Track & field postseason is underway

The Peninsula Athletic League held its trials and half the field finals at Sequoia High School Thursday, with the track finals and the rest of the field championships scheduled for May 6, also at Sequoia.

“It’s been an interesting season with all the funky weather early in the season,” said Chris Lucey, Hillsdale interim head coach and the meet director for the PAL championships.

“[All the makeup meets] made April a track meet haven,” Lucey continued. “We were making things up left and right. … It’s great that it’s all come together.”

While there is still a team title up for grabs, the PAL trials and finals is all about everyone putting their best foot forward. For those elite athletes targeting the Central Coast Section meet and beyond, there is a fine line between competing for a league title, while leaving something in the tank for the future.

For the vast majority of athletes, however, the goal is to be better than their last outing.

“There are those who know the trials or (league) finals may be their last meet of the year,” Lucey said. “You saw a lot of that heart and effort in the various races (at the trials Thursday). [Kids] are going for pride of place … or their own personal goal. They want to end the season on a high note.”

And this year, there were even more athletes giving their all. Lucey said more than 100 varsity athletes registered for the PAL trials compared to 2022. The frosh-soph entries saw a similar boost in numbers.

“We have so many more kids out (for track),” Lucey said.

The PAL championships not only crown the best in the league, but is also used as a CCS qualifier, with the top-five finishers advancing to the section trials.

While a majority of the events Thursday were qualifiers for next weekend’s finals, half of the field events held their championships Thursday. Because there are so many field events — six each for the boys and girls — the PAL splits them up over the two event days.

Thursday, girls’ high jump, triple jump and discus were contested. On the boys’ side, it was pole vault, long jump and shot put. The opposite event finals will be contested May 6.

Capuchino’s Gabriella Caruso and Mills’ Alyssa Draheim needed a tiebreaker to determine the high jump champion. Both cleared 4 feet, 10 inches, but Caruso won the title with less misses. El Camino’s Addison Hornsby was the only other jumper to clear 4-8.

Aragon senior Erik Dodge, who has the best vault in CCS this season with a personal record of 15-1, defended his pole vault title clearing 14 feet.

But his teammate Jarod Nunnemaker pushed Dodge to the limit, also clearing 14 feet, but finishing second due to a tiebreaker. Westmoor’s Nathan Ho was the only vaulter to clear 12 feet.

Dodge will attempt to be a double champion as he is the third-fastest qualifier in the 110 hurdles, finishing three-hundredths of a second behind top qualifier Evan Rose of San Mateo, who ran a time of 16-flat. Dodge, however, has a PAL-leading time of 15.91 that he set earlier this month. Rose’s 16.00 was his new PR.

Sherrod Smith, a senior out of Menlo-Atherton, set a new career-best in winning the boys’ long jump title, uncorking a leap of 21-10.50. He beat Hillsdale senior Brayden Weaver, who burst on the scene in the last couple weeks, setting new PRs in his last two meets. He popped a 19-4.50 during a PAL Ocean Division meet with Oceana and Capuchino April 19. In the finals Thursday, Weaver set a new mark, uncorking a 21-6.50.

Smith and Weaver were two of four jumpers to go over 21 feet, joined by Casey Oliveira (Carlmont, 21-2.25) and Sequoia’s Dru Hansen (21-0.25).

Hansen still has a shot at a PAL championship as he is the second-fastest qualifier in the 100, posting a time of 11.06.

Carlmont’s Naomi Metzler defended her triple jump crown, bettering her 2022 title-winning jump by 2 inches, marking a 34-4. Metzler was better by more than 2 feet past runner-up Reece Roach of Mills, who held off Aragon’s Maya Yoo by 1.75 inches.

In the boys’ shot put final, Richard La Grill became a two-time PAL champ, with a throw of 49-11.75. He’s improved leaps and bounds from last season when he won the PAL title with a put of 43-5.5. La Grill’s PR is 50-2.5, set at the beginning of April.

San Mateo’s Nasir Shabazz, who came into the finals as the fourth-ranked shot putter in the PAL, snuck into second place with a toss of 45-7.75, a new PR by more almost 2 feet. That mark vaulted him past Mills’ Matthew Tan and Ethan Vuong, who finished third and fourth, but were ranked second and third in the PAL rankings. Terra Nova’s Frank Ward grabbed the last transfer spot to CCS, finishing fifth with a throw of 41-08.

La Grill will attempt to clinch the weights double. He is the second-ranked discus thrower in the PAL behind Ward.

In the girls’ discus final, Woodside’s Bridget Reynolds blew away the field in winning the league championship. Her throw of 119-06 was nearly 18 feet better than second-place finisher Desiree Huffer’s 101-10.

Reynolds and Sequoia’s Huffer were the only two to eclipse the 100-foot mark.

In the qualifying races, Menlo-Atherton’s Kei’Niyah Talton will look to claim the title of “fastest girl in the PAL” as the freshman is the top qualifier in both the 100 and 200. On the boys’ side, Hillsdale’s Sineth Andrabadu is the man to beat as he is also the top qualifier in the 100 and 200 sprints.

Burlingame’s Cora Haggarty will get a chance to defend her 400 title as she was the top qualifier. She is also the second-fastest qualifier in the 200.

Menlo-Atherton juniors Tatum Olesen and Annie Pflaum have been 1-2 in the 800 all season after finishing 1-2 in the finals in 2022. They have top two qualifying times going into the finals. The Bear pair will also look to make their mark in the 1,600, where they are the second and third qualifier, respectively.

Sequoia’s Rowan Henige will look to double in the 800 and 1,600 as the top qualifier in each. But lurking behind him in the 800 is the PAL’s top-ranked Romer Rosales-Hasek of Burlingame. He posted a sub-2 minute run last week for a new PR and was about a half second back of Henige in the qualifying heats.

Sara Nordlund of Menlo-Atherton and Half Moon Bay’s Kamryn Lamprecht will likely battle for the 100 and 300 hurdles titles. Lamprecht captured the 300 hurdles title last season and was second in the 100 hurdles. Nordlund, however, had the fastest qualifying times in both races.

To see the qualifiers for the May 6 finals, go to rttimingsolutions.com, click on the results button and look for the “PAL Varsity Championships” link.