Jason Roascio qualified to Friday’s Central Coast Section Finals
in three events when he posted qualifying times in the 200- and
400-meter races, and was part of the finals-bound 4×400 relay as
well during last Saturday’s CCS Semifinals in Gilroy. Frankie
Martinez also qualified to CCS Finals in the discus when he
finished fourth with a throw of 151-01, while Sophie Coelho did the
same in the pole vault with a first-place mark of 9-06.
GILROY
While an upset stomach likely hindered Jason Roascio’s performance on Saturday, the San Benito junior made sure it didn’t end his season.
Roascio qualified to Friday’s Central Coast Section Finals in three events when he posted qualifying times in the 200- and 400-meter races, and was part of the finals-bound 4×400 relay as well during last Saturday’s CCS Semifinals in Gilroy.
“He bounced back OK and qualified for everything,” said San Benito head coach Iran White, who mentioned that Roascio had a sandwich prior to the day’s events which may have led to the stomach illness.
While only the top eight advanced in most events, though, Roascio still managed to place fifth in the 200 (22.34), third in the 400 (49.95), and helped lead a 4×400 team of David Kret, Felipe Davila and Jordan Belton to the section championships in a fifth-place time of 3.25.84.
Roascio and the relay team provided just a few of the highlights for San Benito, though, which had several near-misses.
Frankie Martinez qualified to CCS Finals in the discus when he finished fourth with a throw of 151-01, while Sophie Coelho did the same in the pole vault with a first-place mark of 9-06. But San Benito fell short in its remaining events after advancing some 17 competitors to the CCS Semifinals.
The closest was junior Enrique Ramos, who placed ninth in the shot put with a throw of 48-04 ½, and fell just one spot short of qualifying to Saturday’s finals. The cut was set by Milpitas senior Clayton Desilva, who took eighth with a throw of 49-0.
Meanwhile, Maura Forbush fell 10 seconds short of qualifying in the 1,600, and Jennifer Temperino missed a top-eight qualifying spot when she placed 12th in the discus with a toss of 103-07.
San Benito’s David Kret appeared he would make the qualifying cut when he sat in second place on the final turn of his 800-meter race. But the sophomore harrier hit a wall on the home stretch, and finished 17th overall in 2:00.88.
“I tried to make up the ground on this first stretch, but I used up a lot of my energy,” said Kret, who began the final 400 meters in fifth place, but managed to battle back to second for a brief moment.
“I just ran a bad race,” he said. “The first lap was too slow. I should have taken command of that race, and I didn’t.”
The CCS Finals will be held Friday at the Garcia-Elder Sports Complex in Gilroy, with field events starting at 4 p.m., and track events at 6 p.m.
“I wish we could have done better. But it’s a young team and most of these kids will be back next year and they’ll have this experience under their belt,” White said. “And there’s still next week for one of these kids to make a big splash.”
Central Coast Section Semifinals
San Benito Only
Boys
100 — 1, M. Tataw, Westmont, 10.93; 18, I. Navarrete, San Benito, 11.39. 200 — 1, B. Marshall, Valley Christian, 22.31; 5, J. Roascio, San Benito, 22.34; 15, I. Navarrete, San Benito, 23.17. 400 — 1, M. Rutner, Mountain View, 49.02; 3, J. Roascio, San Benito, 49.95. 800 — 1, N. Strum, Pioneer, 1:54.23; 17, D. Kret, San Benito, 2:00.88. 3,200 — 1, P. Summers, Gunn, 9:16.29; 31, J. Castillo, San Benito, 11:03.63. 110 Hurdles — 1, J.P. Williams, Westmoor, 14.78; 32, L. Haro, San Benito, 20.91. 4×400 — 1, Bellarmine, 3:25.52; 5, San Benito, 3:25.84. High Jump — 1, T, Nigro, Palo Alto, 6-02; DNP, D. Franco, San Benito, NH. Shot Put — 1, R. Casas, North Monterey County, 53-10; 9, E. Ramos, San Benito, 48-04 ½. Discus — 1, C.J. Nuwzi, Silver Creek, 156-02; 4, F. Martinez, 151-01.
Girls
200 — 1, A. Gradiska, Pinewood, 25.00; 31, M. Cortez, San Benito, 27.83. 800 — 1, K. Gallagher, Gunn; 20, M. Duarte, San Benito, 2:24.66. 1,600 — 1, A. Sturges, Mountain View, 5:04.89; 20, M. Forbush, San Benito, 5:30.25. Pole Vault — 1 (11 tied for first), S. Coelho, San Benito, 9-06; DNP, M. Lassaga-Bishop, San Benito, NH. Shot Put — 1, J. Weir, Homestead, 42-11; 17, K. Alnas, San Benito, 33-00 ½. Discus — 1, J. Weir, Homestead, 142-05; 12, J. Temperino, San Benito, 103-07.
