C., 153-04; 6, Chris Smith, Santa Teresa, 149-10; 7, Laurence Duterte, Mitty, 147-08; 8, Erik Kramer, Mills, 145-07. Shot Put – 1, Anthony Pohahau, Wilcox, 52-11.00; 2, Dom Pasquali, St. Ignatius Col, 51-06.00; 3, Jeffrey Butler, St. Francis, 51-03.50; 4, Nathan Wright, Mitty, 50-04.00; 5, Benny Nava, Mt. Pleasant, 49-08.00; 6, Gino Catugda, Seaside, 48-04.00; 7, Tevita Lataimua, Mills, 48-01.00; 8, Paul Marcroft, Palma, 46-05.00.
GIRLS
TEAM
1, Leland, 39; 2, Gunn, 35; 3, St. Francis (Mountain View, 33; 4, Valley Christian (San Jose), 26; 5, Saratoga, 24; 6, Wilcox, 22; 6, Mt. Pleasant, 22; 6, Prospect, 22; 9, Leigh, 21; 10, Carlmont, 20; 10, Pinewood, 20; 10, Aptos, 20; 13, Mitty, 18; 14, Santa Teresa, 16; 14, Homestead, 16; 16, Mountain View, 15; 17, Willow Glen, 14; 18, Half Moon Bay, 11; 19, San Benito (Hollister), 10; 19, Evergreen Valley, 10; 21, St. Ignatius College Prep, 9; 22, Castilleja, 8; 22, Hillsdale, 8; 22, Monta Vista, 8; 22, Pioneer, 8; 26, Lynbrook, 7; 27, Presentation, 5; 27, Los Altos, 5; 29, San Lorenzo Valley, 4; 29, Westmont, 4; 31, Burlingame, 3; 32, Sequoia, 2; 32, North Salinas, 2; 32, Gilroy, 2; 32, Santa Cruz, 2; 32, Live Oak, 2; 37, Cupertino, 1; 37, Menlo-Atherton, 1; 37, Santa Clara, 1.
INDIVIDUAL
4×100 – 1, Evergreen Valley, 48.89; 2, St. Francis (Mountain View), 49.02; 3, Mt. Pleasant, 49.07; 4, Mitty, 49.08; 5, Burlingame, 49.17; 6, Monta Vista, 49.55; 7, Presentation, 49.87; 8, North Salinas, 50.09. 1,600 – 1, Courtney Allen, San Benito, 4:59.08; 2, Allison Sturges, Mountain View, 4:59.32; 3, Erin Robinson, Gunn, 5:02.24; 4, Toni Sarge, Pioneer, 5:08.74; 5, Mary Reynolds, Mountain View, 5:12.50; 6, Morgan Healy, St. Francis, 5:15.21; 7, Marissa Ferrante, Aptos, 5:16.46; 8, Jean Feng, Monta Vista, 5:16.79; 9, Melissa Hastings, Hillsdale, 5:17.94; 10, Erin Hicks, Los Altos, 5:21.14; 11, Kim McMullen, Aptos, 5:23.39; 12, Kristine Talbot, Mountain View, 5:30.89. 100 Hurdles – 1, Hannah Goranson, Valley Christian, 14.27; 2, Katie Nelms, Leland, 14.33; 3, Mariah Rogers, Prospect, 14.56; 4, Mina Alexis, St. Ignatius Col, 14.96; 5, Sunny Margerum, Gunn, 15.03; 6, Symone Evans, Leigh, 15.05; 7, Kira Rienecker, Pioneer, 15.58; 8, Lia Randazzo, Evergreen Valley, 16.54. 400 – 1, Iesha Hardiman, Wilcox, 56.11; 2, Lauren Irish, Half Moon Bay, 56.74; 3, Shanie Landen, St. Francis, 56.90; 4 Jenna Davis, Valley Christian, 57.35; 5, Natasha Sakaller, Monta Vista, 57.94; 6, Emily Andrew, Mountain View, 58.09; 7, Erica Arenas, Evergreen Valley, 58.83; 8, Courtney Kimmey, Los Gatos, 58.83. 100 – 1, Angela Gradiska, Pinewood, 11.76; 2, Katie Nelms, Leland, 11.95; 3, Andrea Martinez, Willow Glen, 12.18; 4, Mariah Rogers, Prospect, 12.35; 5, Anita Crumlin, Monta Vista, 12.46; 6, Dominique Greene, Menlo-Atherton, 12.53; 7, Brittney Wright, Presentation, 12.57; 8, Ivy Gates; Los Altos, 12.84. 800 – 1, Justine Fedronic, Carlmont, 2:12.81; 2, Jordan Diaz, Leigh, 2:13.75; 3, Cindy Huang, Lynbrook, 2:13.96; 4, Tori Tsolis, Presentation, 2:14.59; 5, Elle Sanders, Santa Cruz, 2:15.15; 6, Kieran Gallagher, Gunn, 2:15.36; 7, Melina Shak, Milpitas, 2:17.86; 8, Courtney Allen, San Benito, 2:20.88. 