For the first time since 2016, the school hosted the El Camino League (ECL) trials and finals last week on April 30 and May 3.
The home field advantage proved to be an important factor, with seniors Dylan Sordello, Dylan Wilson, Natalie Zaragoza and Clara Zhao; juniors Matthew Liu and Cole Mason; sophomores Aimee Chen, Benjamin Zinman and Joseph Zhao and freshmen Claire Hou, Elise Hubert, Sherlyn Jung and Chelsea Liang all advancing to SCVAL for their individual performances. Additionally, all relay teams — the 4×100, 4×400 and 4×800 distances — will be competing this Saturday on May 10 at Los Gatos High.
Senior Natalie Zaragoza qualifies for SCVALs in the 100- and 200- meter events
Last season, after missing SCVALs due to sickness, Zaragoza had to contact other qualifiers and race against them separately. Despite this setback, she managed to beat her competitors and advance to CCS. This year, Zaragoza dealt with an achilles injury and was unsure how well she would fare in her events.
“I didn’t think that I would PR with my injury, but I continued putting in the hard work,” Zaragoza said. “But the past couple meets, I have been performing really well and have been able to PR again.”
At ECL trials, she set a personal record in the 100-meter with a blistering time of 12.47 and set a season record in the 200-meter in 25.58. She took first in the 100-meter finals with a time of 12.49 and second in the 200-meter finals with a time of 25.66.
She added, “Moving forward to SCVALs and CCS, I hope I can PR again and qualify for CCS finals.”
Freshman Claire Hou advances to SCVALs in the 3,200-meter
Hou has had an impressive start to her high school career, placing fourth at leagues in the varsity girls 1,600-meter with a time of 5:24.65, a personal record; in the 3,200-meter race, she ran 11:57.99.
She has been training since 7th grade but largely credits her success this season to the intensive coaching under SHS coach Amanda Follmar’s guidance.
“High school track has been really fun especially since I’ve improved a lot doing harder workouts,” Hou said. “The speed work with Coach Follmar has definitely been really helpful for my performance.”
Hou is set to compete in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter events at SCVALs.
Senior Dylan Wilson advances to SCVALs in the 100-meter
Wilson broke his personal record of 11.24, set last season in March, running a 11.21 in the 100-meter dash at league finals. Wilson also ran the 4×100-meter relay, 200-meter dash and 4×400-meter relay. While he did not qualify for SVCALs in the 200-meter dash, both relays qualified with the Falcons placing third in the 4×400-meter.
For Wilson, his personal record in the 100-meter was a huge achievement, as he struggled throughout the whole season to overcome results he saw as mediocre.
“I had to trust the process,” Wilson said. “I started off pretty bad this season, but I pushed through and got a lot better towards league trials and finals. I had to make sure to not be disappointed with myself, and in the end it paid off as I PR’d.”
While Wilson’s original goal this year was to break 11 seconds in the 100-meter dash, he still believes his season was beneficial. He attributes a lot of his success to the two new coaches this year, Archie Ljepava and Rick Ellis, who improved his training methods.
Moving forward, Wison will compete in the 100-meter, 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relay on Saturday as his final track race.
Sophomore JV thrower Kyle Liu wins discus
Aside from SCVAL qualifiers, sophomore Kyle Liu won JV ECL league finals for discus, one of his two field events. Liu placed 12 in shot put and first in discus. His discus throw was also a personal record of 88 feet and 3 inches, which he attributed to his preparation for the event.
“I was able to take an hour break from shot put, so I felt rejuvenated afterwards,” Liu said. “That helped me a lot when throwing because I could actually focus on throwing and had the strength, [which is] probably why I PR’d.”
While he hasn’t reached his goal of throwing past 90 feet in discus yet, Liu believes that spending more time in the weight room and continuing his technique training will allow him to achieve his goals. Liu feels much of his success this season has come from off-season technique training as well as gaining more confidence in the ring. His technique training has helped him realize the drastic difference from when he’s doing a wind-up spin for a throw properly versus when he’s not. He has gained confidence by training eight hours a week, and the movements now feel second nature for him..
Liu has an ambitious goal for next season: He aims to throw 120 feet, a whole 30 feet increase.
With numerous athletes gearing up for SCVALs on Saturday at Los Gatos, the next hurdle will be CCS qualification.
“At leagues, we showed our perseverance and strength,” said junior Vedant Padhi, who runs the 4×400-meter and 800-meter. “We trained hard all season long and endured so many unexpected changes, from coaching changes to injuries. We’re all very competitive, and that fuels all of us to do better and push through. We’re not done yet, and we’re going to show out at SCVALs with a chip on our shoulders.”
