On Thursday, February 16, the smell of smoke from a starter’s pistol wafted over the Monta Vista track for the first time in almost 12 months. And with the sounds of the gun and cheers from the athletes, the 400 Shootout got the 2023 track season rolling for Monta Vista!
The Monta Vista 400 Shootout was founded as a the passion project from former sprint coach John McKeeman, who started the event in 2014. The event has continued in every year, even during the COVID lockdown in 2021. That makes 2023 the 10th consecutive 400 Shootout!
The concept is, the entire team runs the same 400m distance. This is the one time of the year that everyone meets on the track for the same event–sprinters, distance runners, hurdlers, throwers, jumpers. Our sprints and relays coaches get the first look at the 4×4 relay pool, runners get to see where they are, and everyone gets to join in a single event.
On the boys side, the top three runners were all juniors: Denny Dong with a blazing season opening time of 51.42, Ethan Lu with a fine 55.39 and Ryan Samin recording a 56.49. These marks were PRs for all three boys–Ryan dropped almost three seconds in a year and improved on his 14th place finish in the 2022 Shootout by 11 places! Denny’s stunning time appears to be an all-time Shootout record–the history gremlins are checking as we speak.
For the girls, our top three runners were junior Valerie Ayzenberg with a 66.74 clocking, followed by seniors Nikhita Saldi and Avani Kalari with 67.30 and 68.11 marks. This was Valerie’s visit to the top of the Shootout podium, and Avani grabbed a medal for the first time after just missing last year.
There was one notable new feature in 2023: A dedicated coaches’ heat! Sprint coach Curtis Liang held off the newcomers with a 55.81, as he was chased to finish by hurdle coach Tyler Jackson, sprint/hurdle coach Isaiah Smith, jump coach Samantha Louie and throws coach Emma Seyer. And here is a fun fact for you: As a senior in high school, Coach Emma ran in the very first Shootout, and now as a coach she has a run in the 10th Shootout! And after a decade, Coach Emma missed her PR by only 0.12 seconds. There are so many amazing things in that paragraph!
Track is a great sport. There were 45 boys and 29 girls who ran 400s on Thursday (13 more runners than in 2022). Even the slowest runners on the track recorded personal records–so they should feel good about running the best 400 they ever ran. Everyone should feel good about that! In track, there is always going to be someone faster than you. In the Shootout, your coach could find a race where our fastest finisher would be smoked and another race where our slowest finishers could win. There is always going to be someone in front of you that you are chasing, and someone behind you that wishes that they were you. That’s like life–there is always going to be someone in the world richer than you, better looking than you, taller than you…and there will be people who look at you and want to trade places. So it’s important to set aside these relative valuations and comparisons with others, and try to figure out how to make the most out of the talents and abilities that we have been given. That is one of the main values you can get from your team–teammates in front of you can pull you, teammates behind you can push you, and everyone can support and encourage each other as we try to improve ourselves.
Complete results are posted.
Here we go, team! It is starting to feel like track and field for real.
Next up is the Mountain View meet on March 1.
The team is holding practice during winter break to be ready for a strong showing at Mountain View. There are also suggested workouts posted if you can’t make it to the group practice sessions. Keep your training and momentum rolling–a week off will undo much of the progress an athlete makes in the first three weeks of training.
Congrats on your Shootout! See you on the track!
