The winnowing of postseason track and field athletes continued Saturday at the Central Coast Section trials at Gilroy High School.
After only the best from the leagues in the CCS, now only the best in CCS are left standing and those numbers will be further reduced as the postseason moves into the state championship meet in the coming weeks.
But first, there are dozens of San Mateo County athletes who will take their shot at winning at CCS title or doing enough to finish in the top three to advance to the state meet or make the CCS top-6 podium.
Only Jefferson’s Brook-Lynn Daniels will be in the running for Fastest Female in CCS as she qualified eighth with a time of 12.55. Santa Catalina’s Juliette Kosmont set the pace with an 11.91.
Menlo School’s Angelica Chou’s time of 25.60 was sixth-best and enough to send her into the finals this weekend. While she’ll have a tough time catching top qualifier Juliette Kosmont of Santa Catalina, who ran a time of 24.67, Chou has a chance at a podium finish and a transfer spot to the state meet.
On the boys’ side, Serra’s Sione Laulea qualified fourth with a time of 21.92, which puts him within striking distance of Stevenson’s Evan Johnson, who posted a top qualifying time of 21.57.
Three county girls have a chance at top-6 finishes, with Cora Hagarty leading the way. The Burlingame sophomore had the third-fastest qualifying time of 58.68. Kira Wilmurt of Hillsdale nabbed the No. 6 spot with a run of 59.32 and Hagarty’s teammate, Avah Reichow, was the last qualifier in a time of 59.45.
They all have their work cut out for them in catching Mountain View’s Hannah Rutherford, who has the fastest time in CCS this season. Her qualifying time of 56.67 is nearly two seconds faster than everyone else.
On the boys’ side, M-A’s Jeremiah Earby put himself in position to challenge for a title. His time of 50.04 was good for third fastest and puts him within striking distance of Sam Freeman of Scotts Valley, the top qualifier with a time of 49.62.
Despite being seeded fourth, M-A’s Tatum Olesen was one of only two runners to break the 2-minute mark. Her time of 2:14.97 was behind only Castilleja’s Samira Kennedy’s time of 2:14.63.
On the boys’ side, Crystal Springs’ Furious Clay put together the top qualifying run of 1:55.11. El Camino Yutaka Roberts, the PAL champ with the fastest time in CCS this season, cruised to a 1:56.93. Menlo’s Aiden Defner also qualified for the final, posting a time of 1:58.12.
Menlo School’s Justin Pretre cruised into the 1,600 final, while Hillsdale’s Andrew Taylor just made the cut, earning 11thout of 12 final spots.
Pretre was the top qualifier by more than four seconds, finishing with a time of 4:14.33. Taylor came in with a time of 4:22.79.
On the girls’ side, Sacred Heart Prep’s Julia Soderbery is in position for a podium finish after finishing third in qualifying with a time of 5:00.50. She has a lot of time to make up to catch top qualifier Lauren Soobrian of Los Altos, who posted a 4:51.13.
One female and one male athlete from the county advanced to Saturday’s final.
Menlo’s Angelica Chou barely qualified, earning the eighth and final spot with a time of 47.50 — nearly two second behind Silver Creek’s top qualifier Chika Nwachukwu’s time of 45.15.
On the boys’ side, Zach Leighton, who won the PAL 300 hurdles title, was fifth in CCS qualifying with a time of 40.15. Los Altos’ Shawn Toney led the way with a 37.73.
Only Serra, who finished seventh, managed to qualify for the final with a time of 43.13. That puts the Padres foursome about half a second behind top qualifier Los Altos, which ran a 42.45.
Serra and Mills qualified for the finals on the boys’ side. Serra, which captured the WCAL championship last week with a time of 3:24.42 and has won CCS six of the last seven years, qualified third with a time of 3:29.12, less than two seconds back of top qualifier Bellarmine, which ran a 3:27.96.
Also qualifying on the boys’ side was Mills, who grabbed the last qualifying spot with a time of 3:34.39.
The Sacred Heart Prep girls’ also advanced to the final. The Gators’ time of 4:10.05 was good for fifth, behind top qualifier Mountain View’s time of 4:12.59.
Aragon’s Pia Cho is the Peninsula Athletic League’s representative in the long jump, finishing fourth in the prelims with a leap of 17-2. She has an outside shot of catching the leading qualifier, Jessi Barry of Valley Christian, who had a jump of 17-10.
Amaryllis Gao of Design Tech also qualified for the final, with her leap of 16-3 earning her 11th place out of 12 spots. Gao was one of three jumpers to hit 16-3, but she went through to the final by doing it on her first attempt.
On the boys’ side, Menlo-Atherton’s Sherrod Smith will carry the PAL flag, qualifying eighth with a jump of 20-10. The No. 1 qualifier, Andrew Fung of Harker, posted a leading jump of 22-9.75.
Capuchino’s Isaac Nishimoto, who won both the long jump and triple jump at the PAL championships, put himself in position to possible grab spot in the state meet. Despite finishing eighth with a qualifying jump of 41-10.5, he is only inches short of top qualifier Monroe Barnum of St. Ignatius, who had a jump of 42-4. Carlmont’s Casey Oliveira also qualified for the final, as his jump of 41-09 was 11th best. The final transfer spot went to Westmoor’s Jonathan Berania, who jumped 41-03.
On the girls’ side, Design Tech’s Kirin Guinto qualified fifth with a jump of 35-01.75. She’ll need to find another two feet to catch Barry’s leap of 37-02.5.
Four county athletes, two girls and two boys, qualified to Saturday’s finals.
Notre Dame-Belmont’s Melanie Castelli and San Mateo’s Gwynn Chio were two of 10 jumpers to clar 5 feet.
On the boys’ side, PAL champ Luke Buddie of Woodside and Burlingame’s Carson Robenalt were among 10 jumpers to clear 6-2. San Mateo’s Aaron Grush also advanced with a jump of 6 feet.
County athletes are set up well in the pole vault. On the girls’ side, Sequoia Abby Goetz and Aragon’s Courtney Tai were two of 10 athletes to hit the 9-foot mark. Goetz is the known quantity, having finished fourth in the pole vault at the 2021 CCS finals and has a season-best of 11-1. The season leader is Soquel’s Jonelle Scott who went 11-6 April 2. Scott also cleared 9 feet in the trials.
Tai, on the other hand, tied her personal record of 9 feet, doing so on her first jump.
On the boys’ side, Aragon school record holder Erik Dodge and teammate Jarod Nunnemaker, along with Menlo School's William Floyd, all advanced to the final following jumps of 12-6. Ten vaulters cleared the height.
While both a male and female thrower from the PAL qualified, they will be hard pressed to win titles.
Capuchino’s Emma Haungatau, however, has a chance at a top-6 podium finish after she was fifth in qualifying with a throw of 34-03.5. She’ll need another five feet to catch top qualifier Nicole Steiner of Los Gatos, who leads with a throw of 39-5.
On the boys’ side, Mills’ Matthew Tan qualified in 11th place with a throw of 44-2, well off the leader’s mark of 53-7.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect Aragon's Jarod Nunnemaker also qualified for the CCS final in the pole vault.
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