The Coronado High School track team participated in the Viking Relays hosted by La Jolla High School on Saturday, March 9, as they prepared for their season to begin the following Thursday, March 14.
Sophomore Nathan Ayan and senior Rafael Roos finished third and fourth overall, respectively, in the boys 800-meter dash. Both set personal records with their times (2:02.76 and 2:02.87) and ranked first and second in the city league.
The two also rank 18th and 21st, respectively, in the San Diego CIF Section.
Senior long jumper Lindsey Balsley earned a third place finish overall in the girl’s long jump. Her leap of 17’6’’ ranks first in the city league and fifth in the San Diego CIF section.
On top of these impressive rankings locally, she is currently 26th in the state of California out of 3,600 competitors. Balsley is the defending city league champion and 2022 300-meter hurdles Division III CIF champion. She will look to continue her success in 2024, this time at the state level.
Gilhooly breaking records
Coronado High track and field coach Cameron Gary said that the team’s top performer on March 9 was junior sprinter Lauren Gilhooly, the winner of the girl’s 100-meter dash at the Vikings Relays.
Gilhooly ran her 100-meter sprint in 12.21 seconds, winning by close to half of a second. She is ranked as the No. 2 sprinter in the city league behind the defending CIF champion, and her time ranks third in the San Diego CIF section. Gilhooly also ranks 26th in the state of California out of 9,300 runners.
“She appears to have a good chance to break all the Coronado High School sprint records this season, as well as a potential California State Championship finalist,” Gary said.
“She appears to have a good chance to break all the Coronado High School sprint records this season, as well as a potential California State Championship finalist,”
Cameron Gary, Coronado High Track and Field Head Coach
Gilhooly broke the school record for the 200-meter dash in the season opener March 14 with a time of 25.07, winning the race by three seconds. For reference, that is about 30 meters of distance between her and the second place runner.
This performance ranks her No. 3 in a very competitive San Diego CIF section, and 13th in California.
Junior sprinter Sean Groeneveld earned a 13th place finish overall in the boys division 100-meter dash at the Vikings Relays, with a time of 11.89 seconds. This put him in first place in the city league.
A young team
Despite what seems to be a plethora of returning talent for this year’s squad, coach Gary says one of the challenges this team will face in 2024 is their youth.
“We will have a strong sprint crew this season. However, we do have a lot of young athletes that show promise and will continue to develop over the next couple years,” Gary said. “This is particularly the case with our jumps and hurdle crews—same with the throws. Distance will be led by Ayan and Roos, but the crew is fairly young and will need time to develop.”
Gary emphasized the importance of the coaching staff to this team’s success, citing the work of his assistant coaches George Green, Nina Reamer, Scott Young, Donna Yee, Quentin Anderson, Sydney Rush and Lexi Ellis. He said their coaching is critical to the success of CHS’s track and field.
“A lot of our strength comes from our coaching staff. We certainly do challenge our kids in training, but we also try to provide a safe, positive environment for them to develop as athletes and as people,” Gary said, “Everything good about this program is due to my assistants and the help and support they give me. If there are any flaws or weaknesses in the program, they are mine.”
