James Lick Track Team Gaining Strength

With the Winter Sport Season over, the James Lick Track team is in a powerful position.The team has over 40 athletes on their roster, a big jump from the 23 athletes last year and the 10-12 athletes of the earlier 2000s. The improvements in recruiting are the first step towards making the team more competitive.

The team ran 400m time trials on February 24th to evaluate their fitness level with a few weeks left before the meets begin. Nathan Bernardo and Karan Singh lead the group running 57.24 and 57.49 respectively. Newcomers to the team, Jon Rodriguez and Aaron Garcia also impressed, running close to a minute flat in their first day of track practice. Robert Rios ran a solid 1:10 minute lap to lead the throwers, despite his focus being on retaining his league title in the Shot Put.

On The girl’s side Paloma Contreras ran a PR with a strong 1:05.90. Paloma looks poised to be a major point scorer for the team and should make a run at the league 400m title. Maria Mendoza and Daniela Camacho came in next with a 1:11 and a 1:12. Freshman Cierra Gutierrez ran an impressive 1:12 and has worked her way into key team plans on sheer potential alone. The team is now at full steam working hard daily to be the best they can, and we expect even more athletes to join in the coming weeks. It is a good time to be a member of the James Lick Track and Field Team. Bright days are most surely ahead.

Team hurdle work

 

JLTF Practice officially begins!

The team setting up their blocks.

The comets are hard at work in greater numbers than the team has seen the entire decade. The team is hard at work, seeking to improve upon what was a small step forward for last year’s team. Coach John Villa is heading a group of strong boy throwers who are looking to take the league by storm. Coaches John Quasarano and Benny Reeves are working with the young group of sprinters on getting their form just right before the meets begin. Meanwhile Quasarano and Reeves are bringing along their distance runners with a sense of confidence following their Cross Country championship season.

The team ended last season with a 1-6 record on both the boys and girls sides, with a total Team count of 23 athletes. This years team boasts more athletes than last year despite many of it’s members busy finishing their winter seasons. With 3 weeks until the team is at full force, things are looking bright for the team of 2015 to exceed the expectations placed on them by the league.