With sheer athleticism and determination, the Coronado High School track and field team has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the local circuit.
Several athletes have crushed personal records and clinched top ranks in the San Diego City Conference, asserting their dominance and earning spots at the Mt. Carmel Sundevil Invitational on March 23.
CHS junior Lauren Gilhooly emerged as a standout sprinter, securing top seeding in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Additionally, a handful of athletes qualified for the invite. Among them: sophomore Nathan Ayan and senior Rafael Roos in the distance events, senior Lindsey Balsley in the long jump and hurdles and junior Jackson Rohrs-Frazier in the high jump.
Rohrs-Frazier is currently the No. 2 high jumper in the league.
Mt. Carmel Invitational and beyond
Seventy-seven teams were at the 43rd annual Mt. Carmel Invite, held at Mt. Carmel High School.
“This is my third year at Coronado, and my first year or two, we could barely get anybody qualified, we had one, maybe two people get it,” Gary said. “This year, we had about 11 kids get it, which I’m pretty happy about. Our program is making progress, as far as the level of athlete and the type of competition that we’re able to come up against.”
Gary attributed the team’s success to its coaching staff, specifically the work of assistant coaches George Green, Nina Reamer, Scott Young, Donna Yee, Quentin Anderson, Sydney Rush and Lexi Ellis.
“Everything good about our program is due to my assistant coaches,” Gary said.
The championship season will start with the Dick Wilkin’s Frosh/Soph Championships on Saturday, April 27. The San Diego City Conference championships for the varsity team will be on Friday, May 3. Students who qualify will go on to compete in the CIF divisionals.
“We’re in the small schools division (division three),” Gary said. “But don’t let that fool you, because in certain events, like the women’s sprints, the three fastest girls in San Diego, are all in division three this year.”
3/22 League Meet
On March 22, the Islanders competed against Kearny and Clairemont high schools. Collins won first place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.95 seconds, Castillo finished second with a time of 12.14 seconds and Velarde third with 12.22 seconds.
In the 800-meter, Ayan finished first in 2:14.5 minutes, Roos second in 2:15.0 minutes.
For the girl’s team, Little finished third in the 200-meter with a time of 28.99 seconds.
3/16 Runge Invitational
At the Elmer Runge Invitational, held on March 16 at Patrick Henry High School with over 40 other schools, Gilhooly won the 100-meter dash with a personal record time of 11.88 seconds, narrowly missing CHS’s record by .01 seconds. She shares the No. 1 spot in the San Diego Section and holds the No. 4 position statewide, out of over 12,000 performances recorded.
Gilhooly also finished second with another personal record and CHS record of 24.46 seconds in the 200-meter dash, placing her third in the San Diego section and seventh in California.
“She’s only 1/100 of a second off the [100-meter] record,” Gary said, “and if she continues to progress, which I think she will, all the things that she’s doing in practice suggest that she should break both of those records.”
Balsley secured the top rank in her division for the long jump with a leap of 16’6”. Roos also holds the No. 1 time in the league for the boys’ 800-meter run with a time of 1:59.47 minutes.
For personal records, Collins finished fifth overall in the freshmen-sophomore (frosh/soph) division 200-meter dash with a time of 23.98 seconds. Senior Marco Velarde clocked in at 55.61 seconds in the varsity 400-meter dash and sophomore Mason Gibbs had a time of 56.46 seconds, securing 9th place overall in the frosh/soph 400-meter dash.
In the endurance events, sophomores Oscar Alicandri and Anton Youngblood displayed their stamina in the frosh/soph 1600-meter run, posting times of 5:40.67 minutes, and 5:50.27 minutes, respectively. Meanwhile, in the shot put and discus events, sophomores Eddie Gonzalez and Garret Shumaker had throws measuring 29’6”, and 82’7”, respectively.
On the girls’ side, Little set a new personal record in the frosh/soph 100-meter Dash, crossing the finish line in 14.13 seconds. Sophomore Mia Sarchi demonstrated her versatility with personal bests in both the frosh/soph division of the 200-meter dash, clocking 31.34 seconds, and the frosh/soph 400-meter dash, completing the race in 74.36 seconds. In the long jump event, senior Emily Fernandez soared to a new personal best of 13’9/25”.
The introduction of the 4×800-meter relay as a standard event by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has (literally) provided new distances for the team this year.
With a strong roster of distance runners, including freshman Megan Norris, sophomore Stefanie Romero, freshman Edie Alicandri and junior Jaya Jost, the Islanders have already set a school record in the event of 12:14.43 minutes.
3/14 League Meet, season opener
During the League Meet on March 14, the Islanders faced Lincoln, High-Tech High and Crawford high schools, as well as the Logan Memorial Educational Campus. CHS victories included junior Sean Groeneveld’s first-place finish in the 200-meter dash (23.69 seconds), securing the second-ranked performance in the San Diego City Conference.
Ayan set a personal record in the 400-meter dash (52.58 seconds), ranking him third in the league.
“Nathan Ayan’s going to be something else,” head coach Cameron Gary said. “It’s pretty impressive for a high school sophomore, particularly as a distance runner, to do that in a sprint event. It shows you the type of versatility that he has. Watch out for that kid as he continues to grow and mature.”
The Islanders’ relay teams also showcased their strength, with the boys’ 4×400 relay team — consisting of senior Marco Melarde, sophomore Davin Collins, freshman Xavier Marsh and Groeneveld — securing the second rank in the league with a time of 3:43.71 minutes.
On the girls’ side, Gilhooly set a personal record and school record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.07 seconds. The girls’ 4×100 relay team, consisting of Gilhooly along with senior Tatiana Potter, Balsley and sophomore Summer Little, also secured the second rank in the City League with a season’s best time of 50.57 seconds.
Additional personal records were made for the team. Leading the pack in the 100-meter dash were standout athletes Collins, who clocked an impressive 11.94 seconds, along with juniors Von Pritchett at 11.99 seconds and David Castillo at 12.15 seconds.
In the 400-meter dash, junior Jace Larson secured second place with a time of 55 seconds, and senior Jack Shumaker claimed fourth place with a time of 2:15:71 minutes in the 800-meter run.
The field events saw junior Jeanpierre Resendes excel, throwing 25-8 ½ in the shot put, earning a sixth-place finish, and launching the discus to a distance of 74’1”, securing seventh place. Additionally, sophomore Garret Shumaker demonstrated his skill in the shot put, finishing seventh with a throw of 25’8”.
For more information and photos of the team’s meets, visit IslanderTrack.com.
