James Lick Goes 2-4 in first Quad Meet since 2007

For the first time since 2007 when they were a member of the West Valley Division (‘C’ division) James Lick contested a quad meet in their league season. The Santa Teresa Division (‘B’ division) quad meet was hosted at Lincoln High School on Thursday April 4th. Besides Lincoln, James Lick also competed against the Sobrato Bulldogs and the Piedmont Hills Pirates.

Even though 4 teams competed, each event was scored as a dual meet, similar to in cross country. For example, the 4×100 featured four teams competing at once, but would be scored James Lick Vs Lincoln, James Lick vs Sobrato and James Lick vs Piedmont.

With the wins/losses being determined on the single day, this was the most consequential league track meet (in terms of season record) for James Lick in my coaching career.

The meet began with the varsity girls 4×100. The Comet team of Lisbeth Galdamez, Jessica Cervantes, Mya Hammond and Natalie Rem ran 56.02, a seasons best time. The girls team managed to beat Sobrato in the event, though they fell to Piedmont and Lincoln respectively. The boys team of Raven Alcantara, Salvador Lopez, Rodolf Ocampo and Geo Campos also took 3rd in 46.16, beating Sobrato.

Next up on the track was the 1600. In the girls event, Arlet Miranda took 5th overall, losing to two Sobrato athletes and two Lincoln athletes as she continues to work back towards full health. Arlet managed to lead a sweep of Piedmont Hills however, with Ashley Preciado and Lizbeth Espana completing the sweep in season best times of 6:37 and 6:38. Melannie Sanchez ran a big PR of 7:42, breaking the 8 minute barrier for the first time. Jose Ruiz ran a seasons best 6:14 in the frosh/soph boys 1600.

Standout Lincoln athlete Omar Pina (who has run 4:27 for 1600 and 9:39 for 3200 this year) won all 3 distance events handily, but each time a Comet followed. In the 1600, Erik Olsvold was 2nd in a seasons best 4:51. Brandon Cruz ran 5:07 to complete a 1-2 punch against Piedmont.

The next event was the 100 hurdles. Valeria Cortez won overall with a seasons best 17.02. Yesenia Martinez had a very off race by her standards however, clipping a hurdle badly, resulting in a disqualification when she used her hand to clear the next hurdle. She was in 2nd place in the race before this moment.

Dekota Castro-Lopez won the frosh/soph boys 110 hurdles in a PR of 21.88. Rodolf Ocampo took 2nd overall in the varsity 110, running 17.18, the 2nd best time of his career. He only lost to Lincoln’s best athlete. Mark Orpia took 4th in a PR of 18.47, beating every athlete from Piedmont and Sobrato.

The team was without top 400 runner Yeimili Adame who was home sick. Without Yeimili there, the Comets had no in the event, however Yeimili’s season best would have been 2nd overall. This missed opportunity would loom large for the team. In the boys 400, Misael Herrera and scored points for the team, though neither had a particularly good race.

Sprint times across the board were not great on the day for the Comets. Natalie Rem lead the Comets in 8th overall (out of 42 athletes). She scored 3 points for the team against Sobrato and 1 against Lincoln with a time of 14.20, not near her PR or seasons best. Lisbeth Galdamez scored a point against Sobrato, running 14.36. Azalea Galinato ran 14.59, lowering her PR from 14.80. Many other Comets competed in the event. Standout performers include Krystal Tran who ran a PR of 16.23 and Emily De Dios who lowered her PR to 16.52.

Jordan Laguna ran 12.36 to win the boys frosh/soph 100 in a new PR. Jordan is really busting out as a potential star in future years, as arguably the most impressive freshmen boy we’ve seen in years. In the boys varsity 100, Raven Alcantara took 2nd overall in 11.77, the 2nd best time of his career. Geo Campos took 9th overall in 12.10, scoring a point against Sobrato in the process. Adrian DeLaRosa ran a seasons best 12.77 and Erik ran a PR of 13.16.

In the girls 800, Arlet had a strong racing, taking 2nd in 2:34 and defeating star runners such as Emily Minjares of Lincoln and Emily Harris of Sobrato. Mya ran a PR of 2:57 to score a point against Piedmont and Sobrato as well. Mariana Perez ran a seasons best 3:19.  In the varsity 800, Erik and Jerricho Habon managed a 2-3 overall finish, only losing to Omar of Lincoln. For Jerricho, the 2:10.75 clocking was a PR. Adrian ran 2:58 for the 800, as he pursues the unusual feet of achieving a mark in every single track event.

Meanwhile, the field events were well under way. In the girls Shot Put, Marquise Nelson took the win in a new PR of 32-0. Valeria was 3rd overall with a toss of 31-3, with a Sobrato athlete just 1 inch ahead of her for 2nd. Adriana Marcelino threw a PR of 22-3, as did Lizbet Alonzo who threw 20-1, breaking the 20 foot barrier for the first time.

In the boys Shot Put, Rodolf threw 34-2 to take 4th overall despite his small frame. Josh Merin managed a point in the boys discus against Sobrato, though it was not a good day by his standards. The girls version of the event was the best performance of the meet for the team. After an off day at the firebird relays, the gilrs throwers stepped up big. Valeria threw 109-9 to win the meet. Marquise threw 80-0 for 2nd and Adriana had a massive PR, throwing 74-7.50 for 3rd place.

It was overall a rough day in the horizontal jumps for every school, though the team did have a few standout performers. The first of which was Natalie, who triple jumped a PR of 33-4.25, missing winning the meet by only a half inch. She only lost to one athlete from Piedmont Hills. Even more impressive was Jordan in the frosh/soph triple jump. His previous PR was 34 feet, and he went off for a 37-9.50 jump. He easily won the frosh/soph event, and would have been 2nd in varsity on the day! Bryan Rodriguez also jumped a PR, going 30-5 for 2nd place. The varsity triple jump was an off day for the Comets, but Sal, Raven and Jamie Vong did go 2-3-4 overall.

In the long jump it was a similarly rough day. Jamie and Geo went 3-4 in the event overall, though neither was near their best marks. The girls scored only 1 point in long jump, against Sobrato.

Back to the running events, Valeria took 3rd overall in the 300 hurdles, with Arlet 4th. On the boys side, it was a 1-2 finish for the Comets between Rodolf and Mark.

The girls 200 continues to be a weakness for the team overall. Natalie lead the team with a time of 30.48. Mya Hammond was next with a big PR of 30.52. Azalea ran a second big PR on the day, stopping the clock at 30.80. The team was swept by Lincoln and Piedmont though they went 1-2 against Sobrato. Jordan took 3rd in the frosh/soph 200 with a new Pr of 25.94.

It was a similar result in the boys 200, with the Comets being swept by Lincoln and Piedmont but Josh and Geo forming a 1-2 against Sobrato. Jamie  ran a huge PR of 26.50 in the event as well.

In the girls 3200, Sobrato swept but the Comets and Lincoln had a 1st place. The team of Lizbeth Espana and Ruth Rodriguez managed a 1-2 against Piedmont however, with both girls running PRs of 14:14.08 and 14:48.21 respectively. On the boys side, Mark and Brandon managed a 2-3 overall finish, Brandon also ran a small PR of 11:23.

The final field event of the day was the high jump. Marquise and Yesenia went 4-4 ( a PR for Marquise) with both girls scoring against Lincoln and Sobrato. Sal won the boys high jump, matching his PR of 5-8. Josh went 5-0 to score as well.

The meet ended with the 4×400, though the Comets didn’t run their best team on either side. Lincoln did not have the pole vault set up, and we are the only school with vaulters. As a result we will contest the pole vault at our newly resurfaced track.

 

With Pole Vault Pending, 5/6 varsity matchups are decided. The scores are as follows:

Varsity Boys: 

        Lincoln   84.00     43.00 James Lick                    
                    James Lick   71.50     54.50 Piedmont Hills                
                    James Lick   90.50     36.50 Sobrato                       

 

Varsity Girls: 

     Lincoln   82.00     44.00 James Lick                    
                Piedmont Hills   71.00     55.00 James Lick                    
                       Sobrato   64.00     62.00 James Lick                    
                                          

 

If a James Lick girl clears height in pole vault, the Sobrato result would switch from a loss to a win.

The teams combined record with one dual meet left is 5-7. The varsity boys are 4-2 and the varsity girls (pending) are 1-5.

The team will head to the Quicksilver Classic on Saturday April 5th and then will host Oak Grove in their final dual meet of the season on April 11th.

Thanks for reading,

-Benny Reeves

 

Comets Rack Up Medals at Firebird Relays: Varsity Girls Finish 3rd Out of 42 Teams.

The James Lick Comets took to Fremont High School on Saturday March 31st for arguably the teams favorite invitational, the Firebird Relays. The meet features combination relays in the field events and hurdles. Every team with 3 athletes in an event, 3 varsity girl long jumpers for example, will have their marks added up. The 3 best teams in each event based on this format receive medals and score points for their teams.

