Aragon sweeps Peninsula Athletic League track finals

The Aragon girls’ built up a substantial lead after the Saturday’s field events finals and simply built on it during Monday’s running finals. They Dons out-distanced second-place Menlo-Atherton as Aragon piled up 108 points to M-A’s 94. The Bears came on strong at the end, but the Dons’ lead was simply too big, at one point leading by more than 40 points. Woodside took third with 74 points.

The Aragon boys’ team came into Monday’s track finals in second place after Saturday’s results, but moved into first place after Blaine Reynolds won the 1,600 and the Dons stayed there the rest of the day. The Dons picked up 92 points with Westmoor finishing in second with 69 points. Menlo-Atherton finished third with 63.

“We had a really good team last year and they just took the season away from us,” Alvarado said of the COVID-19 pandemic that canceled the 2020 season.

“Most of those kids came back (this year). We kind of talked about it as a team, ‘We can do this. Let’s set our goals and do it.’”

The PAL championships are about more than just crowning team champions. The meet is more about the individual and there were plenty of strong performances.

And even if an athlete didn’t win, a top-5 finished qualified them for the Central Coast Section meet in two week.

Reynolds went on to close out his PAL career by winning not only the 1,600, but also added the 3,200 PAL championship as well, besting Menlo-Atherton’s Lars Osterberg in both races.

Reynolds was especially appreciative of winning the 1,600 as it helped make up for a cross country season that ended in March with no league or section championships.

“Cross country is one of my favorite events. I won it as a sophomore and I didn’t get the opportunity to defend the title,” Reynolds said after winning the 1,600. “That gave me extra motivation for this event.”

The race developed like the race Reynolds and Osterberg ran during the league season, with Reynolds nipping Osterberg at the finish line. Monday’s race wasn’t as dramatic, but Reynolds out-kicked Osterberg down the final stretch to finish with a time of 4:26.42, beating Osterberg by nearly two seconds.

Reynolds, a senior, picked up his second PAL title of the day by winning the 3,200 over Osterberg again with a time of 9:47.60. Osterberg finished in 9:48.33.

Reynolds ran 16 races between the regular season and PAL championships, encompassing the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. With his two wins Monday, Reynolds has won14 of them.

He had a chance to win 15 of 16, but El Camino Yutaka Roberts dominated the 800, relegating Reynolds to second place. Roberts broke off the starting line with a lot of speed, quickly opening up a sizeable lead.

And those behind Roberts hoping he would fade were out of luck as Roberts went to post a time of 1:55.74. Reynolds just missed breaking the 2-minute mark, finishing with a 2:00.01.

While Reynolds was wrapping up a decorated PAL career, Menlo-Atherton’s Annie Pflaum is just starting hers and the freshman certainly set a high bar as she recorded a pair of PAL champions in the 1,600 and 800. In the 1,600, she chased down Woodside’s Elle Marsyla, who led the first three laps of the four-lap race. Marsyla had a several second lead coming off the last turn, but Pflaum maintained her technique and passed Marslya in the final 100 meters.

“I didn’t think I was going to catch her,” Pflaum said. “Probably about 150 (meters) to go, I figured I’d give it a go and give everything I had.”

In the 800, Pflaum led an M-A 1-2 finish. Pflaum finished in a time of 2:23.19 and Kendall Olesen came in with a 2:24.32.

Aragon sprinter Ian Koe and his teammate, hurdler Alyssa Huie, along with Westmoor hurdler Brevan Rohde, were all double winners as well. Koe, who had the fastest time 200 time in the CCS this season coming into the meet, lowered it even more as he broke the 22-second barrier, finishing with a time of 21.87, a new personal best. He also held off El Camino’s Roberts to capture the 400, 49.85 to Roberts’ 50.04.

Huie set a new personal record in the 100 hurdles as the Dons went 1-2. Huie ran a 16.64, while Erica Lin finished with a time of 17.48. In the 300 hurdles, Huie barely held off Woodside’s Katherine Sheldon at the line, posting a 47.89 to 48.00.

Rohde and teammate Brendan O’Connell dominated the boys’ 110 hurdles, with both running sub-17 seconds. Rohde came home in 16.12 and O’Connell finished with a 16.56.

In the 300 hurdles, Rohde held off Hillsdale’s Zachary Leighton, 42.67 to 42.82.

Sequoia freshman Abigail Goetz earned the title of PAL’s fastest girl as she captured the 100-meter title with a time of 12.97, just ahead of Hillsdale’s Grace Snodgrass, who ran a 12.06.

In the boys’ 100, Carlmont junior Ryan Keyhan, who had the fastest time, won the PAL title with a time of 11.11. San Mateo’s Lucas Castillo came in with a 11.24, just ahead of Aragon’s Danny Rose’s 11.29.