Stallions Sprint, Jump and Put into their First Meet

By Cat Nolan

The San Juan Hills High track and field teams opened up their season at the Earl Engman Relays Saturday.

The meet dates back as far as the 1920s, featuring 27 teams broken into three divisions from around Orange County.

The girls team started the day off winning the distance medley, setting the tone for the remainder of the day. Their time of 12:43.38 was the second fastest of the day in all divisions, less than .2 from the top time brought in by Division II team Foothill.

The girls went onto win the 8x200, sprint medley, shuttle hurdles and the long jump. The girls long jump crew of all sophomores – Abby Conklin, Chloe Widdowson and Evelyn Fox – reset their own meet record from last year with a team mark total of 44 feet, 10.5 inches.

Junior Kylee Vandenberg set a new school record in the girls shot put with a toss of 30 feet, 3.5 inches. Vandenberg was also a member of the winning distance medley and sprint medley teams, running a strong 800 meter as well as the 400 meter.

Senior Chelsea Kruthers showed speed and poise, helping lock in the victories for the distance and sprint medleys. She also anchored the fastest Stallion leg of the 4x400 relay.

"Our hard training is paying off as we experienced our first victory at the Earl Engman relays today. We are very proud of our performances and are looking forward to the great season that we have yet to face," Kruthers said after the meet.

The girls' results were strong enough to give them a first place finish in Division III, and third overall (Divisions I, II and III) for team scores.

The Stallion boys had their share of success as well, placing second in Division III. The boys won the 8x200 meter distance medley, high jump and long jump events.

The boys showed strength in their sprints with strong splits from Seniors Kyle Bauer and Matt Chetwood. In the field, Seniors Nate Grubb (6'0") and Isaiah Danley (5'10") worked alongside newcomer Nick Ivarone to show great promise in the high jump.

The boys finished the day excited to embrace the rest of the season. They will travel with the girls next weekend, March 10, as they compete at the Irvine Invitational.

— Cat Nolan is coach of the San Juan Hills track and field girls team.