Every year we gear up to field combination relays here, taking a small break from striving for individual PRs, to go for team accomplishments. It means alot for athletes who are new at track or are usually nowhere near the top of their event to be able to pursue medals. Overall on this day, the Comets netted 32 medals as a team.

The meet however did start with the individual hurdle events. Valeria Cortez just missed medaling, taking 5th overall in a seasons best 17.04 (3rd was 16.96). Yesenia Martinez won her heat in 18.99, her 2nd best time of the season despite a bad stumble on the 8th hurdle. Rodolf Ocampo ran 17.38 in the boys 110, a solid performance, though just off of his wind legal PR of 17.29.

Yesenia Martinez on her way to a victory in her heat

The boys 4×100 team of Raven Alcantara, Rodolf Ocampo, Misael Herrera and Geovanny Campos ran 46.14 for 8th place in the varsity boys 100. Last year at Firebird an almost identical team (Salvador Lopez instead of Misael Herrera) ran 48.39 at this event. This team continues to improve by leaps and bounds, and with our 5 fastest sprinters being juniors, it makes the future very exciting indeed.

The field event relays got under way with the Varsity Boys triple jump. Sal lead the team with a small PR of 38-2.50. Jamie Vong achieved a new seasons best of 36-10.50. Angel Guerrero went 32-8. The team was hampered by the fact that Raven was not able to achieve a mark. Raven has been having major issues with scratches of late in the horizontal jumps, an issue we will be working to fix this week.  The team just missed medaling, placing 4th as a unit.

Angel Guerrero in the last phase of his triple jump

 

In the girls long jump, Natalie Rem went a seasons best 14-4 and Lisbeth Galdamez jumped 13-6. The Comets did not have a 3rd athlete to complete the relay however.

The first medals of the day came in the varsity girls shot put relay. Valeria Cortez (31-5.25) Marquise Nelson (30-11.50) and Natalie with a very strong debut of 25-8.50 completed the relay. The Comets placed 2nd overall in the event, out of 14 teams with athletes competing in the event. Adriana Marcelino also threw for the team. She threw 21-10.75, a seasons best and only a quarter inch off of her PR.

Three frosh/soph girls competed in the 1600 with great results as well. Ruth Rodriguez lead the freshmen in a new PR of 6:47.57. Estefani Herrera broke the 7 minute barrier for the first time, clocking in at 6:52.20. Mariana Perez ran a seasons best 7:02.75 as well.

The next event was the DMR (Distance Medley Relay). The first leg runs 1200 meters,  2nd runs 400, 3rd runs an 800 and the anchor runs a 1600. There are only a few results in the event (on record) in school history, but the Comets added a few more at Firebird. The varsity girls team of Belen Sanchez, Arlet Miranda, Ashley Preciado and Yeimili Adame ran 15:02.87 to place 2nd and win themselves medals. The frosh/soph team of Mya Hammond, Jana Kikia, Jessica Cervantes and Lizbeth Espana ran 15:45.86, 10 seconds better than last years frosh/soph team.

On the boys side, the team was Melvin Estrada, Misael Herrera, Jerricho Habon and Mark Orpia. The team stopped the clock at 11:53.48, the 4th best mark on record in school history out of 10 total marks.

The Comet DMR and 4×800 team, left to right: Ashley Preciado, Belen Sanchez, Arlet Miranda, Yeimili Adame 

The distance crew was at it again later in the 4×800. The varsity girls team again took 2nd, finishing in 11:41. The frosh/soph team took 3rd place between the team of Estefani, Jana, Mya and Jessica. The varsity boys were unable to medal in a competitive race, but ran a 9:23.71, 11 seconds better than last year between Melvin, Josh Merin, Mark and Jerricho.

A few Comets contested the open 100, though none quite achieved PRs. Lis ran 14.10, and Chnatrea Thach clocked in at 15.58. Krystal Tran ran 16.35 in the frosh/soph version of the event. Angel was the only boy to run the 100, running a 12.82.

The field events marched on with the boys long jump. Sal went 19-1.50, the 2nd best jump of his career to lead the team. Jamie went 18-5 to miss his PR by 1 inch. Geo did not have his best day, going 17-7 with Raven also struggling at 17-4. Nonetheless, the team did manage to medal between Sal, Jamie and Geo, placing 3rd, just inches off of 2nd.

The girls discus throwers just missed medaling, placing 4th. Valeria and Marquise had off days, throwing 95 feet and 69 feet respectively. Adriana broke through with a PR of 66-7 however. This had been a long time coming for Adriana, whose previous best of 65-0 had stood for over 2 full years. It was a big moment for her and throws coach Raul Lopez.

It was a different story in the girls triple jump however. Natalie took 3rd overall with a leap of 31-8.25. Marquise made her triple jump debut and went 28-6.5. Yesenia went 26-6 an off day by her standards. Nonetheless, the girls won the triple jump replay!

The boys also got medals in the high jump. Geo Campos cleared 4-10, while Josh cleared 5-0. Sal completed his best ever jumps day (PR in triple, 2nd best mark in long jump) with a PR in the high jump of 5-8, tying him for 3rd overall.The girl high jumpers also took 2nd as a team. Marquise went 4-0, with Yesenia and Lisbeth both going 4-2.

 

Sal’s takeoff in the long jump 

With the field events completed, the Comets had two running events left. In the girls 300 hurdles, the team of Valeria, Arlet and Yesenia managed to take 2nd as a team for the combination relay. The boys managed the same feet with some big PRS.

Sal went 45.74 for his 2nd try at the event, a very strong mark when one considers how bad his form was in the race. Mark managed a huge PR of 46.02 as well, beating his previous best by over 2 seconds. Rodolf had an off race, but did enough to ensure a 2nd place for the team in the combo relay.

The final event for the Comets on the day was the SMR (Sprint Medley Relay). It consists of two 100 meter legs, a 200 meter leg, and a 400 meter leg. This was only the 2nd time (on record) that the team contested this version of the event.

The girls team of Lisbeth, Natalie, Yeimili and Arlet ran 2:07.47, shaving two seconds off of last years time for a new school record. The frosh/soph team of Araceli Mejia, Krystal, Mya and Jessica ran 2:18.85.

On the boys side, Raven, Geo, Misael and Jerricho combined to run 1:45.00, 2 seconds better than last years mark for a new school record again. The ‘B’ team of  Mark, Jamie, Angel and Josh ran 1:49.15 to end the Comets day.

When all was said and done, the Comets were 10th out of 42 teams with all 4 divisions combined (no Comets competed in frosh/soph boys). The team was a very strong 3rd place on the girls side.

With the confidence gained from the Firebird Relays, the team will head to Lincoln on Thursday April 4th for a quad meet against Lincoln, Piedmont and Sobrato. This meet will go a long way towards determining the Comets’ season record.

The team will then head to Leland High School on Saturday April 6th for the Quicksilver Classic.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

 

Comets Split Dual Meet with Prospect, Girls Dual decided by 4×400

The James Lick Comets had their 3rd dual meet of the season at Prospect High School on Thursday March 28th. It was a windy day at Prospect, with a strong headwind on the home straightaway, resulting in poorer marks for the sprinters than normal.

In any case, the Comets competed hard, winning the boys side to move to a record of 2-1, while the girls lost a very close dual (66-61) to fall to 1-2.

The meet began with the 4×100, and sprint depth is currently the team’s biggest weakness. Prospect won the 4×100 against the squad of Lisbeth Galdamez, Azalea Galinato, Jenny Fimbres and Yeimili Adame. On the boys side, the Comets nailed their first relay win of the season. Misael Herrera, Josh Merin, Raven Alcantara and Geo Campos ran 46.40 to take the victory.

The girls 1600 was next. Arlet Miranda is still battling illness and had to drop out of the girls 1600. Belen Sanchez took 2nd for the team in a seasons best of 6:24. In the same race, Estefani Herrera ran 7:01, a 14 second PR. Melanie Sanchez ran 8:18 for her debut in the event.

The boys side was a great battle for the win between Erik Olsvold and Jonathan Yuen of Prospect. The lead changed hands multiple times with Jonathan taking the win in 4:52.48 to Erik’s 4:52.52. This was a big seasons best for Erik and is the fastest time of his career since his sophomore season. Erik is rebounding strongly from injuries that hampered him junior year. Jerricho Habon was 4th in a PR of 5:01.8. In the frosh/soph version of the event, Dekota Castro-Lopez won the 1600 with a PR of 5:55, breaking 6:00 for the first time.

Jonathan of Prospect and Erik Olsvold battling on the last lap of the 1600

The girls 100 hurdles was the 3rd straight dual meet victory of the season for Valeria Cortez in the event. Yesenia Martinez was 2nd and Natalie Rem 3rd completing a Comet sweep. On the boys side, Rodolf Ocampo won the boys 110 hurdles. Dekota won the frosh/soph version of the event.  With the strong headwind, the times were not particularly fast in this event.

