CIF Prelims
Competing at Mount San Antonio College on a warm day the St.
John Bosco track and field team took one step closer in reaching
their goal. The Braves qualified a total of six events
into next week's Division II finals. Coach Tim McIntosh
however, wasn't 100% pleased with his team as he stated: "We
have a lot of work to do this week before we can even think
about winning the (CIF) title." McIntosh was justified
in his statements after a decent yet sub par performance in
the 4x100 relay. The Braves finished 2nd in their heat
and were the 5th qualifier overall in a time of 42.96.
Inexperience may be one result of the Braves less then stellar
performance, as only Joe Cowan from this years team made it
to finals in 2002. Nevertheless the Braves have the talent
to get the job done if everything goes their way. "We
need some big breaks next Saturday," said McIntosh. "We
have a good group here but we need to get our focus back. We
need to run like we did last week (at the Serra League Finals.)"
Leading the way on this day was Cowan who posted the top qualifying
mark in the 400m and as part of the 4x400 relay while also
qualifying in the 300 intermediate hurdles and as part of the
4x100 relay. Cowan is the favorite to win both the 400m
and 300 intermediate hurdles, and he and his teammates are
one of the favorites to win the 4x400 relay.
Senior Roy Alugbue continued his winning ways by finishing
first in his heats of the 100m and 200m. Alugbue's newness
to these events caused a little bit of nervousness, but getting
through the day helped for next week. "With the
right work this week Roy could challenge for both sprint titles," said
McIntosh.
Playing big supporting roles for the Braves were 4x100 relay
members, freshman Brandon Johnson and Craig Williams, and 4x400
relay members, juniors Mahesh Gandhi and Thomas Geil.
One standout non qualifier was junior Luis Uribe who set a
huge personal best in the 1600m and 800m. Finishing with
the 10th best time of the day Uribe posted a PR of 1:57.21
in the 800m. Uribe also posted a 1600m time of 4:23.84
good enough for the 13th fastest time of the day and another
PR.
Next Saturday the Braves will make a run for the CIF-Southern
Section Division II title at Cerritos College. With the
right focus this week they may just reach their goals. |
