Monta Vista track and field is still running, as one runner advanced to the final day of the Central Coast Section Championship.
Jenny Xu will be running under the lights in Gilroy next week in the finals of the Varsity Girls’ 3200m race. Jenny ran a smart and strategic qualifier race, finishing 11th with a time of 11:31.30. This was a perfect run for a hot day in a big field when anything could happen; Jenny ran just right to move on the finals.
The coaches thought that the 3200m race looked like a preview of the cross country season, as for several laps Jenny and her two teammates, Bridget Gottlieb and Madeleine Yip, ran together in a pack. Seeing the three girls work together to position themselves for a final push was very inspiring…these three are great representatives of a very special team of Monta Vista distance runners. Maddie finished in 14th place with a time of 11:39.23, and Bridget in 18th at 11:49.08. Great races, and great seasons, ladies!
Monta Vista’s day started out at 10am with Emma Seyer throwing the shot 33’8″ in her first throw of the day. This throw was almost a two foot PR for Emma, and is less than a foot from the all-time Monta Vista record! Emma’s throw was good for a 15th place finish in CCS.
Junior Sunny Shan capped an impressive rookie season with another PR, throwing down a 2:26.64 for a 25th place finish. This is an amazing result–remember that Sunny was plucked off the track and recruited to MVTF less than three months ago!
Fellow Junior Richelle Ju should also feel great about her rookie season. As well as being selected as MV’s most valuable female jumper this year, Richelle cleared 4’8″ for 23rd place. She almost cleared 4’10”, just nicking the bar…championship meets are a lot different for high jumpers, as the higher starting height gives athletes less time to settle in before the competition begins. Richelle’s experience this year will help her in the future; she truly is a fine jumper and exceptional track athlete, we were lucky to have Richelle join our team.
The Central Coast Section has over 130 schools, and that means that for every one of our six girls, there are more than 100 schools from San Francisco to Monterey that wish they had our girls leading their teams. Well…they can’t have our athletes! We love our athletes and are glad they are here representing Monta Vista!
Jenny will be competing in the finals next Friday night…come on down and watch and support Jenny, it will be a great meet too!
All six athletes are returning next year, too–there was not a single senior among this group of CCS championship athletes. With continued effort, I know that they will all be back at CCS next year, able to build on their experience in the championships this year and continue to demonstrate their exceptional abilities.
Congratulations, girls, and good luck to Jenny next Friday!
Complete results are at Lynbrook Sports.