In the girls 400, Yeimili Adame ran 1:07.54 to win the event, a very strong showing considering the conditions. Chantrea Thach made her debut in the event, clocking 1:20. Misael Herrera won the boys 400 in a seasons best 56.78. Prospect took 2nd and 3rd in both 400s.

By this time, several field events were already completed. It was a very high quality dual meet in girls throws. Valeria took 2nd despite a throw of 33-3, a mark that would have easily won the team’s previous duals. Marquise Nelson managed a massive PR of 31-1.5. This was only good for 4th however in a very competitive dual. Adriana Marcelino managed a huge seasons best of 21-10.5, only a half inch off of her PR. Kiely Leal threw a seasons best of 20-4. Lizbet Alonzo threw a PR of 19-10, as did Sandra Naranjo with a new personal best of 16-10.

In girls discuss, Valeria won the meet with a toss of 106-3. Marquise took 2nd in a new PR of 89-3. Sandra managed a 2nd PR on the day, throwing over 50 feet for the first time. Lizbet and Kiely both netted seasons bests as well. On the boys side, Rodolf threw a new PR of 34-0 to take 2nd for the team, the first Shot Put points of the season for the boy Comets. In boys discus, Josh took 2nd in 84-0. Alexis managed big PRs in both throws, throwing 26-0 for Shot Put and 60-1 for discus.

Mark Orpia and Rodolf took 2nd and 3rd in pole vault on the boys side, with leaps of 9-0 and 8-6 respectively. Josh Merin was the only boy to clear a height in high jump, taking the win with a 5 foot clearance. On the girls side, Yesenia took 2nd in 4-4 with Lisbeth taking 3rd in 4-2. Marquise also managed a new PR of 4-2.

Back to the running events, the strong Prospect sprinters went 1-2, with Natalie taking 3rd. Again, times were not great due to the wind. Natalie for example ran 14.49 compared to a 13.90 clocking a week ago. The winner from Prospect only ran 13.8 compared to a season best 13.2. Jordan won the frosh/soph 100 in 12.7 and Isaac Ortega made his debut with a 14.79.

The comet boys swept the 100, with Raven, Geo, and Josh combining to accomplish the feet. Raven and Geo ran 12.12 and 12.48 respectively, but it was a PR for Josh who ran 12.57, despite the windy conditions. This shows that Josh is ready to run much faster with good conditions.

The girls 800 was a prospect victory with Erika Camacho and Ashley Preciado taking 2nd 3rd. It was a seasons best 2:58 for Ashley. Mya Hammond ran a PR of 2:58.49 just behind her. Melanie ran 3:48 for her first try at the event.

The boys version was another good battle. Jerricho had the lead with 100 to go, but lost to Jonathan before the line, Jerricho stopped the clock in 2nd with a time of 2:13.71. Brandon Cruz ran a PR of 2:19.01 in the race as well.

Valeria and Arlet took 2nd and 3rd in the girls 300 hurdles. On the boys side, Rodolf and Mark took 1st and 3rd in PRs of 45.59 and 48.54. It was a strong return meet for Mark, who after being held out a week with a minor foot injury will return to training next week.

In the girls 200, Yeimili ran a PR for 3rd place, stopping the clock at 30.10. The boys managed another sweep in the 200. Salvador Lopez lead the team in 25.13. Misael and Geo completed the sweep. Jordan won the frosh/soph 200, running 26.21 for his first try at the event.

Lizbeth Espana, Ruth Rodriguez and Mariana Perez combined to sweep the girls 3200. Emely Lopez broke the 16 minute barrier for the first time, clocking in at 15:55. On the boys side, none of the top Comets ran the 3200, though Adrian DeLaRosa and Alexis Sarellano did run it for fun. Adrian ran 14:55 and Alexis ran 15:59.

The horizontal jumps took a long time to get going. When they did, Prospect took the win in the long jump. Jamie Vong took 2nd in a PR of 18-6 and Sal was 3rd in 18-5. Bryan Rodriguez managed a big PR of 15-4 in the frosh/soph long jump, while Jordan took 2nd in 16-4. On the girls side, Prospect took 1st and 2nd, and 3rd went to Lis who had an impressive 14-0 debut in the event.

The Comet boys swept the triple jump. Raven matched his PR of 37-9. Jamie was 2nd in a seasons best 36-9 and Sal was 3rd in 36-8. Angel Guerrero managed a PR of 34-4. Jordan tripled jumped for the first time, going 32-10. Bryan also triple jumped for the first time, going 28-8 in the event.

The team was down by 9 points on the girls side with triple jump underway. Natalie took the win with a 30 foot jump. Yesenia took 2nd in 27-6. With a point up for grabs due to the lack of  3rd girl, Arlet tried her hand at triple jump and managed to score a point with a jump of 26-0.

With this sweep, the girls were tied at 61 points with the 4×400 relay remaining. On the boys side, the Comets had already clinched victory. The Comet boys still took the win with a time of 3:56. Misael, Jamie, Jerricho and Erik accomplished the victory. On the girls side however, Prospect took the win, sealing a narrow victory that came down to one event.

Final scores:

Varsity Girls: 

Prospect: 66

James Lick: 61

Varsity Boys: 

James Lick: 78

Prospect: 54

Frosh/Soph Boys: 

Prospect: 76

James Lick: 37

The Comets will head to on of our favorite invitationals of the year, the Firebird Relays, on Saturday March 30th.

Then the team will gear up for their quad meet again Lincoln, Piedmont and Sobrato on April 4th.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

Comets Finish 6th out of 26 Teams at De Anza Invitational: Highest Invitational Finish This Decade

 

I can say on behalf of the team, that our defeat against Pioneer on Thursday March 21st was discouraging. We competed well and we knew going in that Pioneer was a good team. We were not prepared for the frankly crushing loss that we suffered, particularly on the boys side.

With that in the rear view mirror, 20+ Comet athletes took to De Anza College on Saturday March 23rd, focusing on improving their marks against good competition on excellent facilities.  The De Anza Invitational was exactly the bounce back the Comets were looking for.

The meet began with the boys 4×100. In my most recent post, I discussed my excitement that the team had already run a low 46 second 4×100, when the team took until May to run that fast a year ago (and the 2019 team was already the 2nd best Comet relay team of the decade behind the 2018 crew). With that in mind, the teams goal was to break 46 seconds at the De Anza Invite, and seeing as the team was ranked 3rd in the meet, to hopefully place 3rd or higher and earn a medal.

The team came through in spades. Raven Alcantara, Josh Merin, Salvador Lopez and Geovanny Campos combined to run 45.72 to win the De Anza invite in the event! The time was the 2nd best 4×100 time by James Lick in the last 10 years (last year at BVAL champs we went 45.50) and it’s the first time in many many years that James Lick won an invitational 4×100, albeit one that was fairly low-key.

Sal Handing Off to Geo on the final leg of the 4×100.

At the same time, the Comets were dominating a very thin Pole Vault field. Rodolf Ocampo and Mark Orpia (who is dealing with injury preventing him from running) tied for the meet win at 9-6. This matched Rodolf’s PR, and it was Mark’s first time going 9-6. Adrian DeLaRosa placed 4th by matching his PR of 8-0.

Mark Orpia clearing the bar at 8 feet

Valeria Cortez won the next individual medal on the day with a 3rd place throw in Shot Put of 30-11. Adriana Marcelino also competed, throwing 19-10. Later in the girls discus, Valeria would placed 2nd with a toss of 103-2. Adriana threw 54-10 and Arlet Miranda, in a rare appearance in the girls discus, threw 49-0.

In other field event news, Josh cleared 5-2 in high jump for the first time, an achievement he’d been working towards all season. Yesenia Martinez went 4-2 in the girls edition of the event. Geo went 18-8 in boys long jump, rounding out the field events on a day where most of the team focused on their running events.

In the girls 1600, Jessica Cervantes and Ashley Preciado both ran big seasons bests of 6:34 and 6:43 respectively. Valerie earned her 3rd medal of the day with another 3rd place finish, with a time of 17.33 in the 100 hurdles. Yesenia ran 19.46. Rodolf ran a new PR of 17.11 in the boys hurdles to finish in 3rd, albeit with the benefit of a strong tailwind.

Rodolf on his way to a new PR and a hurdles medal

The Comets sent two of their distance boys into the 400 in search of PRS. Branon Cruz’ PR entering the race was 1:02 and Jerricho Habon’s was 59.20. Both boys rarely run the 400 since they focus on distance, and hadn’t run an open 400 since last year when they were sophomores. Both boys capitalized on the chance running massive PRs.

Jerricho lowered his time all the way down to 55.28, the best time by a Comet this season and tied for the 3rd best time any Comet has run since I’ve been coaching. Brandon lowered his PR to 58.02 as well.

