The idea of free time has a different meaning for San Benito senior Krystal Alnas. Instead of reading a book, playing video games or watching TV, her idea of free time is working.
It’s not necessarily working for a paycheck, but working for a personal record — working for an extra couple of inches or feet.
Every moment she can, Alnas wields a 4 kilogram ball of metal or a 1 kilogram disc. She is a track and field thrower, and it’s what she would rather spend every moment doing.
“On the weekends and my spare time — I live close to the high school — I would walk over to the discus ring and do some stand throws,” Alnas said. “Really, that was how I spent all my spare time. I would go home do my homework and if I was bored, I would go to the disc ring. I love doing it. Any free time, I would go to the disc ring and just practice.”
Over a four-year career at San Benito High, her work and attitude have made Alnas among the best in the Central Coast Section. On Friday, Alnas — in the discus throw — has a chance to clinch her second-straight berth in the California Interscholastic Federation state championship on June 1 at Buchanan High School in Clovis. She enters Friday’s CCS finals in third place after a throw of 122-4 feet in last week’s semis. She was eliminated in the shot put, finishing in 10th.
That berth would be a fitting end to her senior season, which included a Tri-County Athletic League championship as a team and in the discus toss. And despite placing third in the shot put, Alnas broke the school record with a throw of 39-4.5.
That record was something she aimed for since the first practice of the year, she said.
“It was really shocking at first,” Alnas said. “I felt really good in the ring. I knew I would at least get close. My previous P.R. was 37 feet, so jumping two feet was unexpected. I knew I could do it but I didn’t think it would come that fast.”
Despite the record-breaking throw, Alnas wanted team success to come first. After winning a TCAL championship her freshman year, she wanted 2012 to be a return to the school’s championship roots. To do that, she was more than the team’s best thrower, she was a leader.
“She really took to that role this year,” head coach Bob Rawles said. “She was invaluable to the team. She took to the role as soon as I asked her to be a captain after last year.”
Because of her success in the ring, it was easy for other athletes to follow. Her hard work carried throughout the team.
“She liked to do it, and the youngster Breanna Lowther followed,” Rawles said.
Lowther, a sophomore, continued to get better as the season went along — improving by four feet in the shot put and 20 feet in the discus.
“She made the commitment to get better,” Rawles said. “She was a leader in that for Breanna. She set an example for the rest of the team.”
To get better, Alnas — along with Lowther — implemented a “diary of pain” workout plan with Rawles. Over the summer, Rawles asked the pair to keep track of what they ate and how they worked out each day. The goal was to improve strength, flexibility and habits.
“It’s something I did in school,” Rawles said. “It was that next step that Krystal wanted to make.”
With Rawles and assistant coach Art Sosa’s help, Alnas improved.
“My coaches have been a really big help and they have really helped me from going 70 feet to 130,” Alnas said. “They turned me into who I am today. I had my confidence and they helped me find my dedication and my drive. They helped me find what I really wanted to do.”
She continued, “I’m just really grateful because I don’t think … without them I don’t think I would have pushed myself as hard has a could.”
That four-year growth has been dramatic, said Rawles, who coached Alnas for the past three years.
“I’ve seen tremendous growth,” Rawles said. “She has separated herself in terms of work ethic and fitness. It’s made her where she is — at the top of the CCS. She is an absolute stud of an athlete who has worked hard.”
She has come a long way since the day she first picked up a shot put in the seventh grade, during a P.E. class.
“It was cool to be able to excel in something that was so basic,” She said. “But then you actually learn the basic principals of it and how the techniques are really complicated. I like seeing something that people think is brute strength but also has so much technique involved with it and you have to be coordinated and so graceful.”
She continued, “Seeing those two come together is really cool.”
