Senior James Walker qualifies in the 100 and 200; Acorns 4×400
relay sets school record
GILROY
It says a lot about a team when one goal accomplished only means there is room to establish another.
That’s the way the Live Oak 4×400 relay team is looking at its performance at the Central Coast Section Semifinals on Saturday at Gilroy High’s Garcia Elder Sports Complex.
Alex Haferbecker, Jacob Daw, James Walker and Jacob Montoya, who won the mile relay at the Blossom Valley Athletic League Championships two weeks ago, shattered the standing LOHS record mark with a 3:23.83, nearly four seconds faster than their league championship run, in a blisteringly fast heat — three of the eight teams advanced to Friday’s section finals right back at Gilroy High.
But afterward, the foursome saw room for improvement and a had plenty of motivation leading the way there.
“It was a good race, but you always want more,” Walker said.
And if it wasn’t for a near-catastrophic first hand off between Haferbecker and Daw, there may have been a few ticks less in the Acorns final time.
“You grabbed the baton out of mid-air,” Haferbecker said to Daw, reflecting on the race sprawled out on the infield.
“Did I,” Daw questioned, still trying to catch his breath.
“Yeah,” Haferbecker replied.
Nevertheless, the Acorns are in the finals, qualifying sixth.
Walker will have a busy finals Friday, making appearances in three events, including the relay. The first-year track athlete is making the most out of his senior season, which has at least one more week to it. Walker, the BVAL titleholder in the 100-meter dash, began his day with the sprint event, finishing second in his heat with a 11.15 second burst good for the seventh position and a finals berth. He followed that up with another second-place heat finish in the 200, recording a 22.73 to earn a tie for the sixth seed next week.
“I kind of hoped to get first,” Walker said after the 200. “I want to hit 21 (seconds). Since the beginning of the season, I’ve progressed and progressed. I need to peak now in order to get first in finals. I need to go all out.”
The rest of local field didn’t fair as well.
LOHS senior Blair Zerr (15.92) shaved three-tenths off of his qualifying time in the 110 hurdles but missed the top-eight cut, finishing 18th out of 32. He finished 19th in the 300 hurdles. Freshman AfaLi Li-Anyane (16.35) also missed the cut in the 110, Daw cleared 5-10 in the high jump for the second straight meet, but missed out on a finals berth and freshman Emily Guthormsen cut 11 seconds off of her league meet time with a 5:32.55 in the 1600.
Sobrato pole vaulters Jackson Reid and Brandon Mancicni each cleared 12-06, but couldn’t crack the top eight mark of 13 feet. Kayleen Meldrum came up short in the girls’ pole vault, having a good go at 8-06. However, the height to get ended up at 10-06. Winston van Keulen (4:39. 14) took 22nd in the 1600 while teammate Ryan Corvese placed 23rd with a 4:39.80. Steven Villareal took 25th in the high jump.
Friday’s finals are slated to begin at 4 p.m. with the field events. Track events are scheduled to commence at 6 p.m.