Finally came the 100 meter dash, arguably the highlight of the meet for the Comets. Geo ran 11.95, the 2nd best time of his career. A heat later, Sal and Rodolf crushed their PRS, though the wind was a 2.4 meters per second, slightly over the “wind legal” standard of 2.0. That being said, the wind had only a little to do with Sal lowering his 100m best from 12.41 to 11.86 and Rodolf lowering his from 12.54 to 12.06. Misael also lowered his seasons best from 12.74 to 12.55. These performances were very affirming to me personally since this is my first time directly training the sprint crew since 2015.

On the girls side, Jessica lowered her PR to 14.87 while Arlet lowered hers to 15.09. Arlet has been dealing with stomach pain that held her out of her usual distance events at this meet. Yesenia also ran a seasons best 15.64 in the event.

The girls 800 saw several more PRS. Erika Camacho lead the Comets, running 2:57 to break the 3 minute barrier for the first time. Lizbeth Espana narrowly missed doing the same, running 3:00.64, a PR by 9 seconds. Estefani Herrera ran a huge PR, taking her PR from 3:21 to 3:11.

After a little rest came the 200s. Many of the distance girls participated. Jessica lowered her PR from 34.68 to 33.48. Erika lowered her PR from 37 seconds to 35. Estefani ran a 35 second clocking in her first try at the event.

On the boys side, Sal lead the group again with a huge PR. Sal stopped the clock at 24.26, his first time under 25 seconds. This was with a big aiding wind of 3.1m/s. Still a big PR. In the same heat, Jerricho lowered his PR to 25.93, breaking 26 for the first time.

Sal, (Right) Misael (Left) and Jerricho (Middle) racing the 200.

Raven ran a PR of 24.81, but he continues to be very bad at the 200 considering his 100m PR is 11.72. Josh made a very solid 200m debut, running 24.89. Somehow Josh managed to run the 800 before the 200 despite being a sprinter/jumper.

The final open running event of the day was the 3200. Mya Hammond and Jessica ran together to both achieve PRs of 15:06 and 15:07 respectively. On the boys side, Brandon slugged out an 11:40 despite being fatigued.

The final event of the day was the 4×400, and the team was eager to go out with a bang. Misael, Sal, Josh and Jerricho combined to run 3:45.44 to finish 3rd place.  Like with the 4×100, this is the best March relay time for a James Lick team that I have on record since the team of 2000 ran a 3:35 at the K-bell Invitational.

The team will continue to chase after the best teams of James Lick history, and we feel we are inching closer every day.

The team will take on Prospect next Thursday with renewed confidence. Then the team will head to arguably our favorite invite of each season, the Firebird Relays at Fremont High School.

Thanks for reading!

Comets Suffer First Loss of Season at Pioneer

The James Lick Track team suffered its first loss of the season in all 3 divisions against the Pioneer Mustangs on Thursday March 21st 2019. The Mustangs are undefeated so far, and seem to be the likeliest division champion on both the boys and girls side.

Despite the defeat, there was a lot to feel good about in the meet, including 23 PRS and several strong performances.

One of the great early performances was the boys 4×100 team. Raven Alcantara, Josh Merin, Misael Herrera and Geovanny Campos combined to run 46.01. This is a seasons best time, and the fastest time any James Lick team has run in March in over a decade. Last years 4×100 team made BVAL Championships for the first time in many years with a time of 45.88. That was done in May of last year, as was the 45.50 clocking at BVAL finals. That 45.50 stands as the best James Lick 4×100 time since 2002. This years team is well on pace to beat it, and may well crack the 45 second barrier by the end of the season, a time which may advance them to CCS.

Arlet Miranda scored the first points of the meet for the girls with a seasons best 5:44 1600 for 2nd place. Arlet did this despite battling stomach pain prior to and during the race. On the boys side, Jerricho Habon scored the first boys point of the day with a 3rd place finish in a PR of 5:02.00.

The girls 100 hurdles was a victory for Valeria Cortez in 17.08, a huge seasons best for her first of what would be 4 victories on the day. This is the 5th best time of Valeria’s career (PR of 16.75) but it is the fastest time she has ever run in March or April. Her best times have always come in May when she is in peak condition. Yesenia Martinez was 2nd in 18.73 a seasons best as well. On the boys side, Rodolf Ocampo scored the Comet boys only victory of the day in a PR of 17.29.

In the girls 400, Yeimili Adame ran a seasons best 1:07.43 for the 2nd best time of her career. This netted her 3rd place on the day. The Pioneer boys swept the 400, but the Comets had a number of solid performances. Salvador Lopez ran a seasons best 57.18 to lead the Comets. Geo Campos made his debut in 57.45 a very solid first cocking in the evnt. Josh Merin ran more than a 2 second PR to stop the clock in 57.86 and Misael ran 58.35 for a seasons best time. Angel Guerrero made his debut in the event, running 59.33 to end the Comets day in the event.

The girls 100 was won by Pioneer, with Comets taking 2nd and 3rd. Natalie Rem and Lisbeth Galdamez both ran 13.90, narrowly edging out a Pioneer runner. This was a .04 second PR for Lisbeth.

In the boys 100, Raven Alcantara backed up his 11.72 PR last week with a time of 11.78. Despite this solid time, Pioneer swept the boys 100. Joran Laguna ran a PR of 12.53 and Jerricho lowered his PR to 12.57. Bryan Rodriguez made his debut, running 14.23.

Pioneer swept the girls 800, though Mya Hammond ran a seasons best 3:00.16 and Emely Lopez ran a PR of 3:19. Jessica Cervantes also made her return to racing after injury in February. In the boys 800, Erik Olsvold took 3rd with a seasons best 2:09.98, the first Comet to break 2:10 this season. Brandon Cruz ran a PR of 2:19 as well.

Valeria took 1st in the 300 hurdles in a big seasons best of 53.80, putting her ranked #1 in the division so far. Yeimili ran a PR of 57.12 for 3rd place in the race as well. On the boys side, Rodolf took 2nd in a PR of 46.40.

Only two lady Comets ran the 200, though both ran PRS. Mya clocked in at 30.97 in 4th place, a PR by 3 tenths of a second. Araceli mejia lowered her PR nearly a second, running 32.73. On the boys side, Misael ran a seasons best 25.03 and Rodolf ran a big PR of 25.58 despite having the hurdles right before.

Belen Sanchez won the girls 3200 with a season opening time of 14:20. Lizbeth Espana made a very strong debut in the event, running 14:36 for 2nd. Erika Camacho ran a massive 2 minute PR of 14:51, and Ashley ran 14:55 to start her season. Melvin Estrada ran a seasons best 11:14 to take 2nd in the boys 3200. Jerricho took 4th in a new PR of 11:23.

Pioneer was victorious in both 4x400s. The Pioneer boys had a massive lead after the running events were added up, while the Pioneer girls held an advantage as well.

The field events were slightly better for the Comets. Rodolf scored a point in the pole vault by clearing 9-0. Sal scored a point in the high jump clearing 5-4. On the girls side, Lisbeth and Yesenia went 2-3 with jumps of 4-4 and 4-2. Natalie took 2nd in both horizontal jumps,  going 31-4 in triple jump and 13-9 in long jump respectively. Geo Campos went 19 feet in long jump for the first time to take 3rd. Sal and Raven took 2nd and 3rd in the boys triple jump.

The throwing events had several meet highlights for the Comets. Chief among them was Valeria throwing 111-8, a seasons best just 1 foot off of her PR to win the meet. Marquise Nelson stepped up and threw 83-8 for her first time in discus as well. In the shot put, they formed a 1-2 punch. Valeria threw 33-2.5, a seasons best only 6 inches off her PR, while Marquise threw a PR of 28-10.

Valeria stood out all meet, despite the team losing, she scored 20 points (the maximum possible) with 4 seasons bests.

The Comets lost the meet, but gained valuable meet experience against a very tough opponent.

The team will head to the De Anza Invitational on Saturday March 23rd before facing off against Prospect High School in another tough matchup.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

 

Comet Distance Runners Take A Big Step Forward at Dublin Distance Fiesta

For the first time in school history, James Lick attended the Dublin Distance Fiesta on Saturday March 16th of 2019. The meet is the biggest distance only invitational in the country, with nearly 4,000 entries between the 1600, 800 and 3200.

The Comets took a small group and focused on the 1600 and 800 primarily. Despite the small group, it was a very successful day for the Comet crew overall.

Jhesselyn Santos started the Comets day with a 7:42.09 clocking, the 2nd best time of her career. The very next heat saw 3 different PRS. Lizbeth Espana ran 6:41 (previous best 6:45) Ruth Rodriguez ran 6:54 (previous best 7:07). Mariana Perez ran a seasons best 7:08 and Emely Lopez ran a PR of 7:19 (previous best 7:26).

