James Lick Track officially in season

The Distance team on a run in Rancho San Antonio Park 

 

The James Lick Track season is officially underway now. The team is now practicing every day at 3:45 at the track. The team will not have a meet until they take to the final Los Gatos All-comers meet on February 25th, and their official first meet will be the following Saturday at the Willow Glen Invitational.

To kick off the start of official practice, the Comets ran time trials to assess the fitness of the team heading into the season.

Traditionally we have done a time trial immediately after conditioning ends to see our athletes baseline. This trial is contested without spikes, without blocks, and without any race prep. As a result, we do not expect anyone to even run near their PRs, but our hope is that athletes will be well ahead of where they were at a year ago. We also look to gain an idea of the natural ability of new athletes.

We started with an 800m time trial for the distance team. Erik Olsvold lead the group with a time of 2:11, an outstanding time for this early in the season. This is only  few seconds off of Erik’s PR of 2:08, despite the fact that his PR came in a race with faster athletes, where he’d been racing for months. Erik will very likely beat his PR on his first attempt this season, and is poised for a very big season following his phenomenal XC season. Nathan also ran well, clocking 2:17 without spikes, compared to his 2:17 official season opener in 2016 at the Willow Glen invitational. Gustavo Parra ran 2:22, also matching his official season opener from the Willow Glen invite in 2016. This shows that the teams top 3 800m runners are all well ahead of where they were a season ago, and that team yielded 3 top 8 placings at WVAL finals for the team.

Azael Zamora and Inteus Castro-Lopez ran despite battling minor injuries. Arlet Miranda ran a very strong time of 2:40, better than her season opener at willow glen a year ago. Arlet should have a very good chance at taking all 3 of Daniela Camacho’s school records this season.

Jerricho Habon, Hugo Marquez, Melvin Estrada and Daniel Portillo all ran the event for the very first time. They came in with times of 2:47, 2:49, 2:52 and 2:55. Sonia Jaracuro and Karen Amaya wrapped up the distance trial for the team in 4:06 and 4:10 respectively.

The team contested 4 100m heats next. In order to win a WVAL title on both sides, this group will be critical to the team’s success, particularly on the boys side. Despite the lack of blocks or spikes, two athletes managed to run under 13 seconds for the 100 with a 3rd runner at 13.1. Both Dedriel (OT) Muaava and Jose Limon ran times in the 12.90s and Gustavo Aguilera was not far behind. This gives the team 3 boys faster than the team’s #1 runner at last years conditioning time trial.

A clump of athletes came in together next, with Misael Herrera leading the group at 13.50. David Bejines, Calvin Wyrick, Jose Garcia and Noah Tirir all came in together in the 13.5-13.7 range, despite several of these athletes running in sweats. Rhyan Munoz ran 13.8 to finish off the group of sub 14-second athletes.

On the girls side freshmen Kristen Yutuz impressed running 14.80 in sweats. Elyse Elder was next in 15.50 with Silvia Amaya in 15.80. Susie Peterson and Aliana Santos also ran solid time of 16.20.

Quite a few other athletes competed in the 100m time trial, before moving on to other workouts. It has not been uncommon for athletes to run a full second faster by the seasons end than they do at this early season time trial.

Just last season, Adrian DelaRosa ran 13.70 at this time trial, and went on to run 12.41 by seasons end.

With a base of times down, the Comets will look to build on their times in pursuit of a double WVAL championship this season.

Thanks for reading,

-Benny Reeves

James Lick Track History: League/ Division Champions

This post is a recap of James Lick’s league and division championship history in Track and Field.

The data I have here, and the school records list, (http://www.xcstats.com/track_all_time.php?school_id=1097 ) is based off records I have found using the prepcaltrack index of athletics, and newspapers.com. I’ve also gotten a few reports from various James Lick alumni including coach Keith Antes. While a large number of years are available on these sites, many still are missing. James Lick has at least 63 years of Track history, and I only have 35 years league finals results fully accounted for.

