Discus in hand, sophomore Paige Hansen bent her knees and found her comfortable footing. She placed her free hand under the discus, bent her fingers slightly and swung her arm. The discus landed 104’ 06”, a distance that garnered her 19th place at the CCS trials held at Gilroy High on May 21.
The throw was not enough to qualify for CCS Finals, but was an improvement from the 102’ 06” throw that had given her a spot at the CCS trials and second place at the SCVAL meet.
Hansen was one of seven Saratoga High athletes who placed in the top six in their respective events at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) meet that took place on May 13 at Los Gatos High; their stellar performances earned them spots at CCS trials, but none qualified for CCS finals on May 27.
With the exception of Hansen and senior shot putter Tanner Zuleeg, the Falcons fared better at the SCVAL meet than at CCS Trials. Senior Matthew Peterson placed sixth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:59, achieving his goal of a sub 2-minute race, whereas at CCS trials he ran 2:02. At the SCVAL meet sophomore Chloe McGhee placed fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 47.18 seconds.
McGhee said she felt she had a good race at the SCVAL meet, especially with her poor lane assignment.
“I went into the SCVAL meet feeling very nervous, but realized that I just had to run and beat the girls around me,” McGhee said.
Senior Vincent Faylor was a favorite to place high at the SCVAL meet for the 300-meter hurdles, but fell during the race and lost his spot in the top six. However, he did compete in the 110-meter hurdles event at CCS trials. Sophomore high jumper Riley Carter, senior discus thrower Jatin Mohanty and Zuleeg also qualified for CCS trials, though Mohanty did not end up competing.
Last year, the girls’ team only sent two athletes to the SCVAL meet. This year, it sent nine: Also qualifying besides Carter, Hansen and McGhee were senior sprinters Kimberly Chen and Fiona Sequeira; junior sprinter Celine Bellegarda, sophomore Priya Chaganti, a 300-meter hurdler, sophomore long jumper Valerie Yang and freshman 800-meter runner Sasha Pickard.
On the boys’ team, besides Faylor, Mohanty, Peterson and Zuleeg, senior distance runner Stephen Law and senior triple jumper Brandon Hulme; junior thrower Tristan Bush and junior Kyle Jew, who ran as part of the 4x400m relay team; and sophomore sprinters Alexander Hawks, Jaijit Singh and Will Turpin competed.
A factor that has contributed to the team’s improvement this year has been the relationship between the coach and athletes. They said they enjoyed working with head coach Archie Ljepava and 2015 alumna and sprint coach Avery Gigoux.
“Coach Ljepava always gives us his infamous pep talk before meets to ‘Go get it!,’ and during races, he tells us there’s a runner right behind us, even if there’s not, to push us through the pain,” Sequeira said.
As the season approaches its end, the seniors on the team felt grateful for the opportunities they received to reach their highest potential.
“The coaches kept the mood light and helped us improve,” Sequeira said. “I bonded with so many people and those unexpected friendships just added to an overall great season.”