The highlight of the day for the lady milers was in the next heat. ONe of the appeals of the Dublin meet is that the top runners in every single heat win a t-shirt. Mya Hammond became the first Comet to do so running a massive PR of 6:30.70 (previous best 6:48) to place 2nd in her heat. Erika Camacho also ran a PR of 6:42 (previous best 6:50). Arlet Miranda didn’t have her best day, but ran a seasons best 5:49 in her heat.

 

Mya Hammond after her big PR and T-shirt score!

On the boys side, the Comets only had 3 milers. Melvin Estrada ran 5:18, just missing his seasons best. Brandon Cruz lowered his PR to 5:01.45 (previous PR 5:08) and is now knocking on the door of the 5 minute barrier. Mark Orpia ran 4:58.41, a PR by 7 seconds to break the barrier for the first time. Mark is also the 10th boy I’ve coached to run under 5 minutes for the 1600.

Jhesselyn made her debut in the girls 800 with a time of 3:27. Ruth ran a new PR of 3:09 (previous best 3:15). Yesenia Martinez ran the 800 as strength work for her 300 hurdles and ran a solid 3:09 clocking as well. Erika lowered her PR form 3:08 to 3:00.34, a very strong performance for her.

On the boys side, Hugo Marquez ran a seasons best 2:43. Several of the Comet sprinters ran the 800 as strength work as well. Rodolf Ocampo made his 800m debut running 2:32. Geo Campos (the team’s 2nd best 100m runner) ran a 2:26 and placed 2nd in his heat. Melvin ran a seasons best 2:25 in the 800 as he continues to work his way back into shape. Josh Merin ran an impressive debut of 2:21. Josh was in a position to run even faster until he tied up badly with 50 meters to go. Brandon ran a PR of 2:21.36 as well.

Mark Orpia ran a small PR of 2:16.43. The highlight of the day Was Salvador Lopez in the 800. Currently the team’s leader in the High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, 400 and 300 hurdles, Sal strengthened his case to one day be a decathlete by running 2:13. 13 in his very first try at the event. Sal ran the race very well and kicked to victory over the last 100 using his sprint speed.

It was a god day for the Comets and a welcome weekend of rest for much of the team. The team will now gear up for a dual meet at Pioneer on Thursday March 21st. The team will then head to the De Anza Invitational on Saturday March 23rd.

Pioneer will be a huge early matchup. With Evergreen now in the ‘A’ division (14-0 last season) the mantle for best track team figured to be between Pioneer and Lincoln (both 11-3 last season). Lincoln and Pioneer have already had their dual this season, with Pioneer winning both sides.

This may be the team’s toughest meet of the season, and a critical meet as the team attacks a division title on the girls side.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

Comets Open Season with Pair of Victories at Live Oak

The James Lick Track team had their first dual meet of the 2019 season on Thursday March 14th at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill. Originally this was supposed to be a home meet, but with our track being resurfaced, the meet was moved to Live Oak. This is the second year up in the ST (B) division for track, and it marks the first time that the Comets have started 1-0 in the division.

The meet began with the 4×100. The varsity girls team of Mya Hammond, Valeria Gonzalez, Yeimili Adame and Lisbeth Galdamez combined to run 57.04 to take the win, despite the absence of top sprinter Natalie Rem from the team.

The varsity boys team narrowly lost to Live Oak, running a seasons best 46.87 against Live Oak’s 46.54. The team was Geo Campos, Joshua Merin, Misael Herrera and Raven Alcantara. It was Josh’s first time running on the ‘A’ team, showing the team’s depth in the event.

The next event on the track was the 1600. Live Oak took the win, but Arlet Miranda and Belen Sanchez took 2nd and 3rd for the Comets, Belen opening the season at 6:28, her best ever season opening time. Lizbeth Espana managed a huge PR of 6:45, breaking the 7 minute barrier for the first time. Erika Camacho barely missed her PR in 6:51 and the same was true of Ruth Rodriguez and Estefani Herrera. Both girls matched their PRs running 7:08 and 7:15 respectively. Emely Lopez ran 7:33 and Jhesselyn Santos ran a PR of 7:37 to round out the group.

The Comet boys swept the 1600. Mark Orpia, Jerricho Habon and Melvin Estrada packed together to run5:13, 5:14 and 5:17 to complete the sweep. Dekota Castro-lopez and Jose Ruiz took 1st and 2nd on the frosh/soph side.

Valeria Cortez won the varsity girls 100 hurdles in a seasons best 18.29. Yesenia Martinez also ran a season’s best, clocking 19.25 for 2nd place with Live Oak taking 3rd. Rodolf Ocampo took 2nd in the 110 hurdles running 17.90. Brian Baltzar made his debut in the event running 22.40 despite falling on the 9th hurdle. Dekota took 2nd for the frosh/soph side.

The girls 400 saw the 3rd victory of the day for the lady Comets. Yeimili took the victory in 1:09.18 for the event. On the boys side, Misael and Erik Olsvold took 2nd and 3rd both running seasons bests (58.50 and 59.20 respectively). Dekota and Jose went 1-2 again in the frosh/soph 400.

The 100 meter was run with a strong tailwind, and great times resulted from this fact. Natalie Rem ran 13.73 to take 2nd place behind Live Oak State qualifier Karlie Lema. Natalie did not run under 14 seconds last season until April 19th. Lisbeth ran a small PR of 13.94 for 3rd place. Lisbeth also didn’t run under 14 until April 19th last season. More PRs followed. Azalea Galinato ran 14.80, a massive PR. Valeria ran 14.91, a strong season opener. Chantrea Thach missed her PR by only .04, running 15.48. Araceli Mejia was close behind in 15.53. Maria Sanchez and Regine Valecruz ran 17.54 and 18.00 to round out the team. Much of the team is already at their best shape from last season, and the team is poised for big things because of this fact.

On the boys side, results continued to be good. Raven and Geo combined for a 1-2 in the 100, with both boys running PRS. Raven ran 11.72 (beating his previous PR of 11.79) and Geo ran 11.87 (beating his previous best of 11.97). These two are poised to be the best tandem of sprinters James Lick has seen in years.

Jamie Vong and Angel Guerrero both ran huge PRS of 12.64 and 12.70 respectively. Adrian DeLaRosa ran a season’s best 12.98 and Alexis Sarellano made his debut in 13.86. Jordan Laguna made his debut running 12.57 to take 2nd in the frosh/soph 100. This is an excellent debut time for Jordan, one of the faster freshmen we’ve seen in years. The number of boys who’ve run under 13 seconds in the 100m dash this season for James Lick currently sits at 10 only 2 weeks into the season. This is the highest number of sub 13 runners James Lick has had in over a decade. Good things are ahead for the sprint corps.

Arlet took the win in the girls 800 with Mya and Ashley taking 2nd and 3rd in season bests of 3:01. Lizbeth ran a PR of 3:09 in 4th place. On the boys side, Jerricho and Mark were run down by Luke Sandberg of Live Oak.  They all finished at 2:17.

The lady Comets swept the 300 hurdles, with Arlet, Valeria Cortez and Yesenia doing the honors. Valeria opened her season with a 56.41 clocking, and Yesenia ran a seasons best 59.23. On the boys side, Rodolf took 2nd again with a PR of 47.67. Brian took 3rd in 50.24 despite falling down at the last hurdle.

In the 200, Natalie and Lis again combined for a 2-3 finish behind Karlie Lema. Natalie ran a seasons best 30.18 and Lis just missed her 200m PR running 30.39. Mya ran a huge PR of 31.28, taking more than a second off of her previous best. Azalea opened her season by running 31.93. Jenny Fimbres ran a PR of 33.04, as did Chantrea who ran 33.17. Araceli rounded out the day for the lady Comet sprint crew running 33.69.

Live Oak netted a sweep on the boys side, though Geo Campos ran a PR of 24.84 for 4th place. It was Geo’s first time running under 25 seconds for the event. Misael ran a seasos best of 25.28 as well. Angel ran a PR of 25.83, breaking 26 for the first time.

Live Oak took the win in the 3200 with Ruth and Emely taking 2nd and 3rd. The Comet boys managed another distance sweep with Mark, Brandon and Melvin combining to run away with the 2 mile.

The 4×400 was a victory for Live Oak on both sides. The Comet boys ran very well however. Misael, Jerricho, Erik and Salvador Lopez combined to run 3:48.77. This is the first time since I’ve been coaching that the team ran under 3:50 on their first try of the season. The girls team of Lizbeth, Belen, Yeimili and Arlet opened up their season at 4:53.24.

Erik Olsvold handing off to Salvador Lopez on the final leg of the 4×400

With the running events over, the girls were up big on Live Oak, but the Acorn boys were up 42-40 on the Comet boys, making the field events absolutely vital.

The first field event to finish was the pole vault. Rodolf Ocampo and Mark Orpia both went over 9-0 to take 1st and 2nd. Adrian cleared 8-0 for the first time to take 3rd. This sweep put the Comets up 49-42.

