PAL is off and running as Carlmont hosts Mills in first Bay Division dual track meet of 2022

Lilygren, a distance-running specialist, still serves as Carlmont’s cross country coach. And, according to Berry, the former track coach is still involved in operations of the track team during the transition period to the new staff.

“John decided to focus more on cross country,” Berry said. “He stepped down and is giving me help … so he’s been a really good mentor in getting me situated with Carlmont.”

Berry was a sprint coach at Hillsdale, and his keen expertise was evident Tuesday in the opening dual meet of the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division schedule with Carlmont hosting Mills.

Team results are yet to be determined as three field events were not held Tuesday. Pole vault, shot put and discus events were deferred until later in the week. At the end of Tuesday’s events, the Carlmont boys’ varsity team led the team portion 59-50, while the Carlmont girls’ varsity team led 57-46.

The Carlmont sprinters were the difference on the boys’ scorecard. The Gentleman Scots took first-place in all four sprint events, with senior Ryan Keyhan winning the 100-meter dash in 11.15 seconds; junior Ryan Holoyda winning the 200 in 23.96 seconds; junior Nicholas Wacha winning the 110 hurdles in 17.72 seconds; and Carlmont’s 4x100 relay team winning with a time of 45.04 seconds.

Mills, though, held its own in the girls’ sprint events, much in part to sophomore standout Alyssa Draheim.

While Draheim is new to the sport of track, you wouldn’t know it by her performance Tuesday. The sophomore competed in four events for the first time in her varsity career, and won them all, placing first in the girls’ 200 in 28.08 seconds; the 400 in 1 minute, 3.39 seconds; as the lead leg of the 4x400 relay team, with Mills winning in 4:40.47; and in the high jump with a height of 4 feet, 8 inches.

And while Draheim admitted she was a little tired at the end of the day, she swore she had enough left in the tank to compete in a fifth event if competitors weren’t capped at four events per meet.

“Not as tired as I thought I was going to be,” Draheim said.

Carlmont might have enjoyed an even more dominant boys’ showing if Keyhan was completely healthy. The senior was competing cautiously after tweaking a hamstring Saturday at the K-Bell Track and Field Classic. In Tuesday’s dual meet, he was scheduled to compete in three events but opted out of the 200, instead focusing on the 100 and the 4x100 relay.

“Yeah, in the 4x1, I almost pulled [the hamstring] again,” Keyhan said. “But I was able to finish it.”

Keyhan and Draheim have a lot in common. Neither had run competitively until they got to high school. And both were talked into joining their respective school teams by friends.

“I needed PE credits, and I just turned out to be pretty fast,” said Keyhan, who was virtually dragged to his first track practice two years ago by friend Hunter Dahlberg.

“Hunter actually made me go to the track,” Keyhan said.

It turned out to be a beneficial decision for the fleet-footed Keyhan. He qualified for the Central Coast Section championships in the 100 last season. And this year he projects as one of the PAL’s top three runners in the event, according to Berry.

“From what I’ve heard, he was a natural in the beginning, and he’s progressed to be even better,” Berry said.

Draheim was also implored to start running competitively in high school, when friend Owen Dvorak stole her away from the Mills tennis team. Draheim said she was intent on competing in the fall sport and had her sights set on tennis, until the day before tennis tryouts when Dvorak convinced her otherwise.

“If I did it again, I would still do track,” Draheim said.

Now, she has quickly grown into one of the pillars of the Mills track team.

“We have a very small girls’ team,” Mills head coach Larry Cappel said. “We have a couple girls who are going to carry us. I don’t think we’re going to win a championship, but I think we’ll be very competitive.”

Tuesday’s dual meet was the first of five on the regular-season schedule for each the Scots and the Vikings. It is the only home meet on Carlmont’s schedule this season.

Other varsity first-place finishers were: Carlmont sophomore Isabella Wachter in the girls’ 100 with a time of 13.53; Carlmont senior Penelope Heith, girls’ 800, 2:41.90; Heith, girls’ 1600, 6:08.14; Carlmont junior Naomi Metzler, girls’ 3200, 13:05.96; Mills senior Abbie Sun, girls’ 100 hurdles, 20.15; Carlmont sophomore Kiana Hinkson, girls’ 300 hurdles, 54.01; Carlmont, girls’ 4x100 relay, 53.94; Metzler, girls’ long jump, 15-05; Metzler, girls’ triple jump, 31-08.5.

Mills senior Jason Habash, boys’ 400, 51.73; Habash, boys’ 800, 1:58.59; Mills senior Lokesh Kumar, boys’ 1600, 4:48.17; Carlmont senior Aidan Dimick, boys’ 3200, 9:53.23; Mills senior Aaron Chin, boys’ 300 hurdles, 45.5; Mills, boys’ 4x400 relay, 3:40.81; Dahlberg, boys’ high jump, 5-06; Carlmont junior Alexander Sandin, boys’ long jump, 20-06; and Mills junior Yuan Garcia, boys’ triple jump, 38-04.