Serra League Finals
Friday night, May 3rd - a sweet celebration took place in
the minds of everyone associated with the St. John Bosco Track
and Field team. With the conclusion of the 3200m the Braves
took claim of their first ever Serra League Track and Field
team championship. For the Braves it was a three year battle
with Serra League rival Santa Margarita that finally ended
victorious. Just as in the duel meet the week before, the Braves
used an all around attack to upend the Eagles and gain victory,
78-68. In the end the Braves qualified 11 athletes in 11 different
events into CIF competition and captured 6 individual Serra
League titles.
The track events were an exciting display by all athletes
in the League. In the 4x100 relay the Braves squeaked out a
very narrow victory to capture the first League crown the day.
The fast feet of Matt Young, Joe Cowan, Josh Bradford and Garrett
Schott were able to get the baton around the track one - one
thousandth of a second faster than Santa Margarita - 42.587
to 42.588! From there it was on to the 1600m were a special
athlete would have a very special day. Senior Randy Hills captured
the event with a personal best time of 4:24.69. His aggressive
racing style and unrelenting drive brought him great success
in what would be his first of three strong performances. Junior
Anthony Martinez would also have a huge break through race
as he finished in an unexpected 2nd place for a 4:24.99 clocking
and a berth into CIF Prelims. The next highlight of the day
came in the 400m. While it was a Santa Margarita athlete that
took the individual crown, the Braves qualified three athletes
into CIF Prelims. Joe Cowan (2nd-49.17), Josh Bradford (4th-49.84PR)
and Garrett Schott (6th-50.46) all ran strong on this day to
take their game to the next level. Their next goal will be
to qualify into the CIF-SS Division II finals. Following the
400's and 100m it was again time for Randy Hills to prove his
endurance as he took on the 800m. Hills failed to qualify for
CIF by a mere .45 seconds but still managed to place third
in a strong field and finish with an all League Medal in a
time of 1:59.70. Joe Cowan had a chance next to show why he
is one of the best in the Southern Section, his race, the 300
Intermediate Hurdles. Although Cowan didn't take the top spot,
he wasn't expected to as Servite rival Matt Willis is the Southern
Section leader in this event. Cowan's time of 38.67 placed
him in 2nd place and earned him a spot into CIF Prelims where
he has the top time going into that event (The Serra League
has the #2 and #7 ranked hurdlers in the state in this event
- Willis runs in CIF-SS Division III). Randy Hills concluded
his day with one more highlight - the 3200m. Running even with
Santa Margarita's Mike Powers for much of the race, Hills pulled
away with three laps to go. Power's was expected to follow
suit with a surge of his own, but could not respond as Hills
put a good 20 meters between himself and his opponent. In the
end it was Hills finishing in 1st place with a time of 9:38.47
to capture his second individual Serra League title of the
day. Hills finished a stellar career of running on this night
closing a chapter on his League races. Next up for him is a
chance to advance into the CIF-SS Finals race in both events.
The final race of the night saw a hungry Santa Margarita team
seeking revenge on the Braves for handing them defeat just
a week earlier in the 4x400m relay. On this night it was the
Eagles turn to shine as they upset the Braves 3:19.27 to 3:19.47.
Things look to heat up in this event in the weeks to come,
where the Braves and the Eagles could clash all the way to
the state meet!
In the field events the Braves were just as, if not more successful.
Senior Kevin Cape captured his 2nd Serra League title in the
Triple Jump, extending out to a huge 45'2" jump, smashing
his own school record. Cape, always the competitor also managed
to qualify into CIF with a 21'4", good enough for 2nd
place. Brave new comer Roy Alugbue also earned himself a spot
into CIF with a 6'2" clearance in the High Jump. Roy,
who's PR is 6'4" but before last week was only 5'8",
was able to capture the top spot in league with his jumping
on this day. Senior Jorge De La Cruz was able to fulfill his
goal of winning League in the Pole Vault with a clearance of
12'6" to advance into CIF. Senior Brian Garcia also cleared
the same height to advance. Senior Ian Connell had a huge throw
in the Discus (153'8") to not only set a personal record
but also a school record, as well as a 2nd place finish and
a berth into CIF competition. |
