Capuchino's Sarah Chavez, Burlingame's Cora Haggarty set new track records

Capuchino’s Sarah Chavez got the records rolling when she became the first female sprinter in school history to run a sub-minute, 400-meter race — the line of demarcation for 400 runners. Chavez posted a time of 59.81 during a meet with Woodside, San Mateo and Terra Nova April 16.

“She was way ahead of everyone else. She wasn’t even really pushed,” said Capuchino head track coach Mike Trimble. “It was one of those days that everything came together … and she just let it rip.”

Chavez broke the record of Anne Hamilton, who ran a 60.9 in 1979 and it is the 12th-fastest time in the CCS this season.

Chavez followed that performance with another sub-minute run days later, finishing first at the Soquel Invitational with a time of 59.87 April 16.

“That was key,” Trimble said. “This means, this is her. It’s real now. … It wasn’t just a one-off.”

On the same day in Los Altos at the CCS Last Chance Meet, Burlingame sophomore Cora Haggarty broke her school’s 400-meter record with a time of 58.33. It was her first sub-minute run this season — she did it three times as a freshman last season — and is the fifth-fastest time in the CCS in 2022.

Unlike Haggarty, Chavez had never broken the minute-mark in the 400 previously, although it’s been a goal of Trimble’s since her freshman year, when she twice ran 1:03.26.

She never got a chance to improve on that until this year, though, as her sophomore year was wiped out because of COVID and because basketball and track were played at the same time in 2021, Chavez chose basketball over track.

This year, the Mustangs basketball team’s postseason run, that included a CCS title and a Northern California regional appearance, extended into the track and field preseason, leaving her little time to prepare.

“She had one week of practice before our first meet,” Trimble said. “When she came over from basketball, I had her train with the distance people a little bit, just to get back into [track training].”

Having missed two seasons, Chavez said she didn’t set her goals too high this year. She just wanted to better her best freshman time. During her record-breaking run, Chavez said she just pushed through the pain and when she checked the time after crossing the finish line, she didn’t believe it.

“I saw 59.81. At first I thought, ‘That’s wrong. Something messed up,’” Chavez said. “Once [the time was] finalized, I was about to cry.

“It definitely felt different. … Afterward, my whole body was tingling.”

When she followed that with the 59.87 a few days later in Soquel, Chavez said it validated her record run.

“It for sure validated it. It wasn’t just luck. I’m a sub-minute 400 runner,” Chavez said.

Haggarty was in a different situation. She had run ran a personal record of 58.76 at the 2021 PAL championships and then twice ran under a minute at the CCS trials and finals.

But in two previous races this season, her best effort was a 1:00.54 at the second league meet of the season March 16. On March 22, she ran a 1:01.14 before finally breaking through at the Last Chance Meet.

“I actually felt really good before that race. Everything felt so perfect going into it,” Haggarty said.

Originally a distance runner whose main focus was the 1,600 as a freshman, was an after-thought entrant into the 400 during a meet last year, just minutes after she finished running her 1,600 race.

She went out and posted a time of 1:00.54. Since then, her focus has been on the 400 and last Saturday was the high-water mark.

“I definitely feel like [the record] is validation. Running a time like that means a lot to me. I feel like I know all my hard work is paying off,” Haggarty said. “My goal was to definitely break 60 (seconds), hit a CCS qualifying time and a PR.

“Now I want to put up a time that will make this record unreachable (at Burlingame).”

Now that both have set school records, both are now setting their sights on upcoming postseason. First up in the Peninsula Athletic League championships. The league trials begin April 28 and the PAL finals are May 7 at Woodside. Both Chavez and Haggarty will be contenders.

“Our goal is pretty simple,” Trimble said. “Find out how good you can be. You’re certainly thinking about a PAL championship and this puts [Chavez] right up there.”

Crystal Springs’ Brooks sets school record in 1,600

Kaiya Brooks, a junior at Crystal Springs, broke the school 1,600-meter record at the CCS Top 8 meet at Los Gatos Friday.

Brooks clocked a time of 4:53.10 to finish fourth, smashing her previous best time of 5:01.39.