300 Hurdles – 1, Katie Nelms, Leland, 43.39; 2, Libby Cooper, Castilleja, 44.14; 3, Mariah Rogers, Prospect, 44.28; 4, Christine Ristow, Westmont, 44.52; 5, Sunny Margerum, Gunn, 44.58; 6, Allison Daley, Burlingame, 45.04; 7, Emily Gordon, Santa Clara, 45.07; 8, Lisa Erkander, Mountain View, 45.86. 200 – 1, Angela Gradiska, Pinewood, 24.05; 2, Andrea Martinez, Willow Glen, 24.99; 3, Iesha Hardiman, Wilcox, 25.13; 4, Natasha Sakaller, Monta Vista, 25.48; 4, Lauren Irish, Half Moon Bay, 25.48; 6, Cherrelle Mcmillian, Valley Christian, 25.85; 7, Sarah Edwards, S.L.V., 25.97; 8, Dominique Greene, Menlo-Atherton, 26.09. 3,200 – 1, Jessie Petersen, Carlmont, 10:51.24; 2, Stephanie Barnett, Leland, 11:06.04; 3, Allegra Mayer, Gunn, 11:07.51; 4, Katy Daly, St. Ignatius Col, 11:11.88; 5, Kathleen Miller, Gilroy, 11:13.99; 6, Jennifer Bergman, Valley Christian, 11:14.48; 7, Samantha Garcia, Evergreen Valley, 11:27.91; 8, Lisa Fawcett, Gunn, 11:29.94; 9, Jean Feng, Monta Vista, 11:31.10; 10, Abby Barker, Carlmont, 11:34.37; 11, Marissa Ferrante, Aptos, 11:54.60; 12, Melissa Hastings, Hillsdale, 11:59.64. 4×400 – 1, Valley Christian (San Jose), 3:55.46; 2, St. Francis (Mountain View), 3:57.18; 3, Mitty, 3:57.89; 4, Mountain View, 3:58.00; 5, Mt. Pleasant, 4:00.81; 6, Leland, 4:01.66; 7, Burlingame, 4:05.90; 8, King’s Academy, 4:21.18. High Jump – 1, Kiersten Dolbec, Saratoga, 5-06.00; 2, Julia McCarthy, Aptos, 5-04.00; 3, Nikki Myashita, Aptos, 5-04.00; 4, Kristin Rimbach, Los Altos, 5-02.00; 5, Stephanie Armstrong, Live Oak, 5-02.00; 6, Emily Sklar, Presentation, 5-02.00; 7, Morgan Rumzie, Westmont, 5-00.00; 7, Sarah Unadia, Gilroy, 5-00.00. Pole Vault – 1, Christina Roche, St. Francis, 10-06.00; 2, Alison Ang, Gunn, 10-06.00; 3, Thresa Vinson, Aptos, 10-00.00; 4, Amanda Lackides, S.L.V., 10-00.00; 5, Rachel Bolton, Homestead, 10-00.00; 6, Maddy Collins, St. Ignatius Col, 9-06.00; 6, Jade Batstone, St. Ignatius Col, 9-06.00; 8, Marissa Engle, Homestead, 9-06.00; 8, Colette L’Heureux, Santa Clara, 9-06.00; 10, Nikita Kadam, Mt. Pleasant, 9-06.00. Long Jump – 1, Sunny Margerum, Gunn, 18-01.25; 2, Ailene Nguyen, Saratoga, 17-09.75; 3, Mariah Rogers, Prospect, 17-09.25; 4, Symone Evans, Leigh, 17-02.50; 5, Lauren Chin, Leland, 16-09.75; 6, Laura Whittaker, Santa Clara, 16-04.75; 7, Caity Michels, Notre Dame Salinas, 16-01.00; –, Kira Rienecker, Pioneer, FOUL. Triple Jump – 1, Cydney Leath, Mt. Pleasant, 39-04.25; 2, Symone Evans, Leigh, 37-06.25; 3, Ailene Nguyen, Saratoga, 36-08.25; 4, Tianna Carter, Mt. Pleasant, 36-07.00; 5, Lauren Chin, Leland, 35-08.00; 6, Diana Lee, Lynbrook, 34-05.50; 7, Amy Woo, North Salinas, 34-04.50; 8, Maria Suarez, Alisal, 34-04.00. Discus – 1, Jillian Weir, Homestead, 133-03; 2, Quinta Ekong, Hillsdale, 133-01; 3, Meagan McKee, Santa Teresa, 127-06; 4, Mercedes Pardo, Pioneer, 125-07; 5, Mele Langi, Sequoia, 124-01; 6, Michelle Chung, Cupertino, 123-09; 7, Briona Sullen, North Salinas, 121-09; 8 Mele Pentitani, St. Francis, 107-09. Shot Put – 1, Meagan McKee, Santa Teresa, 42-11.50; 2, Elizabeth Gordon, Mitty, 41-01.50; 3, Myeesha Hardiman, Wilcox, 38-11.75; 4, Jillian Weir, Homestead, 38-11.00; 5, Briona Sullen, North Salinas, 38-09.25; 6, Paige Logan, Los Altos, 38-05.00; 7, Nikki Uikilifi, Mills, 37-04.00; 8, Ana Kilikiti, Sequoia, 36-04.00.