The boys Shot Put was another story. Neither team was particularly strong in boys throws, but Live Oak swept the event to go up 51-49 in the scoring. Isaac Ortega made his debut for the Comets and scored in frosh/soph with a throw of 29-2. Valeria won the girls event with a seasons best 31-6 and Maquise Nelson threw 26-9 for 3rd. Valeria won the girls discus and Adriana Marcelino took 3rd with a toss of 58-4, scoring the first point of her varsity career and extending the lady Comet lead further. Josh Merin took 3rd in boys discus for the Comets with a PR of 88-2.

With all track event and throws completed, the score on the boys side was 59-50 Live Oak. The Comets were able to grab victory on the strength of a great performance in the jumps however. Sal took 1st in the boys high jump going 5-6. He had an even better jump in the boys long jump.

After struggling with consistency all meet, Sal put it all together on his final attempt, going a whopping 20-1, a PR by over a foot to handily win the meet. Sal’s jump is the best jump by a Comet in my 6 years of coaching, and speaks volumes of high exciting this season is likely to be for Sal. Geo also managed a huge PR, going 18-11. Raven managed a small PR of 18-7.5 to finish the sweep for James Lick.

For reference, last season the Comets did not have an 18 foot long jumper. In 2017 and 2016 the team had two. Add in Angel going 18-0 for the first time and the Comets have 5 already this season, just 1 dual meet in! I want to acknowledge that Live Oak’s sandpit was slightly descended, providing an advantage in the horizontal jumps, but I believe the team will prove these marks are no Aberration in the weeks to come.

Maquise took the win in the long jump in her first ever try at the event, going 14-9. Natalie took 2nd in 13-9, a solid season opener. Jordan went 16-10 to win the frosh/soph long jump in his first try at the event. Bryan Rodriguez also competed but did not achieve a mark.

In the triple jump, Sal won again (his 3rd win of the day) with a PR of 38-0.25. Raven took 2nd in 37-4, a seasons best. Live Oak took 3rd. Adrian and Angel made their debuts in the event going 32-7 and 31-6 respectively. Angel continually scratched throughout the competition and will go much further with a little practice.

In the girls triple jump, Natalie claimed the win in 31-6 a strong season opener. Yesenia managed a PR of 28-8 for 2nd.

When all was said and done, the scores were as follows.

Varsity Girls: 

James Lick: 84

Live Oak: 42

Varsity Boys: 

James Lick: 73

Live Oak: 59

Frosh/Soph Boys: 

James Lick: 42

Live Oak: 29

It was a very good day for the Comets. 25 PRS at the first dual meet of the year from only 46 athletes. Perhaps having a track to practice on is overrated. (Just kidding, I desperately want our track to be finished soon).

Some of the team’s distance runners will head up to Dublin for the Dublin Distance Fiesta on March 16th.

The 1-0 Comet teams will receive a big test on Thursday March 21st at Pioneer. Pioneer defeated the Comets on both sides a year ago, and only lost on the boys side last year to Evergreen, the ‘B’ division champs.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

 

 

 

Comets Begin Season with Willow Glen Invitational

As has become tradition over the past few seasons, the James Lick track team began their season with competition at the Willow Glen Invitational. Another tradition continued as for the 4th consecutive year, athletes had to compete through some amount of rain and wet conditions at the invite. The morning rain yielded to fair conditions in the afternoon, and when the dust settled, 34 Comets opened their seasons.

The conditions and early season status of the meet kept the competition numbers lower than normal, and it also weakened the marks/times achieved across the board. Nonetheless, overall the team competed very well, placing highly in a number of areas.

The meet began with the 4×100. The varsity team of Geo Campos, Salvador Lopez, Misael Herrera and Raven Alcantara clocked in at 47.71 to place 4th overall and win their heat. While the time isn’t extremely fast, not many fast times were produced in the 4×100 in general, and the team competed well against some consistently good teams. This 47 second opening time is also the fastest season opening 4×100 time the team ahs achieved since I’ve been coaching. For reference, last year at Willow Glen the team ran 49.25 and by the end of the season ran 45.50. With that in mind, the 47.71 in the rain is very encouraging.

Misael Herrera hands off the baton to Raven Alcantara on the final leg of the 4×100

The next event on the track was the 1600. The Comets sent a large group of frosh/soph girls to compete, fresh off their JV undefeated season in cross country. Erika Camacho lead the group in 6:50, a PR by 12 seconds, her first time cracking the 7 minute barrier (always a big moment). Ruth Rodriguez ran a 12 second PR as well, clocking in at 7:07. Newcomer Lizbeth Espana ran a very solid 1600 debut of 7:09 just behind Ruth. Estefani Herrera, Mariana Perez, Emely Lopez and Francine Estranero also competed but are still working themselves into shape.

The frosh/soph girls before the race

Ashley Preciado made her season debut running 6:56. While this is not near her PR of 6:09, it actually is 2 seconds ahead of her time from last year. The varsity boys 1600 saw two strong early season performances. Mark Orpia ran a 1 second PR of 5:05.62 and Brandon Cruz ran a 6 second PR of 5:08.81. Both boys are way ahead of where they were a year ago and are poised to break the 5 minute barrier very soon.

Around this time the rain broke, allowing for better conditions for the hurdles. Valeria Cortez and Yesenia Martinez both competed, though not with great results. On the boys side, both Rodolf Ocampo and Mark (fresh off of his mile PR) ran under 19 seconds for the first time in the 110 hurdles.

Several Comets competed in field events during this time as well. Josh Merin cleared 5-0 in high jump for the first time in an official meet. A year ago at this time, Josh only managed to go 4-6. Sal cleared 5-4, much better than the 4-10 he managed a year ago. Both boys medaled in the shallow high jump field. Raven lead the team in the triple jump, with a leap of 36-9.5 Sal was next in 35-9.5 and Jamie Vong went 35-6. For reference, last season Raven and Sal opened the season at 33 feet each, so they are well ahead of where they were a year ago.

The 100m dash saw several strong showings from Comets as well. Raven won his heat in a time of 12.02 matching his seasons best. The next heat, Geo ran 12.13 a seasons best and the 2nd best time of his career. Sal won his heat in a big PR of 12.41 (Sal rarely runs the 100 but had never run under 13 before). Rodolf also netted a sizable PR, stopping the clock at 12.54 ( his first time under 13 as well). Josh Merin ran 12.64, a PR by nearly 2 tenths of a second. Adrian DeLaRosa ran a seasons debut of 13.04 and Angel Guerrero ran 13.06 for a small PR. The Comet Sprint corps are looking much better than they did at this time last year.  Last year only two Comets ran under 13 seconds at the WG invite, compared to a full 5 this year with two more under 13.1.

On the girls side, Jenny Fimbres made her debut running a solid 15.67. Krissy Aguja ran 17.50 for her first time at the event. Emily De Dios made her debut running 17.22. Marquise Nelson made her debut for the team and ran 16.12. Valeria lead the lady sprinters in 15.07. Marquise is the school’s star basketball and volleyball player, and we are excited to see what she can do in track (she played softball before this year).

The 800m was next and with it, the large group of frosh/soph girls took to the track again. Mya Hammond ran 3:05, 3 seconds better than her clocking here a year ago. Erika was not far behind, running a 3 second PR of 3:08. Lizbeth just missed her PR running 3:15 and Ruth ran 3:16 in her debut in the event. Mariana Perez and Estefani Herrera came in at 3:25 and 3:26 (both girls are about 10 seconds better than they were at this time a year ago). Emely Lopez stopped the clock at 3:28 and Francine at 3:34.

Ashley Preciado ran 3:05 for the 800, 5 seconds ahead of what she ran last year at this time. Arlet Miranda took 3rd place overall, the highest finish of the day for any Comet in a running event. She ran 2:33.76, her fastest ever season debut in the 800 and she did it as a negative split.

On the boys side, Jerricho Habon ran 2:13.10 to lead the Comets. He missed his PR by only .2, but last year he did not run 2:13 until mid April. Mark managed his 3rd PR on the day, running 2:16 to lop a second off his personal best. Melvin Estrada and Brandon ran 2:26 and 2:27 respectively. Hugo Marquez rounded out the team in 2:43.

More field events continued during this time. Rodolf managed a new PR in the pole vault, going 9-6. This is the best mark by any Comet since we re-established pole vault last year. Mark matched his PR of 9-0 as well. In the long jump, Jamie Vong managed a massive PR of 18-0. This was a PR by over a foot and he was one of only 5 boys to jump 18 feet on the chilly day. Raven, Josh, Geo and Angel also competed in the long jump.

Jamie on his big PR jump 

In the girls high jump, Yesenia cleared 4-4, much better than last year when she did not make a height. Marquise went 4-0 on her first go at the event. In the throwing events, Adriana Marcelino threw 18-6 in Shot Put and 58-10 in Discus. The discus throw is 6 feet better than her willow glen mark from last year. Marquise had an impressive debut in the shot put throwing  26-9.5, placing 8th overall. Valeria placed 4th with a throw of 30 feet even.