I have 55 years with at least one track meet result available, but only the past decade or so have nearly the full season worth of meet results available to draw from. If you have any specific meet results from past seasons that I can add to our XCstats database, I would very much appreciate you contacting me with the specifics.

In short, the school records and list of champions especially is very much incomplete. In any case, here is a list of all league/division champions that I have on record for the Comets.

It should be noted when James Lick began competing in Track, (at latest 1952) they were a member of the SCVAL (Santa Clara Valley Athletic League). By 1963 they were a member of the MHAL (Mount Hamilton Athletic League). From 1996 onward, we have been a member of the BVAL. The MHAL was generally an 8 team league for most of its history. The BVAL is a 24 team league, and the league is further divided into three different 8 team divisions. James Lick Track has been a member of the WVAL (within the BVAL) since 1996.

While WVAL, STAL, and MHAL are now technically divisions, they are each the size of many leagues, and I have therefore put champions from the BVAL era in the same category as champions of the Pre-BVAL era. It should be acknowledged however that as the WVAL is the ‘C’ division, a championship in this division is usually considerably easier to achieve than it would have been in the MHAL or SCVAL days. In any case here is our championship history.

The earliest records I have are of the 1954 SCVAL Championships. The article mentions however, that John Aguiar won both the 100 and 220 yard dash the year before. This makes Aguiar the first Comet Track league champion on record, with a double championship in 1954. Aguilar repeated the feat in 1954, becoming the school’s first double champion on record, and the school’s first repeat champion on record. His converted times of 11.00 and 22.64 for the 100m and 200m respectively stood as school records for over a decade. He is still one of only two Comets ever to repeat as league champion in the 100/200.

1954 is the season with the most Comet champions on record. Ed Brewer was the SCVAL double champion in hurdles, winning the 120 yard hurdles and the 180 low hurdles which is no longer contested. Brewer’s converted 110m hurdles time of 15.44 is still the 5th best James Lick time on record. A jumper named Lawrence also became the school’s first champion in the long jump, going 20-10.50. Gary Antes, brother of long time JLXCTF coach Keith Antes, won the mile run in 4:35.9. This was the first of 8 individual league championships in the 1600 that the Comet boys have achieved.

The team of 1954 narrowly missed winning the SCVAL finals meet, but won the SCVAL title on merit of their dual meet victories. According to the school’s banners, they were able to win the SCVAL title in both 1955 and 1956 as a team. Full records from those years are unavailable however.

In 1956, Russ Ray won the SCVAL title in 880 yard run, becoming the first Comet on record to break 2:00 for the 800, with a converted time of 1:58.70. He repeated his title in 1957, becoming the school’s first repeat champion in a distance event. Ray still stands as one of only 2 Comets ever to win two league titles in the 800. 1958 Saw a jumper named Turner go 44 feet in the Triple Jump to capture the SCVAL title for the Comets.

Records from 1959-1962 are very limited. In 1963, Ray Clayton went 13-6 in the Pole Vault to become the only Comet Pole Vault champ on record. Clayton also became the first Comet champion on the MHAL era on record. There is no record of the 1964 MHAL finals, though judging by his 4th place finish at NCS Finals, and his place on the Norcal Best Marks list for 1964, it is very likely that Clayton won the league title in the pole vault again in 1964. Clayton also competed at the CIF State Meet in 1964, becoming the first Comet on record to do so.

In 1967, the Comets were co-Mt. Hamilton league champions as a team. The team also had the only 400m champion on record on the boys side this season. Steve Baker ran a converted 52.8 to capture the then 440 yard MHAL title. The team also captured a victory in the no longer run, 880 yard relay.

The 1968 season team saw a number of champions as well, including the teams first 4×400 league title on record. The team of Richard West, Chris Moulton, Gary Sires and David Pike won the mile relay in what converted to a 3:31.5 for the modern 4×400. Richard West was the MHAL champion in the 880, with a converted 800 time of 2:02.7. Molton won the triple jump in 44-3, and Pike won the 220 with a converted time of 23.02 for 200m. Noe Chavez also won the pole vault for the Comets, with a  mark of 12-6.

