Gabrielino High School’s track team faced off against its biggest league competitor, Arroyo High School, in a league meet on April 2 on Gabrielino’s home track. In the high-stakes meet, athletes in all the events pushed themselves, aiming for possible personal records (PRs) and points for both teams, with many of their performances reflecting the work they’ve been putting in this season.
In the sprinting events, Gabrielino’s boys varsity saw early victories as they dominated the 100-meter dash. However, the placings for the 200-meter and 400-meter were more evenly split between both schools. For varsity girls, while both the 100-meter and 200-meter saw mostly split placings between both schools, Gabrielino took first place in both events, along with the 400-meter run.
Freshman sprinter Ava Situ comments, “Arroyo is definitely the toughest team in our league, so this meet didn’t go as easily as most of the others, but we did really well.”
Gabrielino continued its success into the 4×100 relays, with varsity securing first place for both the boys and girls teams.
“After hearing the tough records to beat from Arroyo, I think we were pushed even harder to prove ourselves,” says freshman Samantha Tong.
In the hurdles, Gabrielino saw similar victories with the boys varsity delivering a strong performance, winning first and second place in both the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles, beating out Arroyo. For varsity girls, Gabrielino placed first in the 100-meter hurdles and shared split victories with Arroyo for the 300-meter hurdles.
“I think our hurdles team did really well in the meet, even with some of them being injured,” says freshman hurdler Joey Kuang. “I know everyone tried their best.”
Gabrielino saw impressive results in its distance teams as well. For the 1600-meter and 800-meter runs, girls varsity saw many victories, finishing with first- and second-place finishes. For the 3200-meter, however, Arroyo ultimately beat out the girls team. For boys varsity, Gabrielino saw impressive performances in the 800-meter with second, fourth and sixth place finishes, as well as the 3200-meter with a third-place finish. However, Arroyo took the lead in the 1600-meter.
In the field events, the Gabrielino athletes’ athleticism was on full display as the varsity boys and girls completely beat out Arroyo in pole vault. Additionally, varsity girls secured first place in high jump, shot put, discus and long jump, dominating the scoreboard. However, Arroyo secured first place for girls varsity triple jump. For the varsity boys, they secured second and third place in shot put and discus, as well as many close, runner-up finishes in long jump, high jump and triple jump.
“Over this season, after countless hours of practice, we’ve shown the dedication and technicality that comes with this sport,” comments Tong.
Ultimately, the meet against Arroyo was defined by tight finishes, impressive performances and competitive energy from both schools. With new PRs achieved, top results, and new goals to look forward to, Gabrielino’s successes set the bar for what is ahead as the track season continues.