The highlight of the field events was Valeria throwing 108-11 in girls discus. This is by far the best she’s ever thrown to start the season, and the mark was good to make her the meet champion in girls discus.

The final two events with Comets competing were the 300 hurdles and the 200. Arlet ran a PR of 55.82 in the 300 hurdles. Yesenia ran 1:03.28, slightly better than last year even though her block gave out and she slipped at the beginning of the race. On the boys side, Rodolf managed a 4th PR on the day by running 48.47 for the 300 hurdles. Luis also competed in the event.

Valeria releasing the discus on her meet winning throw. 

The long day finally ended with the 200. Jenny and Emily made their debuts running 34.28 and 36.87 respectively. Natalie Rem opened her season with a 30.93 clocking. On the boys side, Geo lead the group in 25.99. Misael was not far behind in 26.23, faster than his 26.5 season opener from last year. Jerricho ran 26.13 taking a big chunk off of his PR. He is much faster than he was at this time a year ago when he ran 27.20 for the 200.

Jerricho during his 200m PR

It was a successful first meet for the Comets. The team netted 20 PRS, The team finished in 7th place on the varsity boys side and 8th place on the varsity girls side out of the 31 teams in attendance. Not bad considering we still don’t have a track to practice on.

Some of the Comets may head to Westmont HS on Saturday March 9th for the K-bell invitational depending on training and weather this week. Either way the Comets will open their league season on March 14th against Live Oak HS. This is scheduled as a home meet, but will likely be at Live Oak as construction on our track is still ongoing.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

Comets Shake Off Rust at Los Gatos All Comers Meet

The James Lick Track team sent 24 members of its team to compete in the Los Gatos All Comers meet on Saturday February 23rd. The meet was a rustbuster for the team, providing a low-key setting for the athletes to get back in the groove of things before official meets begin.

The meet saw several encouraging early season results for the team. To begin, the Comets top two 100m sprinters competed in the long jump, each just taking two attempts. Raven Alcantara went 18-5, a PR by more than a foot, a great sign heading into the season. Geo Campos went 17-0 in his very first try at the event, a solid starting point.

 

Geo Campos jumping a PR of 17-0 in long jump 

 

In the high jump, Yesenia Martinez cleared 4-2. Yesenia’s PR is 4-6, but last year she could not clear 4-0 at this point in the season so this is a solid result. Josh Merin cleared 5-0 for the first time in the event and Salvador Lopez went 5-4 to lead the Comets on an off-day by his standards.

The first track event for the Comets was the 800, where several distance running Comets tested their fitness. Brandon Cruz clocked in at 2:30 in a relatively relaxed effort, still just 5 seconds off of his PR. Jessica Cervantes lead the lady Comets in 3:00 with Ashley Preciado not far behind in 3:04. These two ladies will be asked to form a strong core of distance runners this season after coming off of a strong cross country season.

Erika Camacho managed a massive PR of 3:11, taking almost 20 seconds off of he previous best. Lizbeth Espana had a strong debut running 3:14 for the event in her first ever try. Estefani Herrera struggled to a 3:34 but this is still ahead of her best clocking from last year at this time.

The 60 meter hurdles were next. Yesenia Martinez clocked in at 12.18 a PR by nearly two seconds. They ran the boys event as the 60 meter hurdles as well, unlike the typical 65 meter run. Rodolf Ocampo clocked in at 9.97 for the event with Mark Orpia at 10.48. Even adjusting for the extra meters, this was a very solid debut for both boys, and they could go along way towards ensuring the loss of Cody Huoch does not sink the team in the hurdles.

The Comets had more to feel good about in the 100 meter dash. Raven stopped the clock at 12.02. Raven’s PR is 11.79 set last season at our final dual meet in late April. For reference however, he started last season at the Willow Glen Invite at 12.92 and did not run under 12.5 until April 19th. Raven is in a very good place heading into the season, poised to be a legitimate sprint presence for the team this season.

Geo also showed strong stuff, running 12.27. This is considerably better than Geo’s 12.85 season opener from last season. This duo of juniors will be heavily relied upon by the team. Misael Herrera made his season debut by running 13.02 despite tightening up, and Angel Guerrero made a solid debut for the team running 13.07 in his first ever track meet.  Krystal Tran made her debut in the event, running 16.95.

Sal lead the Comets in the 400 with a season opening time of 57.43. Sal’s PR is 56.02 and his season opener last year was 59.5, showing Sal is in a solid place as things stand. Josh made his 400m debut running 1:00.47. The Comets should have a number of options in the 4×400 this season.Mya Hammond and Jessica ran 1:16 and 1:17 respectively in the 400. Yesenia clocked in at 1:21.

Next up on the track was a heat of the 1500 followed by a heat of the mile. Brandon Cruz clocked in at 4:56 for the 1500, which translates to roughly a 5:14 1600m time, which would equal Brandon’s PR. In the mile (9 meters longer than the 1600 run in High School), Jerricho Habon ran 5:11 which would be a more than 5 second PR and Mark Opria stopped the clock at 5:16 after a rough final lap. These 3 Comet boys are in a good place to start the season, and all 3 figure to attack the 5 minute barrier very soon.

On the girls side, the Comets were lead by Ruth Rodriguez in 7:21, narrowly missing her PR. Emely Lopez and Jana Kikia had solid early season showings running 7:33 and 7:43 respectively.

The Comet sprinters took to the 60 metr dash next. The 60 is a great way to work on the drive phase/ block start for sprinters, and several Comets had already run it earlier this season to check their fitness. Raven again lead the team with a new PR of 7.41, considerably better than the 7.67 he clocked last month and the best 60 meter time of any Comet since I’ve bene coaching. Geo was next in at 7.60, his first time running the event. Sal managed a slight PR of 7.83, bettering his time of 7.85 from last month, impressive considering he didn’t run the 400 beforehand at his first try.

Josh lowered his PR form 8.20 to 7.93 and Angel made his debut in the event and clocked in at 8.12. Jessica and Mya are focused primarily on distance running, but they both lowered their PRS by more than a 10th of a second as well, running 9.29 and 9.34 respectively.

The final track event on the day for the Comets was the 200, and it was more encouragement for the boy sprinters. Geo managed a PR of 25.05, beating his previous best of 25.37 handily. Sal ran the 200 rarely last year, and managed a huge PR of 25.51 (previous best 26.37). Rodolf ran 25.98, a  PR by nearly a full second as well.  Angel had a solid debut of 26.44 and Jerricho ran a PR of 26.47 to end the Comets track day.

Ariana Marcelino threw the Discus 52 feet in her season opener, the only Comet to throw at the meet.

The Comets left the meet with a lot of things to feel good about especially on the boys side.  The Comets will be getting huge reinforcements on the girls side as Winter sports just ended this past week.

The girls basketball team made it to 2nd round of CCS, and the team’s top 2 returning sprinters, Natalie Rem and Lisbeth Galdamez should be out to join the team now that the season is over.

The team will get resident superstar Valeria Cortez as well. Valeria placed 3rd at CCS finals in wrestling and competed at the State meet this past weekend. Her addition will be a big boon for the team.

We are also navigating the fact that our track is under construction, the hope is it will be completed in a few weeks but currently we are doing the best we can to train without the use of our track.

The team will head to Independence for an all comers style scrimmage meet this Thursday February 28th. Some of the team will then take to the Willow Glen Invitational on Saturday March 2nd for the official season opener.

Track season is just about here!

Thanks for reading,

-Benny Reeves

 

 

 

 

James Lick Track 2019 Season Preview: Year 2 In The ‘B’ Division

The James Lick track team is conditioning now ahead of what will be it’s second year of competition in the Santa Teresa (‘B’) division of the BVAL in track and field. A year ago in my season preview, I said that our goal was simply to go 5-9 between the boys and girls sides, to prove we belonged in the division. We exceeded that goal by going 6-8, just one win shy of a .500 record. The team of 2018 was the largest track team I’ve coached, with a max total of 69 athletes competing for James Lick in our dual against Pioneer last year. We were also able to re-institute pole vault at James Lick for the first time in decades. Coach Raul Lopez managed to help two Comet boys advance to BVAL finals in the event.

BVAL Shakeup

Last season, the combined records in the division looked like this:

1. Evergreen: 14-0 

2. Pioneer: 11-3

3. Lincoln: 11-3

4. James Lick: 6-8

5. Prospect: 6-8 

6. Piedmont Hills: 5-9

7. Sobrato: 2-10

8. Oak Grove: 1-13

Normally the BVAL stays pretty stagnant, but things were shaken up after this season. Evergreen was dominant. Their closest dual meet was decided by more than 20 points, and they were the outright winners of several invitationals. They moved up to the ‘A’ division with Mt. Pleasant moving all the way down to the ‘C’ division, and Live Oak moved up to join us in the ‘B’ division.

The makeup of the division is much different without Evergreen. Live Oak will look to make an impact with some very impressive young talent.

