For local track and field aficionados, it doesn’t get any better
than this.
Gilroy – For local track and field aficionados, it doesn’t get any better than this.
The 37th annual Avis Kelley Invitational brings 35 teams and more than 1,000 athletes to Garcia-Elder Complex today for an event that showcases some of the better individuals in Northern California.
Unfortunately, North Salinas is the only one of the Salinas teams that will be participating in the event with the Alisal Invitational also on tap today. The Meet of Champions in Sacramento will keep some top athletes away as well.
And yet, as always, Avis Kelley will be able to stand on its own merits. Named for the legendary Gilroy High coach who is still a fixture at meets, the seeded competition gets under way at 8:30am. The invitational that begins at 6pm will be run similarly to the Central Coast Section finals that Gilroy will host May 25.
“It should be a lot of fun,” Mustang coach Jeff Myers said. “We’ve got a lot of good people everywhere.”
Leading the San Benito contingent is Courtney Allen, who qualified for the invitational in all three distance events. The ‘Baler sophomore is seeded third in the 800, ninth in the 1,600 and fifth in the 3,200. Morgan O’Laughlin is seeded second in the discus. Rigo Vasquez is seeded second in the boys 800 and 1,600. The San Benito senior, who battled illness earlier in the week, is hoping to be healthy enough to compete. In all, the ‘Balers have 31 spots in the invitational events.
Several long-standing records could be challenged.
On the boys side, San Benito’s Josh Schroder in the pole vault, Thomas Phillips of Bellarmine Prep in the 300 hurdle and Sebastian Sam of Oak Grove in the 800 have bettered the standards set in 1985. In fact, Schroder has soared six inches higher than Mark Gibbons of Del Mar did when he set the pole vault mark of 15-03.
Among races that figure to be the more competitive, the boys 800 features five runners under two minutes. The boys 3,200 has six runners under 10 minutes.
