Credit where credit is due

So I open the CCS track bylaws and there is a table indicating how many athletes from each league qualify for CCS. For the PAL it says four. OK, I go with the top finishers in Tuesday’s track roundup in the Daily Journal.

Tuesday morning, I receive a text from Hillsdale coach Chris Lucey telling me the top five qualify. I even told him I went to the CCS website and it said four.

But apparently CCS can’t make it easy. There were six columns: the third column had the number “4” next to the PAL. But I didn’t check the fifth column, because, why? But there, the PAL was awarded an “additional,” fifth automatic qualifier.

So, to make a long story short, I wanted to give those fifth-place finishers their time in the spotlight, since just updating the previous story online just didn’t seem fair.

The most interesting development came in the boys’ shot put where San Mateo sophomore Lukas Fitzgerald qualified for CCS in fifth place with a throw of 44 feet, 4 inches.

That makes the third Fitzgerald brother to qualify for CCS in the event. He joins Emmanuel, a senior and second-place finisher, and junior Yianni who was fourth.

In the boys’ long jump, Capuchino’s Matthias Hackenbereg secured the fifth spot, edging out El Camino’s Zachary Wye by half an inch — 18-10 1/2 to 18-10. In boys’ pole vault, Mills’ Evan Lam will be heading to CCS after finishing fifth with a height of 10-6. And the fifth-place finisher in the boys’ 4x800 relay was Burlingame, which finished with a time of 8:36.29.

In girls’ high jump, Mills’ Emily Ormiston was one of three jumpers to clear 4-10. But only two made the cut, with Ormiston joining fourth-place finisher Sophia Cacianti at CCS. Ormiston went to CCS ahead of Burlingame’s Mia Milks, who also cleared 4-10, but accumulated more attempts than either Cacianti or Ormiston to clear that height.

In girls’ discus, fifth-place finisher Brook Phimsoutoam was one of five athletes to eclipse the 90-foot mark, with Phimsoutoam posting a mark of 93-2.

In girls’ triple jump, where Hillsdale’s Rona Elan set a new school record in winning the PAL title with a leap of 35-6 3/4, Aragon’s Stela Pisaro earned the No. 5 spot and a berth in CCS with a leap of 31-3 3/4.

And in the girls’ 4x800 relay, Hillsdale joins Carlmont, Burlingame, Mills and Menlo-Atherton at the CCS meet, with the CCS trials beginning Saturday, May 17, at Gilroy High School. The CCS championships are the following Saturday, May 24, also at Gilroy.

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Serra’s Nate Coughlin, who is the reigning Daily Journal Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year, is making a name for himself on the track.

Participating in track for the first time at Serra, the senior qualified for three West Catholic Athletic League finals, which are Friday night at St. Francis High School in Mountain View.

Coughlin qualified fifth in the 100, which is shaping up to be a barnburner of a final. Coughlin posted a time of 10.91, with the top five finishers within three-one hundredths of each other. St. Ignatius’ Prince Buchango-Babalola was the fastest qualifier, posting a 10.88. He has the third-fastest time in CCS this season, clocking a 10.70 in April.

Coughlin also qualified fourth in the long jump with a leap of 21-10, just ahead of teammate Chris Yoon’s 21-8. Coughlin will also run a leg on the 4x100 relay, which has the eighth-fastest time in CCS this season.

Yoon also made the final in the 100 hurdles, qualifying eighth. Jeovanni Henley qualified third in both the 200 and 400, with times of 22.34 and 50.42, respectively. Aidan Labrador was seventh in the 400 with a time of 51.26.

Shot putter Luke Lewis is the overwhelming favorite to win the WCAL shot put title. His throw of 61-6 1/4 at the WCAL trials was the best in CCS this season and easily out-distanced second-place finisher Case Jacobson of St. Francis, who post a 55-2 3/4.

Lewis also qualified fourth in the discus with a throw of 147-3. Tevita Heimuli will join Lewis in the shot put final, while Jay Leder qualified for the discus final for the Padres.

Nathan Mollat is in his 24th year covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.