With year 2 on the horizon, the Comets are working towards their first winning season in the ‘B’ division, and we have our sights set in attacking a ‘B’ division title on the girls side outright. While the girls team of 2018 only went 3-4, it finished very strong. We opened the season with 4 straight losses then finished with 3 straight wins. At Division finals last year, the lady Comets finished 2nd overall, only losing to dominant division champions.

This strong performance on the girls side showed the potential the team has for a title chase, and 2019 figures to be an exciting season with the team more prepared for the thralls of the Santa Teresa division.

Girls Season Preview (Boys Below) 

Areas of Strength/ Areas of Weakness. 

Last year, the team’s league points breakdown was as follows:

Event Group	Average Points Per Dual Meet	Points Available Per Meet	Average Points as percentage of Available	League Finals Points
Distance	10.7	27	40%	5
Hurdles	12.5	18	69%	22
Jumps	12.5	27	46%	12
Relays	3.5	10	35%	6
Sprints	7.7	27	28%	2
Throws	16.7	18	93%	48

Top returning girls

On the girls side, the team’s weakest area was sprints. That being said, it was actually the best sprint corps the team has had on the girls side in some time, it was primarily the greater strength of the ‘B’ division that created the low point total. The year before in 2017, the lady Comets had 32% of available sprint points. That total barely dropped as the team moved up to a substantially more difficult division. The team will be counting on a few key athletes in these events to take the next step. Furthermore, the team ran the best 4×100 that James Lick has managed since 1993. It did so with a team that contained no seniors or juniors. There is great reason to be optimistic about 2019.

The distance team also will look to improve. Similar to the sprint squad, the Comets are returning all of their best distance athletes. The team scored 40% of points available, a respectable total in a year where we only managed a 1-6 record in cross country. This school year we went 5-2 in cross country, and I think this greater XC success will translate into greater distance results in track.

Jumps are an area of focus as well. While the team’s top 2 triple jumpers are back (both scored  at division finals) the team lost the stalwart of presence of Lyndel Ventura. Lyndel moved up to #4 on the school’s all time long jump list with a leap of 16-7.25 last year, and her graduation leaves a bit of a void in the event. The team will also look to improve in high jump, with their 3 top athletes returning (all were sophomores last year). Last but not least, a major deciding factor in the title race will be the Comets ability to produce lady pole vaulters. Only a handful of girls pole vaulted in the entire division last year, which could give the Comets a big advantage if they succeed.

The Comets were very strong in hurdles, with a returning division champion in the 100 hurdles and the top returning 300m hurdler in the division as well. With the team’s top 3 hurdlers returning, it should be another great area of strength for the team.

Throws have been absolutely dominant for James Lick over the past few seasons. The case could be made that we were the best girls throws team in the entire BVAL. We produced 3 CCS qualifiers in throws for 2 consecutive years, but we are likely to take a hit in throws this year. While the team returns Valeria Cortez, as by far the division’s #1 ranked discus thrower, the loss of Charli Chircop and Alejandra Ceron, ( the school record holders in discus and shot put respectively ) will make this area more challenging. We will need some younger lady Comets to step up.

Key Comet Athletes 

We’ll be counting on the contributions of many different athletes, but below are a few of our most critical returning athletes. 

Valeria Cortez: While I would love more data to have more athletes to compare her to, as it currently stands, Valeria is likely the 2nd best female track athlete in school history. (She certainly is based on the records I have).  She is the only James Lick athlete I know of to have qualified for CCS trials in 3 different individual events. Based on last season, among returners she is ranked #1 in girls discus (112-8, while 2nd is at 100-8) , #2 in the girls 100 hurdles (16.88), and #3 in girls shot put (33-7). Her 300 hurdles PR is better than all but 1 girl in the division as well. To make things more interesting, Valeria is only a few feet behind the current school discus record.

Arlet Miranda: Arlet has had a very string career, plagued with injuries. Whenever healthy, she’s been a force for the team. As a sophomore, she became the first girl in school history to make CCS outright in the 800 (and she wasn’t fully healthy at the time). She is coming off of only her 2nd XC season to be injury free, and is poised for a big season if she can continue that. She is ranked #4 in both the 1600 and 800, and #6 in the 3200.  She is also #2 in school history in all 3 distance events, making this an exciting year in terms of potential school records.

Natalie Rem: As a freshmen last season, Natalie took the division by storm. She was primarily focused on jumps for most of the season, but came on very strong as a sprinter by the end of the season. She is the #3 returning triple jumper with a PR of 33-1. She is also ranked #8 in long jump (15-1) and #3 in the 100 at 13.49. That 100m PR put her 9th place in school history, and she is by far the fastest girl we’ve had since I’ve been coaching. Natalie could be a force for this team if she continues to develop her sophomore season.

Kirsten Yutuc: Kirsten has two consecutive BVAL qualifications in the 300 hurdles, and she took major strides last season. With Evergreen gone, Kirsten stands as the best 300 hurdler in the division with a PR of 51.80. Kirsten is a very versatile athlete. She is on the top 14 rankings of more events than any athlete in the entire division. She is a threat in all 3 sprint events. She is ranked top 10 in both Long Jump (14-9) and Triple Jump (30-9.5) and she is ranked #4 in the 100 hurdles (18.22).

Yesenia Martinez: Yesenia was our most improved athlete as a sophomore last season. While she was only our 10th best sprinter, by the end of the season she qualified for BVALS in the 100 hurdles. She is ranked 6th in that event (18.43) 6th  in teh 300 hurdles (54.72) and tied for 4th in High Jump at 4-6. We will be looking for Yesenia to hit the ground running this season.

Boys Season Preview

Areas of Strength/ Areas of Weakness. 

Last year, the team’s league points breakdown was as follows:

Event Group	Average Points Per Dual Meet	Points Available Per Meet	Average Points as percentage of Available	League Finals Points
Distance	16.5	27	61%	10
Hurdles	9.7	18	54%	6
Jumps	10	27	37%	3
Relays	2.86	10	28%	9
Sprints	7.6	27	28%	0
Throws	6.28	18	35%	4

 

Top returning boys

The team’s strongest area a year ago was distance. This isn’t too surprising since the cross country team was already competing in the ‘B’ division, but the loss of top runner Azael Zamora does leave a void. Younger Comets will have to step up, but the team will need to use depth to overcome the loss of a top-notch runner.

Hurdles were the 2nd best area, primarily because of Cody Huoch. With Cody also graduated (now competing at San Jose City College) the team will need to find some new hurdlers, and we aren’t drawing from a position of strength the way that we are in distance. Finding new hurdlers is a key to success this season.

The sprints and jumps squads should be radically improved this year, and that is an area of excitement for us. While we took only 28% of points in sprints, and 37% of points in jumps, the vast majority of our top athletes are back and looking strong. By the end of the season, the team was much better in these events, and will look to build on a strong finish by their sophomore athletes.

Throws are the biggest area of concern at present. We netted 35% of points last year, but virtually all of those points graduated with Daniel Medina and Josh Garcia. Last year the frosh/soph boys scored only 10% of possible throws points. The team desperately needs reinforcements in throws, this is a critical area of improvement for this season.

Key Comet Athletes 

We’ll be counting on the contributions of many different athletes, but below are a few of our most critical returning athletes. 

Salvador Lopez: Sal was one of our top athletes in his sophomore season. He was the starting Quarterback for the varsity team this year, and has gotten much more explosive through working out and natural growth. For example, last season his High jump PR was 5-2. At an all comers meet earlier this month, Sal jumped 5-8 despite the fact that he hasn’t practiced high jump in months. One can only wonder what improvements he’ll show in other events. He was already ranked as the #6 returning triple jumper (37-8.5) and #10 returning long jumper (17-10). He’s also just 1 spot off the list in the 400 but I suspect Sal will be a great athlete for us across the board this year.

Raven Alcantara: By the end of last season, Raven was our top sprinter. He ended the season with a 100m PR of 11.79, the #6 returning 100m runner in the division. Raven has always struggled to double and we are focusing on helping him be more capable of running the 200 as well. He is also ranked 7th in the boys triple jump (37-8). Raven and Sal both decided not to play basketball this season in order to focus on track and this could mean big things for their development.

Erik Olsvold: Erik’s career has been up and down. As a sophomore, he was poised to be a tremendous distance runner, winning the ‘B’ division championship in XC and the 3200 title in the ‘C’ division in track. Injuries kept him out most of his junior year, but in a period 3 weeks, Erik went from not being able to job without pain, to placing 6th at division finals in the 800. Erik’s focus will be the 400/800 this season, and he is determined to go out on a high note.

Conclusion: 

We are very optimistic about the 2019 season. We will need to be creative over the next few weeks as our track and field is being resurfaced. The expectation is that we will host our first home meet on March 15th against Live Oak on a brand new track.

Official practice begins tomorrow!

Thanks for reading,

-Benny Reeves