The Coronado High School track and field program, led by seasoned head coach Cameron Gary, has been ramping up its activities in preparation for spring meets.
Gary, who joined the Islanders in 2022, is confident that his team is set to take strides in a positive direction this season.
With only four seniors on the squad, the Islanders are a younger team compared to their competition, but according to Gary, his athletes have bought into the program and its goals in November during preseason training.
“The talent level of this year’s team seems to have improved substantially over last year’s team.”
-Coach Cameron Gary.
“The talent level of this year’s team seems to have improved substantially over last year’s team,” said Gary.
The improvement that is expected out of the Islanders this season is partially because the 2022 squad had to go through what Gary called a “feeling out period.”
He was new to the program, and so were a lot of his athletes, but now that the comfort level has increased Gary can implement the experience he’s gained from decades in track and field.
According to Gary, there are multiple upperclassmen to keep an eye on this year.
Key upperclassmen
Senior sprinter Jaden Banner had a breakout season last year with a personal best in the 400 meters race, and he contributed in multiple relays as well.
Banner will be competing with a vengeance this season after the conclusion to his junior season was ruined when he came down with an illness.
“We look for Jaden to show senior leadership and take a big step forward in performance this year,” said Gary.
Junior Lindsey Balsey, a City League and Division 3 CIF champion, is a hurdler for the Islanders whose best is still yet to come, according to Gary.
Balsey ranks sixth in the 300 meters for all of San Diego, however she is looking beyond the metro area this year and Gary’s hope for her is to qualify for state competitions.
Kaden Brown and Cian Eberle, both junior sprinters, are two more athletes Gary recommends keeping an eye on.
Both sprinters succumbed to injuries last year, but Gary has been pleased with what he’s seen from each of them in training.
Breaking school record?
Rounding out what Gary expects to be an exciting bunch this season is the boys 4×100 relay team.
“I fully expect our boys to break the school record in the 4x100m relay this year. By a considerable margin. I believe our speed has improved that much,” said Gary.
According to Gary, the program is made up of plenty of multisport athletes and the recruiting process for new athletes begins with the middle school track and field team.
With a school as small as Coronado’s, Gary explains recruiting athletes from different backgrounds and age groups is the main way for the Islanders to remain competitive with larger schools.
“This allows us the ability to ‘punch above our weight,’ relative to other programs,” said Gary.
Talent has increased
According to Gary, the talent and size of the program on both the high school and middle school level has substantially increased.
“The majority of our kids are new and less than 10% are seniors. So the potential for growth in size and performance is tremendous,” said Gary.
The Islanders’ first meet was March 4, at Mt. Carmel High School, with competitions taking place on each of the following Saturdays through March.
Meets will continue through April, with league and CIF finals taking place in early May.
Gary has high hopes for his athletes this season, but he’d be the first to tell you that the season is a marathon, not a sprint.
“There are many roads to the top of the mountain. The important thing is to reach the summit,” said Gary.
