Aragon track heads to CCS finals

The boys track team finished an undefeated season with a record of 6-0. The girls team tied for first place with a record of 5-1.

Everyone contributed to the successful season. Track and field coach Asif Rahman says, “James Garcia, who is undefeated in the 110 meter hurdle, has contributed a lot to this team, J.D. Elzie and Tyler Vanson have done well in the long jump. Parker Huang has done exceptionally well for us in the relays. There have been some instances where Huang has won the relay for us. On the girls side, Savanna Kiefer has done exceptionally well in both hurdle races this year, Alexis Smith has done well in the 200 and 400.”

Senior Addy Eveslage, who has been fighting off lingering leg injuries, claims, “I had some hip flexor problems as well as hamstring problems. Luckily this was right around the time when we got a trainer, so that helped a lot. I rested my leg and didn’t run in a couple of events, but I feel it did slightly mess up my season a little bit. However, I didn’t let it ruin everything for me. I wanted to compete, that was the most important thing for me. I’m proud of the things I achieved. It was nice to have team chemistry, and hang out with the team during practice, especially during my senior year.”

Rahman commented, “One of the highlights of the season came when the girls beat Menlo-Atherton, which is a powerhouse team. We only beat them by a couple of points, but it was still a big deal. Another important event came when the guys beat Carlmont in the dual meet. I was really happy with the performances the kids put forth.”

PAL finals took place on Saturday, May 11 and were a huge success for the Dons. The boys track team placed first place, and the girls team finished in third place. Senior Rory Beyer placed third in the one mile and second in the two mile. Furthermore, senior J.D. Elzie won the 100m and placed second in the 200m, while senior James Garcia won the 110m hurdles and got second in the 300m hurdles. Senior Tyler Vanson won the triple jump as well. On the girls team, Senior Savanna Kiefer won the 100m hurdles, and senior Katherine Chinn won the two mile.

The top five from each event qualify for CCS trials, which took place Saturday, May 18. Beyer and Pedro qualified for the mile, and Vanson qualified for jumps. Junior Bobby Nicholson qualified for pole vault. Seniors Parker Huang, Ranier Plantinos, Garcia and Elzie, along with juniors Will Rivera and Liam Richardson, all qualified for sprints.

Garcia placed second for the 110m hurdles and the Aragon’s relay team also placed second. Elzie placed first in his heat for the 100m dash, and Beyer placed sixth in the mile. All these teams will be advancing to CCS finals on Saturday, May 25.