Shoulder and back muscles straining, junior shot-putter Connor Clarke held the cold, 12-pound shot put against his neck, spun to build up momentum, then hurled the massive lead ball down the range, falling only an inch and a half short of qualifying for CCS finals.
Clarke threw his personal best of 48’4.5,” placing ninth in the CCS trials on May 23, falling just over one inch away from finishing eighth place and moving on to the CCS finals.
“[Eighth place] was the last guy and it depended on him, and he threw it an inch and a half farther [than I did],” said Clarke.
As disappointing as this was for Clarke, other members had more luckl in the trials. The team had two athletes who qualified for CCS finals on May 29, seniors Alan Menezes and Kian Banks. Menezes ran the 1600m, getting a new personal record of 4:24.27 and finished in fifth place. Banks won his heat and in 1:56.66, putting him in third place, easily qualifying for the finals. [The Falcon was not able to publish the results of CCS finals due to printing deadlines].
“My goal right now is to win CCS finals,” said Banks. “I think I have a very good chance at being top three and going to state.”
Banks has a rival who has been a close competitor all season, Jake Arveson of Monterey High, who he beat in the CCS trials and looks forward to racing in the finals.
“[Arveson] beat me pretty badly earlier this year but I got revenge by running faster than him in the trials,” said Banks. “I want to beat him in the finals.”
Due to a schedule conflict with senior prom, the 4x400m relay team didn’t do as well as they hoped. Menezes and Banks both went to the prom, leaving relay team members junior Trevor Teerlink and sophomore Matt Cresci with new teammates junior Matt Marshall and freshman Troy Doles.
“The [relay] team got rocked because we didn’t have [Menezes] and [Banks],” said Teerlink. “[Marshall] and [Doles] stepped up and did the best that they could and that’s just how it goes.”
Boys track had a successful year, sending Banks, Menezes, Teerlink, Marshall, Clarke, Cresci and Doles to CCS trials and Banks and Menezes to the finals. New strength, conditioning and track coach Andy Arness and returning distance coach Jerry Banks inspired the athletes to that success.
“I think this year’s coaching staff has been awesome and we’re really benefiting from it,” said Banks. “I’ve seen how much all the coaches helped their specific athletes, so they all deserve a lot of credit.”
