Track and field athletes from San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley high schools showed well enough in Gilroy this past weekend to qualify for the Central Coast Section finals beginning today, May 25 at Gilroy High School.
San Lorenzo Valley
The San Lorenzo Valley boys 4×400 meter relay team of Jonny Cooper, Billy Mullins, Lucas Sinnott and Cody Johnson ran the fastest heat of the day (3 minutes, 22.28 seconds) to qualify for the final today.
Johnson, one of the top distance runners in the area, ran the fastest 800 time of the day (1:54.49) to qualify for the final in that event. Teammate Nick Hicks qualified for the final in the 3200 (9:30.98).
On the girls side, Anna Maxwell qualified in 1600 (4:48.11) and in the 3200 (10:49.54). Coach Rob Collins said Maxwell will drop the 1600 to focus on running the 3200 for the final. Claire MacMillan also qualified in the 1600, running a strong time of 5:11.66.
Scotts Valley
Ranae Maloney, a senior hurdler, qualified for the final in the 300 meter hurdles (46.63). Teammate Vanessa Fraser ran the fastest time of the day in the 3200, qualifying for the finals with a time of 10:45.36.
The lone Scotts Valley athlete from the boys team to qualify for the final was Alex Benko who cleared 13-feet in the pole vault. It was the same height he cleared in 2011. However, last year he tied with five other vaulters and got bumped off the list. This year, he made the final cut with fewer misses than fellow competitors.
