Gilroy – It was almost an after thought this entire year. San Benito senior thrower Krystal Alnas was supposed to earn a spot in the California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field Championships after doing so her junior year.
But on a windy Friday afternoon at Gilroy High in the Central Coast Section championship, Alnas came up five feet short of that goal.
In the discus throw, Alnas finished in fourth place with a throw of 121-1, good for her third lowest of the season.
“I’m not really sure what happened,” she said. “I felt a little robotic. I tried to relax a little bit. It just wasn’t my day.”
Coming in, her goal was to reach 135 feet, but it didn’t happen. She didn’t, though, blame the strong wind.
“The wind shouldn’t be a factor,” Alnas said. “I’ve had enough experience to overcome that. I just couldn’t do it.”
She wasn’t the only Baler to miss her mark Friday.
Baler athletes participated in four events Friday, but only Vanessa Estrada advanced to the CIF state finals on June 1 in Clovis.
Estrada, running in only the 3,200-meter race finished second to San Lorenzo Valley’s Anna Maxwell. The San Benito junior ran a career-best time of 10:35.67 – more than 13 seconds faster than her previous best.
San Benito senior David Kret also ran well, attempting to beat the school record in the 200 meters. Kret qualified for both the 400-meter and 200-meter races but chose to run in the 200 to break the school record.
However, Kret was slowed by a strong breeze and finished in fourth place with a time of 22.51 – more than half a second slower than his previous best.
“I wanted to go for it, but there was a little bit of wind today,” he said. “I can’t really gauge what my time could have been because of the wind, but I definitely could have run better. I mean, I’m not even that tired right now. I can’t blame it all on the weather.”
The boys 4×400 meter team also finished in fourth place for the Balers with a time of 3:24.48 – nearly a full second behind third place Overfelt.
The finals ended the career of the two of the Balers best athletes in Kret and Alnas.
Regardless of not earning a state championship berth, Alnas was proud of her season, which included a school record in the shot put.
“Everything has been amazing (this season.),” she said. “I’ve grown a lot. I’ve enjoyed every second in that circle.”
– Sports reporter Josh Weaver contributed to this story.
