By Ching Yuen, staff writer
After an exciting season of numerous record-breaking and almost-record-breaking performances, the track and field team arrived at Kezar Stadium for the annual All City Finals on May 20, 2023. In a major achievement, the varsity boys’ team with 12 people, placed second behind Lowell in the city championship, beating bigger rival schools like Lincoln and Washington in the process.
VARSITY BOYS
Photo: Junior Marcel G. and senior Mathias C. lead other Lowell runners in the varsity boys 1600m finals.
In a major spectacle, the team of 12 varsity boys scored the second most points in the city this year with 107 points, beating third place Lincoln’s varsity boys of 97 points and behind Lowell’s 199 points.
Representing Galileo jumping, seniors Leo L. and Jarvis T. came to the stadium with one thing in mind–win first and second place–and they did. Jarvis and Leo swept 1-2 in the triple jump and long jump while Leo also finished 4th in high jump. Taking off from the rest of the field, Jarvis jumped 44-04.75 ft in the triple jump and 21-02.5 ft in the long jump, qualifying for the state preliminaries. Not to be outdone, Leo jumped 41-09.25 ft in the triple jump and 19-09.75 ft in the long jump.
Jarvis says, “I was very proud of my performances because I reached another milestone. Now, my goal is to break the school record at state.” After graduating high school, Jarvis will go to Ohio for college. “I have a full scholarship to Hiram College in Ohio for jumping. I turned down LSU, Jackson state and Ohio state so I can be closer to my grandmother,” he says.
In the first ever varsity boys 4x800m in All City, the 4x800m team pulled off a major victory against the perennial city champion, Lowell. (Like the rest of the others, since there are only three teams, the race actually happened on trials day, May 13, 2023.) The team, consisting of senior Mathias C., junior Marcel G., junior Jackson V., and sophomore Nicolas R, won with a time of 8:16.45.
Coach Braund, who coaches long distance, says, “It is really exciting because it is the first time it is offered at state. We have a good team to compete and maybe shoot for top 10, top 12.“
In the 1600m, Mathias C. displayed his brilliance once again in the four lap race by running 4:34.63 to win another gold. Meanwhile, fellow teammate Marcel G. finished third with a time of 4:42.23, fending off a Lowell runner in the final 50 meters.
In the 800m, sophomore Nicolas R. and senior Mathias C. battled all the way to the line to finish 1-2 on the podium. Mathias, who ran 2:00.34, proved too much for Nico’s 2:00.47 to win gold, becoming the only varsity boy triple gold medalist at All City Finals this year (4×800, 800, 1600).
After the race, Mathias is proud of his performance and his teammates: “I was really happy with how I performed. I trusted my coaches’ workouts. I was confident and I just wanted revenge for what happened in cross country.” He adds, “I grew both mentally and physically as an athlete. I am extremely proud of how my teammates ran all season. We are a group of talented athletes. Being able to go at it with my teammates was something I never imagined and it was fun to enjoy.”
After producing numerous personal bests this year, Mathias reflects on his last four years on the team: “It has taught me a lot about life itself. Not everything goes my way. I had to react to failures and the reality of falling short of my goals. The first 2 years of high school were covid. Being dedicated on my own time helped me learn to overcome difficulties and get to my goals. Running is fun and it is an escape from reality and for me [the last few years running] was pure fun.”
After this summer, Mathias C. will be heading south to run for Cal Poly’s club team. He says, “I am leaving the track team knowing that this team is going to get better.”
While the varsity boys saw huge success in long distance, they were less successful in short distance. In the 100m final, senior Philip Z. finished with a time of 11.70 seconds for 7th place and senior Devin C. finished with a time of 11.81 seconds for 9th place. The two boys also ran in the 200m finals, in which Philip placed 6th with a time of 23.29 seconds and Devin placed 8th with a time of 23.61 seconds. Meanwhile in the 400m, senior Ching Y. finished 4th with a time of 53.86 seconds.
In the 4x100m relay, the varsity boys consisting of seniors Philip Z., Devin C., Ching Y., and junior Marvin C. finished 4th with a time of 46.34 seconds. Due to a bad baton exchange, the team missed out on the podium. In the 4x400m, the varsity boys team including seniors Philip Z., Ching Y., junior Jackson V., and sophomore Nicolas R., also finished 4th with a time of 3:41.01.
