The Hollister High track and field program had another strong showing in the Central Coast Section Semifinals on May 13 at Gilroy High.
The Haybalers qualified seven individuals and three relay teams to the Finals on May 20, also to be held at Gilroy. The top eight from each event—with the exception of the 800, 1600 and 3200 meters along with the field events, where the top 12 placers in each of those events—advance to the Finals.
Sophomore Hannah Vincent led the Hollister girls with an impressive 13-inch personal-record (PR) in the triple jump with a mark of 37 feet, 7 inches. It marked the third consecutive week/meet—the previous two being the PCAL Gabilan Division Finals and PCAL Masters Meet—in which Vincent has hit a personal-best, showing she’s peaking at the perfect time.
Vincent advanced to the CIF State Championships last year in the triple jump and is aiming for a second straight state appearance. She also qualified to the CCS Finals in the long jump with a PR of 16-8 ½, good for the ninth best mark.
Another standout sophomore, Golda Demby, threw the shot put a season-best 41-5—the second best overall throw in the section this season and best in the Semifinals, and looks to be a prime contender to advance to State.
Sophomore Emma Franks qualified in the triple jump with the fifth best mark, at 36-1, establishing a new PR by a foot. Yet another sophomore, Jasayla Mariscal, established a four-second PR of 2 minutes, 20.98 seconds in the 800-meter run to take the 10th out of 12 qualifying spot.
Senior Lillian Thrasher is headed to the Finals in the high jump after clearing 5-2, doing it in fewer attempts than all but three of the 12 qualifiers. The 4×400 relay team of Zamaya Rivera, Gabriella Romero, Madison Minkel and Mariscal placed fifth in a solid time of 4:04.95.
The biggest surprise from the boys team was no doubt sophomore Marcos Gomez, who took the 12th and final qualifying spot in the shot put. His throw of 45-9 ½ shattered his previous best by two feet, established just a week prior in the Masters Meet.
The mark is also six feet farther than his freshman best, a rapid improvement from just one year ago. The 4×100 relay team of Malachi Zabala, James Breen, Shaun Jamal and Donovan Tommy placed fifth in a PR of 42.49, just 25/100ths of a second behind Los Altos’ top qualifying time of 41.74.
Tommy barely missed out on qualifying in the open 100-meter dash, clocking 10.87 seconds, just 1/100ths of a second off the eighth and final qualifying spot. The senior sprinter also established a PR in the 200, finishing 13th in 22.29 seconds.
Junior Joshua Vincent went 42-8 in the triple jump, the ninth best qualifying mark from the Semifinals.
CCS brackets set
The baseball and softball playoff pairings were released May 15 and Hollister High had both of its teams earn spots in the top division. The baseball team (21-6), champions of the PCAL Gabilan Division, earned the No. 6 seed in Division I and plays at No. 3 St. Francis (15-11) of the West Catholic Athletic League on May 20 at noon.
The softball team (24-3), also outright champions of the PCAL Gabilan, earned the No. 3 seed in the Open Division and plays host to No. 6 Capuchino (22-5) of the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division on May 20 at 3pm.
