Monta Vista’s Ryan Shen, Piedmont Hills’ Jonas Petty, St. Ignatius’ Ellie McCuskey-Hay, Los Altos’ Daniella Hughes capture multiple events on a memorable day at CCS track championships in Gilroy.
Monta Vista’s Ryan Shen, Piedmont Hills’ Jonas Petty, St. Ignatius’ Ellie McCuskey-Hay, Los Altos’ Daniella Hughes capture multiple events on a memorable day at CCS track championships in Gilroy.
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GILROY — Monta Vista’s Ryan Shen was nothing out of the ordinary last year as a sophomore jumper.
Flash forward to Saturday’s Central Coast Section track and field finals at Gilroy High and a whole different story was being written.
Shen started the meet by winning the long jump with a mark of 23-7 ¾, a half-foot further than his previous best distance.
“Sophomore year I was jumping 19 feet,” Shen said. “Then, suddenly, first meet of the year I went 22 feet. Then, third meet of the year I went 23. Honestly it’s just been a big surprise for me.”
Undergoing a growth spurt in which he added three inches to his now 6-foot-3 frame contributed significantly to his radical transformation as a jumper.
He followed up the long jump title by winning the high jump at 6-6.
But the long jump is his favorite event and he hopes to set another personal record at the state meet next weekend in Clovis.
“I’ve definitely got more in the tank,” Shen said. “It will be fun to see all the best jumpers in the state.”
Another double winner in the boys meet was Piedmont Hills sprinter Jonas Petty, who won the 100 in 10.75 and the 200 in 21.36, out-leaning 110 high hurdles champion Prince Buchango-Babalola of St. Ignatius on each occasion.
“I’m happy, very excited,” Petty said after winning the 100. “Last year I was injured. This is my year to shine.”
Woodside’s Mattheo LaCasia continued his remarkable first year of track and field by winning the 400 in 46.92, the sixth-fastest time in CCS history. The only other sub-47 second runners from the CCS were North Salinas twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison, Cubberly’s Bill Green, Richard Dupree of Mt. Pleasant and former Olympic gold medalist and world-record holder Lee Evans of Overfelt.
Elite company, indeed.
“I found the thing I’m really good at,” said LaCasia, who came on the last half of the race and ran away from the rest of the field. “I like to catch people. It elevates the adrenaline. I’ve been working hard and today made it happen.”
Benjamin Bouie of Crystal Springs Uplands defended the 1,600 title he won last year and broke his own meet record in the process with a winning time of 4:06.02.
“It feels great, these are the moments you look for when you’re not sure if you want to keep going,” said Bouie, who is headed to Harvard to continue his running career and major in applied math.
Bellarmine’s Shrey Chettiar finished with a strong kick, passing several runners on the home stretch to win the 800 in 1:54.81.
“Coach told me just to make sure I stay connected to the top group, make sure I’m matching any moves,” said Chettiar, who is headed to Johns Hopkins for college. “I just trusted my kick the last 150.”
Ellie McCuskey-Hay of St. Ignatius and Daniella Hughes of Los Altos were double winners in the girls meet.
McCuskey-Hay won her third consecutive 100 title with a time of 11.78. She had also won the 200 as a freshman, before finishing third last year behind Clara Adams of North Salinas and Mountain View’s Hannah Rutherford. This time she came out of the blocks strong, built a good-sized lead and had the strength to hold on for the victory in 24.06. Adams was second and Rutherford third.
“All my hard work has paid off,” McCuskey-Hay said. “I was able to put it together at the right time. I trusted the process, I trusted myself. I felt my strategy worked today. I know if I kind of scare them at the start and get ahead I can usually hold on.”
Hughes won the 100 hurdles by a big margin in 14.64, and came back to capture the triple jump with a mark of 39-0. Hughes said the hurdles is her favorite event.
“It feels great to win after coming in fourth last year,” she said. “I’m super happy.”
Bellarmine won the boys team title with 67 points. St. Ignatius was second with 51, Woodside third at 33.
Archbishop Mitty repeated as the girls team champion with 58 points. Los Altos was second with 52.
Etc.
Other winners in the boys meet included Bellarmine’s Joshua Haven in the 300 hurdles (37.93), Menlo School’s Landon Pretre in the 3,200 with a meet record 8:48.57, St. Ignatius’ Noah Gonzalez in the triple jump (46-7 ¾), Serra’s Luke Lewis in the shot put with a personal-best 61-10, Mitty’s Isaac Duren in the discus (164-0) and Leland’s Ben Lee in the pole vault (14-8). Serra won both the 4×100 (41.44) and 4×400 (3:18.64) relays. Crystal Springs Uplands won the 4×800 relay in 7:51.87.
On the girls side, Palo Alto’s Kinga Czajkowska (4:47.75) and Amaya Bharadwaj (4:49.63) went 1-2 in the 1,600. Other first-place finishers included Mitty’s Shiloh Haliburton-Rudy in the 300 hurdles (44.23), Menlo’s Veronica Tairo in the 3,200 (10:48.53), Mitty’s Maya Ifo Desai in the discus (141-8), Monta Vista’s Lelani Laruelle in the high jump (5-4) and Burlingame’s Avery Boyse in the pole vault (11-9). Mitty won the 4×100 relay (47.51), Palo Alto the 4×800 (9:11.71) and Los Gatos the 4×400 (3:51.74).