Records from MHAL finals for many of the upcoming years are missing, though the Comets did have some champions during the available years. In 1969 Dave Pike won the 220 yard sprint. This was the 3rd converted 200m title for the Comets on record. The same  George Costa also won the 880 with a  time of 2:01, giving the Comets their 4th league championship in the half mile run on record.

The next available MHAL records are from 1975. The Comets had Shot Put champion Webster that year, with a colossal heave of 56 feet. The following year Pete Moreno won the triple jump with a mark of 48-11, surely one of the best MHAL championships marks ever.

In 1979, the Comets got their first ever female champion, just a few years after girls track began. Joan Jacobs ran a converted 12.34c to win the 100 yard dash for the Comets. The girls results from 1980 are missing, but Jacobs won the 100 again in 1981. This makes her the only repeat winner of the 100 in school history on the girls side.

1984 and 1985 saw Henry Barba winning the 100/200 in back to back years. Barba established school records in both events in his tenure, and is fairly definitively the best sprinter in school history, with official HS bests of 10.69 for the 100 and 21.57 in the 200. 1985 also saw the first league championship for Joe Amendt, winning the 800 as a freshmen in 2:00.24. Joe would go on to win the MHAL 800m title 4 consecutive times and add a 1600m title in his senior year as well.

Joe Amendt is the only Comet on record to win 4 league/ division championships in a single event. He is also the one of only two JL runners to win titles in both the 1600 and 800 and the only one to achieve the double. Joe’s 5 individual MHAL titles makes him the winningest athlete in school history.

The 1990 season saw Arick Putnam win the 1600 with a time of 4:33.35.  Again, results in the early 90s are largely missing, though the 1996 season held two titles for the Comets. Patrick McClinton won the long jump in the Comets first year in the WVAL, going 21-1. Alberto Meza won the 1600 with a time of 4:36.7 In this era, full finals results became more readily available and most years in the BVAL era have good records.

The year 2000 saw the boys win their most recent title, winning the WVAL ‘C’ division championship of the BVAL. They had a number of individual champions this year. Kevin Stewart won the Long Jump and Triple jump, going 21-5 and 41-1 respectively. This made Stewart only the second Comet ever to win a double championship in jumps, following the example of Lawrence in 1954. Mike Rodgers also won the sprint double with times of 11.26 and 22.43 for the 100 and 200. In addition, Rogers helped the team to a victory in the 4×100 with a team time of 44.43. Eric Santos gave the team their first 3200 champion on record with a 10:09 clocking, and Ivan Navarro added his name to the list of school 1600m champions with a time of 4:43.34.

The teams of the early 2000s also won a number of titles. After winning the 3200 the year before, Eric Santos won the 1600 with a time of 4:36.4, giving the team its 7th 1600m champion a year before Nelson Funston (4:40.05) would give the school its 8th. Tommy West won the 200 with a strong time of 22.15 in 2001. The team also won only their second 4×400 title on record with a time of 3:33.6. 2001 also saw Nelson Funston winning the 800 in 2:01.20.

In 2005, Ruth Lebeau won the first of her 4 WVAL titles, becoming the winningest athlete in JL track history on the girls side. Ruth won 2 Long jump titles and 2 triple jump titles and established school records of 17-5 in long jump, and 37-5 in triple jump along the way. Sara Toscano also won the girls 400 in 2005 with a time of 1:01.25. The same season Rogelio Gonzalez won the boys 800, giving the school its 9th individual 800m title, making it the most successful event for the Comets at league/division finals in school history.

In 2011, Ricardo Flores won the 3200 for the Comets with a time of 10:52, just the 2nd title for the Comet boys ever in the 3200 or 2 mile. In 2014, Robert Rios won the first of his back-to-back Shot Put titles, throwing 40-3 and 43-2 in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Paloma Contreras became the school’s 2nd ever 400m champion on the girls side the same year.

