Now the season is at it’s end and here is where we find out if the hours of training and effort were enough.
While we have several Senators who are poised to make it to the State Track Meet, one of the beautiful things about this sport is that ANY athlete could suddenly find it within themselves to drop those extra seconds, to jump a foot farther, to put it ALL into a throw that goes 3 feet farther then they have ever thrown before. For many athletes, it can all suddenly “come together” in one meet and they will move up to the next level.
This Weekend could be that meet!
For 5 athletes, their seeding says that if they can hold up under the pressure and repeat their PR, if luck doesn’t suddenly turn against them and if their competitors don’t suddenly have that breakthrough meet … they should earn a place at the State Meet.
For the Girls –
Senior, Brianca Trammell in the 100m Hurdles
Her PR time of 17.27 has her as the 4th seed. The Hurdles are tricky though and the girl seeded 6th is just .39 seconds behind her. Brianca is a pro though and is just .12 seconds off the school record.
… and don’t count out Sophomore Kelcie Johnson who is seeded 7th in the 100 H. Kelcie’s PR is only .31 seconds away from the 5th seed and she has been improving her time in almost every meet. She could certainly be one of those that digs deep and runs away with a bid to State.
Sophomore Kai Perkins is another athlete looking to make her mark. With a PR of 99-03 she is seeded 4th in the Discus. She has been throwing since 2011 and this would be her first trip to State in this event.
Senior, Cicely Seldon is seeded right behind Kai with a throw 97-10. She also has been throwing Discus since 2011 and this would be her first trip to State as well.
Finally, there is Eight Grader, Gabrielle Griner. A year ago Gabrielle became the first student from Monrovia Middle School to qualify for the State Track Meet and hopes to make a return visit this year. Her school record Pole Vault of 9’4″ makes her the top ranked Girl’s, Middle School Vaulter in the state and has her seeded 3rd for the section meet.
The Boys
Senior, Ben Dailey has a LOT of weight riding on his shoulders.
Fortunately they are large shoulders.
He is currently seeded 4th in the 110M Hurdles. This is his third year to try and make it to state in the hurdles. He has cut nearly a second off his time every year for the last three and hopefully this year it will do the trick.
In the Javelin, Ben is seeded 5th. His recent school record throw of 136-01 put him into the seeded 5th and final qualifying spot and he will have to throw that or better if he hopes to throw at State. We believe he can!
Then there is the Polevault. Ben is currently seeded first in this event with his recent school record jump of 12’6″. In practice he has actually jumped much higher. This is a VERY technical sport though and as he proved last year, often your toughest competitor is yourself.
This is a whole new year though and it would not be at all surprising to see him set yet another school record in this event!
The fun begins Friday at 4pm and then picks up again Saturday morning at 9am!
