I think I have a little bit of whiplash. Six weeks ago I thought there would be no post-season for the track team. Today, I’m looking back at a historic CCS meet! I’m going to need a little time watching the waves roll in to the Oregon Coast to process all these emotions. š
On Saturday, June 19 at Soquel High School, against all odds a Central Coast Section Championship meet broke out! Monta Vista was represented by…
Zoƫ Wang
ZoĆ«, as far as I can tell from the research I did, is the first Monta Vista athlete of any gender to qualify for the CCS championships in four individual events in the 50-plus years of the school’s existence. Because athletes can only compete in four events, ZoĆ«’s record can never be broken, only tied! While taking third place in the pole vault, ZoĆ«’s 11′-6″ vault broke her own school record; ZoĆ« added a matching 3rd place medal and trip to the podium with a strong performance in the 100m hurdles on a difficult track. ZoĆ« competed bravely in the long and triple jumps, but the timing was tight and not kind to her as she tried to balance all events, and she did not extend her PRs in those events. Four events in CCS–amazing. And there is nothing like the sound of two CCS medals clinking together on an athlete’s chest. Well done, ZoĆ«!
Sylvana Northrop
Sylvana ran one of the most beautiful races you will ever see. In the 3200m, Anna Weirich of Harker lead the field out at a fast pace–Anna seemed to want to break the field up quickly and eliminate any drama. Anna is a strong runner, and her strategy was sound except for one thing–Syl loves running like this. Syl stayed in Anna’s back pocket for the first 2500 meters or so, never wavering as Anna drove the pace. With about 700m to go–700!–Sylvana darted by Anna, and dropped the pace down about 15 seconds per mile (I think). Anna gamely fought back but Syl kept the pressure on. UCLA-bound Anna never broke–she is a strong runner and never stopped fighting her way back–but I felt like Syl was never really threatened as she pushed all the way to the finish. It was a magnificent race as Sylvana broke her the school record she had set only a week before, and claimed a CCS championship.
I’m still thinking about this race a day later. I’d like to be able to stop time and savor that 10:45 a bit longer.
Nikhita Saldi
Nikhita was the only Monta Vista athlete in CCS finals who was not a senior, and thus she represents the future! Nikhita ran a strong race in the 3200 with Syl, moving out wisely at the start and running a smart negative split strategy. Nikhita finished 9th in the CCS championships…the same place that Syl finished when she was a sophomore! That’s a good path to be following, for sure. (Cue the music to indicate some foreshadowing…da-da-daaaaa!) Nikhita equaled her PR within a second, clearly showing some more forethought by saving the big PRs for next season! š Nikhita, and her teammates, are well positioned to carry on what ZoĆ«, Sylvana, and Rohun have done in their four years with MVTF and MVXC.
Rohun Agrawal
Rohun had some physical challenges this week that kept him from breaking his own PR–something that I thought he was set up to do. Frankly, I thought he would smash his PR and be competing at the front with the result of the CCS elite. Sadly, this race was not to be; but Rohun fought for every second and was still kicking hard at the end of the race when I think that many athletes–even much older and more experienced athletes–would have stepped off the track. CalTech-bound Rohun on a good day would have been right up front hammering away, but the toughness and grit that Rohun displayed on a bad day are character traits that will take him farther than any one day of racing. It was an impressive display of effort!
And…
Remarkably, ZoĆ« (12 points) and Sylvana (10 points) on their own gave Monta Vista 22 points in the team standings, giving the girls’ team an 8th place finish in our ~150 team section–a mere 9 points off the team podium! Wow!
Links…
There are photos available for download. Complete results are online.
Well done everyone!
