Carlmont runners finish strong at Nike Nationals

The moxie of the boys’ 4x800 epitomizes everything Josh Schaefer’s Carlmont team aspired to in the spring track season. After taking fourth place in the Central Coast Section finals in the event with a time of 8 minutes, 3.02 seconds, the foursome opted to run at the Nike Nationals in the premium Championship section, as opposed to taking the easier route in the second-tier Emerging Elite section.

“We were on the rail,” Josh Schaefer said. “Everyone in that heat was [better than] us so far as time. ... Nike said: ‘You’re in, but you’re going to be last.’ And I was like: ‘OK, fine.’”

Wong, Gehrke, Landon Schaefer and Conley nearly matched their CCS time on a cold, dreary Friday night at University of Oregon, running the 4x800 in 8:04.72 against some of the nation’s best. As it turns out, the Carlmont crew, running under the Belmont TC banner, was just getting warmed up.

While technically not affiliated with Carlmont, all eight runners from Belmont TC ran for the school this season. And those great relay Scots rose to All-American status twice, taking fifth place in each the boys’ 1600 sprint medley relay, and in the boys’ 4x100 relay.

The highlight was no doubt the sprint medley relay team of Ethan Shen, Gabriel Goncalves, Brian Sagon Jr. and Antonio Campbell Rodriguez. With three heats needed to accommodate all the teams in the Championship section, Belmont landed in the bottom flight and was forced to run in the slowest of the three races. The foursome turned out winning the opening heat, leading wire to wire, and emerging from lane 8 as the only team from the heat to ascend the podium.

“We were very surprised, even though it was a very fast time, that it was still up there,” Goncalves said.

In the immediate aftermath of winning the heat, Belmont’s time of 3:34.53 still had to survive 16 teams in the remaining two heats, making for high drama in the tunnel below Hayward Field. That’s where the teams gathered after the race to be lined up in order of placers. Belmont obviously stood at the front of the lineup after winning the opening heat, but the surprise hit them after the second, higher seeded heat, when they were still at the top of the class with one heat to go.

“You’re sitting there waiting, champing, and your team is in the tunnel,” Josh Schaefer said, “and they held them downstairs and you’re just there doing the math.”

With the top six placers earning podium spots — ones that come not only with medals, but with All-American honors as well — Belmont had to survive at least three of those eight higher seeds. As it turned out, they survived four, as Shen, Goncalves, Sagon and Campbell Rodriguez learned first from the meet officials in the tunnel with the synced-up iPads, and then from the final standings posted on the stadium scoreboard.

“It was a fun race to watch, the last heat, for sure,” Goncalves said.

The SMR relay team bettered its personal record in the event by over 10 seconds, having run it just once this season with three of the same four athletes at the Mt. SAC Relays, held April 20 at Mt. San Antonio College, in 3:44.76. In Eugene, Campbell Rodriguez ran the opening 200 leg in 22.875 seconds; Goncalves ran the second 200 leg in 21.42; Gehrke ran the 400 leg in 51.36; and Conley closed it out with an 800 leg of 1:58.88.

Three-quarters of that quartet also teamed in the boys’ 4x100 and made some history in the process. Not only was the time of 42.61 seconds enough to take fifth place, it also bettered the Carlmont school record set in 1982. Shen ran the opening leg in 11.689; Goncalves in 9.918; Sagon in 10.662; and Campbell Rodriguez in 9.929.

Josh Schafer said the performance will be included in the Carlmont record books, since the meet is an extension of the spring season. However, he also said the new record won’t last long, as the only graduating senior out of the four is the College of San Mateo-bound Campbell Rodriguez.

“That team, we’ll be back next year,” Josh Schafer said. “... This team is going to destroy [the record]. ... We’re going to take that Carlmont record. There will be no issues.”

Goncalves is coming off a decorated junior season, in which Carlmont broke with tradition by selecting him as the school’s boys’ track athlete of the year. Ordinarily, the award goes to a senior.

“I was very surprised,” Goncalves said. “I knew I was in contention for it … but I was surprised. I thought it was going to be one of our actual senior that just graduated.”

The Nike Nationals mark the start of a busy summer season for Goncalves, who has another meet slated for this coming weekend at the USATF Pacific Junior Olympic Top 8 qualifying meet beginning Friday at Modesto Junior College. An aspiring future decathlete at the collegiate level, Goncalves said he plans to compete in three events — the 100, the long jump and either the 200 or 400.

“It’s definitely a possibility with some schools that I’ve been talking to,” Goncalves said of running the decathlon in college. “It was kind of an option. It opened the door for me, especially being a jumper. … I just have to work on a couple more and develop the skills for those.”

Carlmont also qualified three girls’ relay teams to compete with the Belmont TC in the Nike Nationals, but all three opted not to make the trip to Eugene. The girls’ 4x800 relay team of Anita Metzler, Daniela Cuadros, Katherine Peacock and Katelyn Elliott reached the CCS podium May 18 at Gilroy High School, this after settling for fourth place in the event at the Peninsula Athletic League finals two weeks previous.

The Scots climbed three CCS podiums, including fourth place in the boys’ 4x800 relay, and fifth in the boys’ 4x100 relay. All three were the top performances by PAL schools in the respective events.

“We took three teams and put all three on the podium,” Josh Schaefer said. “Overall I would say we were pretty stoked with what we got done this season.”