Team looks forward to CCS

Over spring break the school was pretty empty—except for the track team who was busy at work, diligently running laps during practice.

“It’s essential to keep the team practicing every week,” said head coach Archie Ljepava. “If they stop running, all the work [the athletes] already put in will be wasted, and times will be noticeably slower.”

The girls’ team won one meet against Los Altos on March 29 with a score of 71-52, while the boys’ team never won a dual meet.

“It’s been kind of hard to win meets because we moved up a league, but time-wise, we’re doing well,” Ljepava said. “The other teams are just so big that they saturate the meets.”

This season, Ljepava has put a lot of emphasis on invitationals, meeting with great success. Senior Ailene Nguyen placed first for long jump at Firebird Relays, and senior Michelle Cummins placed seventh for triple jump at the Top 8 Classic.

“Next season, I plan to take the whole team [to invitational meets] and take first place overall,” Ljepava said.

Although the teams had a rocky start in the beginning, gaining their footing in the more difficult De Anza league is essential to being successful in the future.

On April 26, the track team competed in the last league meet of the season at Palo Alto. The girls team lost 76-51, while the boys lost 110-16.

The team also competed at leagues on May 3. The boys placed seventh and the girls placed sixth.

A select few, including Nguyen and Cummins, will be in competing in the CCS semi-finals on May 19th at Gilroy High School.