VARSITY GIRLS
Photo: Juniors Noelle K., Niki L., and sophomore Sofie G. starts in the varsity girls 1600m finals.
In the 400m department, senior Makayla S. won second place with a new personal best of 1:06.25. Prior to the race, Makayla’s ankle was injured, but she ran through it. “I felt like the 400 I did well. I wished we had a track because we could be better than we are now and we won’t get injured.” When asked about her future plans, Makayla hasn’t decided on whether or not she will run. “I want to [run in college] but yes and no. Because I don’t want to get my hopes too high,” she says.
Meanwhile, junior Noelle K. continues to shine after becoming a quadruple-medalist by taking second place in the 800m with a time of 2:31.78, second place in the 1600m with a time of 5:30.91, second place in the 3200m in 12:19.96, and second place in the 4x800m with a time of 11:01.03, in which the 4x800m team also includes senior Makayla S., junior Niki L., and sophomore Sofie G.
After winning four medals for herself, Noelle says, “My goal was to second across the board. I was able to feel strong because I had never done so many. I was content with it.” When asked to summarize her season after breaking the school record in the 1600m this year, Noelle says, “I really enjoyed this season. I am definitely happy with the times I run. I have grown and actually raced more. As a team, we are growing in size and it shows how much we are dedicating to running. However, I do hope that there will be more girls in track next year.”
FROSH-SOPH BOYS
Photo: Sophomores Georges B., Shepard P. and Nicholas K. runs in the frosh-soph 1600m finals.
Representing the frosh-soph boys in the 100m finals, sophomore Jumah G. finished 9th with a time of 12.58 seconds. As track season comes to a close, Jumah feels happy with his progress but with a slight regret. “For my season, I was happy with all the meets especially with my placement in the trials, but I did miss a lot of meets which sucks.”
Meanwhile in the distance races, sophomore Georges B. took the silver medal in the 800m with a time of 2:07.72 while fellow teammate sophomore Leo G. finished 11th. Georges also medaled in the 1600m, taking bronze with a time of 4:49.96 while sophomore Shepard P. finished 4th with a time of 4:53.61. Both runners set new personal records at the finals.
In the Frosh-Soph boys 4x800m finals, the team consisting of sophomores Georges B., Leo (Cedric) G., Nicholas K., and Shepard P., won first place with a time of 9:17.63. All 4x800m finals were run on trials day, May 13, 2023, due not many schools having a 4x800m team.
Frosh-Soph Girls
Photo: Freshman Madeline K. (lane 4) and sophomore Selah T. (lane 5) dashes for the finish line in the frosh-soph girls 200m finals.
Entering the finals of the 100m as the fourth seed, freshman Maddie K. upset the field to win first place with a new personal best of 13.68 seconds, beating her closest competitor Katelyn S. from Lowell, who ran 13.84 seconds. Maddie’s competitive drive did not end after the 100m race as she also won bronze in the 200m. Maddie says, “I thought I did good in the 100 but the 200 was close, overall pretty good. I was repeating the drills for my form before the race. But I am sad the seniors are leaving.”
Meanwhile, sophomore Selah T., who was the silver medalist in the 200m last year, got her revenge after sprinting away from the field in the 200m, winning with a time of 28.17 seconds and beating second place by more than 0.4 seconds. Selah also took silver in the 400m with a time of 1:08.46. Selah says, “I think this season is a lot better because last season I had a lot of shin pain. I couldn’t run 400m last year. I am going to stay fit throughout the next year. I am excited for next season.”
While these three months of practicing and racing together have taken the 2023 track and field team farther than it ever has, the team has grown, improved, and matured through these three months of track and field. In the end, a total of ten seniors will be leaving the team, including the varsity boys Mathias C. (distance), Angel S. (distance), Jarvis T. (triple & long jump), Leo L. (triple & long jump), Ganni V. (triple & long jump), Ching Y. (sprints), Devin C. (sprints), Philip Z. (sprints), Liam S. (sprints/jumps), and the varsity girls, Makayla S. (sprints) and Julia L. (triple & long jump).
Head coach of track and field, Mr. Adams remains vigilant about the future. He says, “It is going to be hard. It is going to be a whole new crew. This year was a challenge because we are short on coaches. That played a major factor in our development for our future because too many people are newly recruited. I fear that a lot of the events that we didn’t cover this year won’t be taught to the freshmen. The administration has to give us a new coach. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s going to be a rebuild.”
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