Coronado High School junior Lauren Gilhooly has completed a series of recent outstanding track performances, including breaking school records, but nothing may compare with her first-place finish in the 100-meter dash at this year’s prestigious Arcadia Invitational.
Competing in a meet that has featured more than 200 Olympians over the years, Gilhooly turned in a time of 11.70.
The 16-year-old now ranks 7th among California high school girls in the 100-meter race, and has the fastest wind-legal time in the San Diego CIF Section.
“It was a surreal moment being like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I actually made it through and I actually won,’” Gilhooly said. “I hit another gear at the end and followed through because I knew I just had this desire… internal power.”
Though sprinting is an individual endeavor, Gilhooly said she has a community to thank for her achievements.
“I’m very grateful for my family, my coaches, my friends, they’re very supportive and very encouraging,” Gilhooly said. “It’s nice to have that kind of support system behind me.”
During a team practice in April, coaches recognized Gilhooly with two gold-colored star patches.
“The stars I received at the beginning of practice were for the all-time school records I broke (the girls 100-meter and 200-meter)…I decided I wanted to use the same letterman jacket my mom had so I added my patches on there.” Gilhooly said.
Gilhooly is on course to compete in the San Diego City Conference championships next month, and is expected to qualify to compete in the CIF divisionals.
“She has talent and she’s driven and she has a work ethic. We’re proud…I know what she can do so I expect her to break records.”
-Head coach Cameron Gary
“She has talent and she’s driven and she has a work ethic,” head coach Cameron Gary said. “We’re proud…I know what she can do so I expect her to break records.”
This year’s Arcadia Invitational, presented by Nike, welcomed nearly 4,000 athletes from 37 states as well as three Canadian provinces. And the event has seen 36 national records and 203 U.S. Olympians, according to their online page.
For this reason, Gary said it is extremely difficult to get into this invitational.
This year, Gilhooly was the only Islander to qualify for entry into the 2024 Arcadia Invitational, which took place on April 6.
Besides winning the girls seeded section of the 100-meter dash, Gilhooly placed third in the fourth section of the open 200-meter dash, according to Runnerspace.com.
“It was cool to represent Coronado on my own and make it through,” Gilhooly said. “I knew I had to perform and kept that in mind and made sure…that I set myself up for the best race possible.”
Love for the sport
A transfer student from Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, Gilhooly has successfully established her name in the San Diego Section in her first year competing with CHS.
“I grew up playing soccer,” Gilhooly said. “Freshman year soccer was just not really my passion anymore…I tried out for [the] track team…I just kind of found my sport.”
Leading up to Arcadia, Gilhooly claimed CHS’s 200-meter record, beating the seven-year school record set by Alysah Hickey in 2017.
Gilhooly’s 200-meter time decreased more than a half-second – from 25.07 at the beginning of the season to 24.46 during the Elmer Runge Invite at Patrick Henry High School on March 16, according to the Islander Track Girls’ 200 Meter Record website.
Gary said Gilhooly struggled in the Arcadia 200-meter race, finishing third in her heat and 11th overall in the Open Division.
Gary noted that the races’ sequence was a departure from what Gilhooly is accustomed to given that in most high school meets, the 100-meter dash precedes the 200-meter dash.
Still, Gilhooly proved herself in the evening 100-meter event where Gary said five states—Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Mississippi, and California—were represented among the competitors.
Gilhooly’s time of 11.70 seconds displaced another school record set by Hickey (11.87 seconds) in 2018.
“Lauren got a good start and was in second place at the halfway point of the race,” Gary said. “She then passed the leader and went on to pull away from the field, winning the race by about half a meter.”
Gilhooly said runners in the middle lanes usually are the faster ones.
“I just always emphasize to the kids, ‘Forget about what lane you’re in, you’re going to run the same distance everyone else is, so just focus on your race and the outcome will be the outcome and will have nothing to do with what lane you’re in,’” CHS sprint coach Quentin Anderson said.
Gilhooly said she felt motivated and was focused on a personal record.
“In my head, I was like, ‘I’m not losing this race, I’m going to make it through.'”
-Lauren Gilhooly
“In my head, I was like, ‘I’m not losing this race, I’m going to make it through,’” she added.
Now with hopes of pursuing track in college, Gilhooly finds herself preparing for faster times and looking forward to this month’s 64th Mt. SAC Relays before the City League Varsity Finals on Friday, May 3.