In 2016, the James Lick girls team won their first ever championship, taking the WVAL title with a 7-0 record. Despite huge success at WVAL finals, the team only had one individual champion, Alejandra Ceron in the discus who threw 90-10.

The track team has only 6 total team league/division championships in school history to this point.

1. 1954 SCVAL Boys
2. 1955 SCVAL  Boys
3. 1956 SCVAL  Boys
4. 1967 MHAL Boys (Co-champions)
5. 2000 WVAL Boys (‘C’ division)
6. 2016  WVAL Girls (‘C’ division)

 

The full list of champions I’ve found can be found at the link below, as can all of our info about JL track and field history.

James Lick Track and Field History

This year the team is aiming to take a leaf out of some of the team’s past seasons and add some team and individual titles to the school’s resume.

Thanks for reading as always,

-Benny Reeves

 

 

 

James Lick Track 2017: Early Goals For The Season

The new year is here and the James Lick Comets are beginning their preparations for the 2017 Track season. The team is looking to continue their growth as a program, and we have clearly fixed goals in mind for the season as a whole. In this blog post I will detail the competitive goals that my fellow coaches and I have set for the 2017 season. Our goals go from highest priority/main goal to lower priority/ secondary goals.

Team Goals for 2017: 

1. Have a team-first supportive and welcoming team culture.

2. See Each athlete improve consistently throughout the season.

3. Greater support from infield and bleachers when teammates are competing, ESPECIALLY for field events.

4. Have more than 50 members of the team consistently at practice and competing by March.

5. Have more food at the end of season Track Banquet.

Competitive Goals for 2017: 

1. Win WVAL championship in both boys and girls: Combined 14-0 record
2. Have 30 total BVAL qualifications, send over 20 different athletes to BVAL Champs in at least 22 different events.
3. Have 5 athletes qualify from BVAL championships to CCS trials
4. Win 5 Individual event titles at WVAL finals
5. Have an athlete place in the top 5 at BVAL Championships
6. Place in the top 10 teams at an invitational
7. Qualify for the Stanford Invitational in the Distance Medley Relay

 

The 2016 season saw the team win their first ever championship on the girls side, winning the WVAL (‘C’ division of the BVAL)  with a perfect 7-0 record. The boys went 5-2 for a 3rd place finish, both sides improving on the combined 10-4 record of the 2015 season. With a huge majority of 2016s top athletes returning, we have set the goal of winning a double championship this season, with the ultimate goal of being placed in the STAL (‘B’ division) of  for the 2018 season.

While James Lick was a power in many sports in the early years of its existence, the schools athletic success has sagged greatly in the BVAL era (1996 and onward). Since the onset of the BVAL, where the 24 team of the BVAL are placed in 8-team divisions based on strength of program, only a handful of JL teams have ever risen out of the WVAL. James Lick Track has never been out of the WVAL since being placed there in 1996. As I’ve discussed in previous blogs, this is perhaps not surprising given the population of James Lick, currently the 4th smallest BVAL school based on 2016-2017 enrollment.

In 2016 however, the cross country team not only competed in the ‘B’ division, but won a championship on the boys side.This was the first non ‘C’ division title for any James Lick sport since Wrestling in 2004. We are hoping to have the track team follow suit.

As always, our primary goal is to help each athlete grow as an athlete, and as a person. We seek to do this, all while creating a family-like supportive atmosphere that is an escape for  our students. Each one of our coaches sets out the best road-map they can to train our athletes to develop to the best of their ability, and we believe competitive results will stem from  this focus.

In addition to our competitive team goal of winning the WVAL on both sides, we will also be pushing for a greater focus on top tier and post-season success. Our regular season ends with WVAL finals, where the top 4 athletes in each event qualify for BVAL championships. Last year we had 25 total qualifications between the boys and girls, in 20 total events (out of a total of 30 events, as each side has 15 different events). This was the largest number of events James Lick has ever qualified for BVAL championships in, and we will be striving to increase the number this season.

