GILROY — On a breezy afternoon great for flying kites, Scotts Valley resident Nathaniel Guillory and Soquel High senior Jonelle Scott were both flying high after they won events at the Central Coast Section Track and Field Finals at Gilroy High on Saturday.
Guillory, a senior at Los Altos, won both the 100-meter race (10.78 seconds) and 200 (21.37). Scott, literally, was flying high. She won her third straight title in the pole vault after clearing a height of 12 feet, 3 inches.
The top two finishers in the 4×800 relay, and the top three finishers in every other event earned automatic berths to the 104th CIF State Championships at Buchanan High in Clovis on Friday and Saturday.
Santa Cruz County advanced three boys and one girl. Santa Cruz senior Luke Tanguay, who plans to compete for Cal next season, took second in the 300 hurdles in 38.73, and junior teammate Eli Fitchen-Young advanced in both the 1,600 and 3,200. He’s going to drop the 1,600 at state to focus on the 3,200.
Injuries proved costly to a pair of senior stars, Braylon Noble of Soquel and Ashlyn Boothby, but there was no denying the profound impact each made on the sport during their high school careers. Both with compete at the collegiate level.
Boys
Guillory was a model of consistency in events where that is incredibly difficult. He took first in the 100 11 times this season, including at seven large meets, and took first in the 200 10 times, six at large meets.
His sacrifices paid dividends.
“It’s about those early nights, where I’m going to bed at 9 o’clock and my friends are up til 1,” he said. “It’s about when I don’t play those video games, don’t go to those parties. And I wanted it really bad, more than anything. It was really nice getting on that starting line, looking around, and thinking, ‘I know for sure nobody put in more work than I did.’ ”
Guillory is excited to run again next week and continue training for a much longer track career after that. He has been in communication with coaches at San Jose State University, Sacramento State, and UC Riverside.
Santa Cruz’s Tanguay finished behind St. Ignatius senior Thomas Zang (38.45) in the 300 hurdles and edged Saint Francis of Mountain View junior Kyle Velasco (39.34), the third-place finisher.
Tanguay was just off his PR of 38.63. He was even with the field at the midway point of the race and thrived with his second-half surge.
“I was just trying to get top three and I did it,” he said. “Last hurdle, I stuttered, because it was in my head: I can trip and lose it all, or stutter, lose a little bit of time, and make sure I qualify. I prioritized my next race.”
Fitchen-Young placed third in the 3,200 (9:14.79) and fourth in the 1,600 (4:11.16). He qualified for state in the 1,600 by finishing faster than 4:13.24 to secure an at-large berth, and broke his previous school record of 4:13.55.
In the 1,600, he finished behind three runners, Crystal Springs Uplands junior Benjamin Bouie (4:06.92), Palo Alto senior Grant Morgenfeld (4:08.20), and Sacred Heart Cath Prep junior Miles Cook (4:08.33, all of whom broke a CCS record that stood for 47 years.
Morgenfeld (9:04.09) edged Menlo junior Landon Pretre (9:04.9) for the 3,200 title. Fitchen-Young finished comfortably ahead of fourth-place finisher Yosef Berhan of Piedmont Hills (9:21.25) for the final state berth.
“I feel really good,” Fitchen-Young said. “I think it’s likely I’ll scratch the 16, however, because right now I don’t think that’s my strongest event. I always compete to win. I came out here today and competed to win. I think that worked out really well.”
Soquel senior Jordan McCord, a star sprinter who also shined as a receiver and defensive back on the football field, took fifth in the 200 (22.19). His season-best mark was 21.88, a school record.
Scotts Valley senior Mason Lantz took fifth out of 12 finalists in the 800 (1:55.15). Aptos sophomore Brady Bliesner took 11th (1:58.87).
Aptos junior Logan Brantley took sixth in the shot put (52-6). The top seven throwers all threw 50 feet or longer, including winner Luke Lewis (57-9.5), a junior at Junipero Serra who overtook runner-up Maxime Morelle (57-3) of Los Altos on his final throw.
Event officials fed the throwers kudos on their showing. It was a uber talented, deep field.
“Just wait til next year,” said Lewis, to the officials. “You’re going to need a 65 line.”
It was a sensation season for Brantley, who broke Aptos’ school record with a throw of 54-0 in a dual meet April 18 and broke that mark with a throw of 54-4.5 at the CCS Semifinals last week. He improved his best throw by more than 13 feet from his personal best as a sophomore (41-0.5).
“This is fuel for next season,” Brantley said. “I’m going to work way harder in the offseason than I did last year. Hopefully I can PR again by 10 feet.” He chuckled.
Brantley said a lot of hard work in the offseason, lifting weights, and practice paid off. He was proud that he not only PR’d, but set the school record.
“It was very surprising,” he said. “It means a lot. I now have to carry that weight of being the best that Aptos has ever seen, so I have to keep showing out, and that’s very important.”
Soquel junior Logan Walters took seventh in the 100 (11.11) and ninth in the pole vault (13-0).
Soquel senior Braylon Noble, battling a hip flexor injury that forced him to scratch in the pole vault, took sixth in the high jump (6-0). He cleared 6-6 to set the school record during his junior season.
Aptos junior Vincent Sandford-Carroll took ninth in the 3,200 (9:40.20).
Santa Cruz (Robert Stanford, Alan Lee, Kees van der Meer, and Emiliano Villarreal) took 10th in the 4×800 relay (8:14.13).
Girls
Soquel’s Scott won her third straight title in the pole vault (12-3) despite battling a back injury. Her height cleared was 1 foot, 3 inches higher than when she won as a junior, and three inches shy of her personal best and school record height, which was set earlier this season.
“I was actually very nervous this year,” Scott said. “But I really wanted to win. Really wanted to. So I’ve been take care of my back, taking care of all this stuff, so I’m grateful.”
Scott felt a sense of accomplishment after her latest win, especially since a bout with pneumonia in January and February set her back in training. “I’m just proud of what I did this year,” she said.
Santa Cruz junior Meilia Nee took fourth in the pole vault (11-3) and Cardinals senior Ariel Ferrell took 11th (9-9).
Archbishop Mitty junior Evangeline Marheineke, a Santa Cruz resident, helped the Monarchs’ 4×400 relay take fifth (3:58.33).
Santa Cruz junior Heidi Green took sixth in the 800 (2:15.02). Scotts Valley’s Boothby, a two-time CCS champion in the 1,600 who will compete for Stanford University next year, is still battling through a foot injury sustained in her win in the 800 at the CCS Top 8 Meet and elected not to compete. It was a sad ending to her record setting career for the Falcons, but a smart decision nonetheless.
Boothby, wearing a walking boot on her right foot, showed up to cheer on teammates Ava Decleve, Dylan Turzak, Jennifer Brownfield, and Diana Alivov to a sixth-place finish in the 4×800 relay (9:53.19). Santa Cruz (Meris Burchell, Heidi Green, Chloe Hood, Maya Kingsley) took 10th (9:58.66) out of 18 qualifiers.
Santa Cruz (Francesca Graces, Joy Roberts, Meilia Nee, Joy Hilldale) took eighth in the 4×100 relay (49.79).
Aptos senior Ella Shoemaker took eighth in both the 100 hurdles (15.78) and 300 hurdles (46.73).
San Lorenzo Valley junior Orea Pollock took 10th in the high jump (5-0).
Santa Cruz senior Lucinda Steiner took 12th in the long jump (14-8).
Watsonville junior Katelynn Ruiz qualified for the 3,200 but didn’t compete.
IF YOU GO
104th CIF State Track and Field Championships
When: Friday and Saturday
Where: Buchanan High, Clovis
