Braves Out-dual Edison
The Braves crossed the boarder into Orange County for the
first time this year. Although it's a place they are familiar
with - they went to face an opponent new to them. Orange Coast
College was the site of this duel meet versus OC power house
Edison High School. The breezy day led to a storm - as the
Braves crashed down on the on the Chargers, 85-51. It was a
good sign for the 2002 squad as the meets wont get any easier
from here as they head into league. Edison, who is ranked 3rd
in Southern California behind track stars Denny Flanagan and
Chuckie Linman (whom opted not to run), and Pole Vaulting stud
Aaron Corbett, couldn't seem to find a counter to the depth
of a strong Bosco distance crew. Here is
how the day unfolded:
4x100m Relay: The Braves ran slightly even with the talented
sprinters of Edison. Towards the end of the 2nd leg though,
the baton carried by Josh Bradford seemed to pop right out
of his hand. It was later learned and admitted that hurdle
ace Denny Flanagan kicked the baton out of Josh's hand while
making a move by him. The freak accident resulted in a DQ for
the Braves.
1600m: The Braves made a clean sweep here as they placed 1-3.
Distance aces Daniel Estrella, Tony Martinez and Randy Hills
led the way. Interestingly enough it was Estrella who demolished
the field with a burst of speed to clock a fine early season
time, and PR of 4:30 for the win.
110m Hurdles: Not much of a story here as hurdling sensation
Denny Flanagan destroyed the field by almost two hurdles! Brave
Archie Aragon took 2nd in his first hurdle race ever.
400m: In what could be the same story all season Garrett Schott
and Josh Bradford went 1-2 here. Both runners got out strong
and maintained nicely to the finish. In the end it was Schott
with a little more left in his tank to take the top spot. With
the addition of Joe Cowan (injury), this trio could be a force
in not only league, but CIF.
100m: In what seemed to be an even race through 50m proved
otherwise. Edison sprinters went 1-2 on the Braves for a solid
8 points. In the end it was Paul Mayans for the Braves nipping
Matt Young at the finish to earn his team a point.
800m: If there was a race that broke the Chargers, if not
physically then mentally, it was this one. On the onset it
was Pole Vaulter Brian Garcia leading the pack to try to tire
out the strong Edison runners. Hanging in the back was sophomore
Mahesh Gandhi. When Garcia could no longer hang on to his pace
the Edison runners took over - with Gandhi now battling 7 meters
behind in 3rd. Coming off the last turn it appeared as though
Edison had a solid 1-2 finish all but solidified, but in the
last 70 meters Gandhi pulled out a sudden major surge to challenge.
With 15 meters to go it sill looked as if Gandhi's best would
not be good enough on this day, however the young runner wouldn't
give. With 3 meters to go Gandhi pumped one last time to surge
past both Chargers to take the lead and the victory. It was
a great testament to his strong will on this day and a positive
sign of good things to come as the season progresses for him.
300m Hurdles: Taking charge again here was Edison Senior
Denny Flanagan. He ran a good early season race, proving once
again why he'll be a force come state meet time.
200m: This race was handed to the Braves when Edison opted
not to field any runners. The Brave order of finish was Matt
Young, Howard Earl, and Jorge De La Cruz who ran at the last
second to help his team secure the final point.
3200m: Another Brave sweep resulted in this race. Once again
it was a distance runner earning the unofficial title of "Brave
Runner of the Meet" as Senior Daniel Estrella PR'd for
a second time here. Running comfortably through the first mile
Estrella (along with Martinez) picked up the pace through 2400m
en route to a 9:49 clocking. It was the first time this year
Estrella has clocked under 10 - thus giving the Braves 3 runners
under 9:50 for 3200m in 2002. Hills was back in 9:54 after
eating too much before the race!
4x400m Relay: The Braves race to a 3:31 clocking here. Josh
Bradford, Carl Van Ness, Archie Aragon, and Garrett Schott
paced the team enroute to a first place finish. Their time
was one of the fastest early season times in Bosco History
despite not using the talents of 49.0 quarter miler Joe Cowan.
Other Highlights: Senior Kevin Cape won the Long Jump (21'1")
the Triple Jump (42'0") and took 2nd in the High Jump
(6'0") to secure 13 points for the Braves...Senior Jorge
De La Cruz cleared 13'0" in the Pole Vault to earn a 2nd
place finish for his team...Junior Nick Silva placed the shot
put out to 42'10" to give the Braves 5 first place points. |
