Last year, the boys’ track team went undefeated in the league and then finished first in the PCAL Mission championships, winning back-to-back league championships for the first time in school history.
The coaching staff would like nothing better than getting a three-peat. “Our goal is to win our third league championship in a row, make sure athletes are healthy throughout the season, and have more CCS qualifiers than last year,” Head Coach Ignacio Mendez said. “We also hope to return to the State Championships. In order for that to happen, one of our athletes needs to finish top 3 at the CCS finals. Devin Tapia currently is the fastest returner in the 400 and as of now, gives us the best chance to go to State.”
Despite losing some key athletes like Harry Ordiano and Bryan Meza due to graduation, the team returned a majority of their core – seniors Devin Tapia, Erik Luna, Anthony Enriquez, and Jesus Maciel; juniors Gustavo Perez, Nicolas Padilla, and Rogelio “Kike” Jacinto; and sophomores Fernando Herrera and Joe Montoya. Five of the returners made it to CCS and qualified for the semi-finals, with 9 individuals who qualified for the CCS semi-finals. It was Gustavo Perez and Erik Luna in both the 1600m and the 3200m, Tapia in the 4×400, and Padilla and Jacinto in the triple jump. Tapia qualified for the CCS finals by breaking his PR of 49.06 and finishing 5th. He was the only athlete who moved on to the CCS finals, where he placed 7th in the 400m with a time of 49.46. “My goals for this season are to PR in my events and attend big meets like Arcadia and Stanford invitationals, as well as make it to State,” Tapia said.
According to Mendez, the team’s strengths are the 400, 800, 1600, 3200, hurdles and triple jump. “Our weaknesses are that we do not have a lot of depth,” he said.
Mendez said he’s looking forward to competing against all the teams. “Every team is built differently, so each team presents a new challenge,” he said. “In track, all it takes is for a few kids to be absent, hurt, or have a bad day to determine who wins or loses that day.”
In order to achieve their goals, it’s going to take commitment from the boys. “Sometimes when you win, complacency sets in,” Mendez said. “This means that athletes take winning for granted and don’t practice as hard or commit as they did the year before. Our boys need to be hungrier than last year because now we are the hunted.”
Through three scoring meets, the boys showed that they are up for the challenge. At the 2nd annual Allen Dunn Haybaler Invite, the team finished 2nd, they dominated against North Salinas in the their preseason meet, winning 87-40, and against Alvarez to start league, they won 73-63.
Against North Monterey County, the team won 75-61.