Also, despite the high number of qualifications and a league title to show for it on the girls side, we had only one individual event championship last season, Alejandra Ceron in the girls discuss. I think we could realistically win as many as 8 event championships at WVAL this season, and bringing home at least a handful of individual titles is another goal. We also had only one CCS qualifier last season, Valeria Cortez in the girls discuss. We will be aiming to advance at least a few more athletes to CCS trials this season.

To help us towards our competitive goals, here are just a few  of our top returning athletes who are likely to factor heavily for us in 2017.

Boys 

Nathan Bernardo: Team captain and the boy’s team’s highest point scorer in 2016. Nathan became the first Comet ever to qualify for BVAL Championships in all 3 distance events in the same season last year.

Azael Zamora/ Erik Olsvold: This dynamic duo combined to give Nathan a run for his money all cross country season, and even beat him at times. Erik in particular is only beginning to come into his own as a sophomore, and is in my mind the favorite to win individual WVAL titles for the team on the boys side. Both athletes were BVAL qualifiers last year.

Jose Limon: The team’s top sprinter in 2016 despite only joining in April. Jose qualified for BVAL champs in the 400 as a freshmen. He will need to continue to recover from a broken collarbone sustained in football season, to continue to spearhead our spirits team this year.

Hadji Yono-Cruz/ Gustavo Aguilera: Our top 110 and 300 hurdlers respectively. The WVAL hurdlers around the league are historical weak from a competitive standpoint, these two have the opportunity to capitalize with huge point totals for the team. Both athletes were BVAL qualifiers last season.

Alex Alonzo/ Josh Garcia: Alex was the team’s top discus thrower in 2016 but lost the last half of his season due to grades. Josh was the only boys thrower to score points at WVAL last season for the team. These two will need to combine to give the team the boost they need in throws to win the WVAL title.

Girls 

Arlet Miranda: Arlet, like Nathan, qualified for BVAL champs in  every distance  and anchored the 4×400 team to 3rd place at WVAL finals as well. She was the team’s highest overall point scorer last year as a freshmen, and coming off a great cross country season, is likely to repeat in that roll.

Valeria Cortez: Last year Valeria was the only freshmen girl in the entire CCS to make CCS trials in a throwing event. She did so by setting a new school record in the discuss with a throw of 99-9.50. She also made BVAL champs in Shot Put and the 100h, making her an incredibly versatile athlete.

Alejandra Ceron: Valeria’s partner in crime and appointed “big sister.” Alejandra beat Valeria in discus at WVAL finals last year to be the schools only individual champion, and placed 2nd in Shot Put, making her another likely candidate for individual titles this season.

Maria Mendoza: After qualifying for BVAL champs in the 400 last season, Maria is likely to be our leading sprinter this season. Her versatility means she will be able to help the team in a variety of ways in 2017.

Lyndel Ventura/ Elyse Elder: The team’s top jumpers, qualifying for BVAL champs in the Long Jump and high jump respectively, they are also key members of the 4×100 team and will likely do more sprinting this season as well.

These are just some of the teams key returning athletes.

Lastly, as the team’s distance coach, I have several goals for the distance team as a whole this season.

1. Score 70 combined points in the 3 distance events at WVAL finals on the boys side.
2. Have 3 boys under 4:40 for the 1600
3. Have two distance runners qualify for CCS.
4. Establish new school records in 2 girls distance events, girls and boys DMR and 4×800.
5. Between the boys and girls, win 3 individual WVAL event championships.
6. Have a 1-2-3 finish in a distance event at WVAL finals.
7. Have an athlete run under 10 minutes for the 3200.
8. Have every distance boy run under 6 minutes for the 1600, and every girl under 7 minutes for the 1600m.

Conditioning is just now getting underway and meets are along way off. The members of the team who are not participating in Winter sports however, are already hard at work with big goals in mind.

In the next few weeks I will do reviews of James Lick’s championship history in Track, as well as BVAL qualification history.

Thanks for reading,

-Benny Reeves