Perhaps most impressive was just how easy Scott Medina made it
look. A little more than a week removed from being sidelined in the
300-meter hurdles during a dual meet against Salinas, after the
right foot he broke at the end of last season began to experience a
bit of discomfort, Medina returned to his specialty Friday at the
Top 8 Track and Field Classic in Los Gatos, where he stared down
his first hurdle, and beyond that, the 14-year-old meet record. And
if a lingering pain in his foot wasn’t going to slow him down,
neither was the competition.
LOS GATOS
Perhaps most impressive was just how easy Scott Medina made it look.
A little more than a week removed from being sidelined in the 300-meter hurdles, after he had experienced some discomfort in his previously broken right foot, Medina returned to his specialty Friday at the Top 8 Track and Field Classic in Los Gatos, where he stared down his first hurdle, and beyond that, a 14-year-old meet record.
And if a lingering pain in his foot wasn’t going to slow him down, neither was the competition.
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“I was going for that record,” said Medina, whose best mark in the hurdles this season entering the elite invitational was a school-record time of 38.39 seconds — just 32 one-hundredths of a second off the meet record of 38.06, set by Leigh’s Guy McGowan in 1997.
“I knew I was close. I had to get a good race in,” he added. “I wanted to hit 37 (seconds) before league, but I mainly just wanted the record.”
Medina’s efforts were three-fold, and, again, he made it look easy.
Despite not having much of a push from his competitors, Medina reached 37 seconds, broke the 14-year-old meet record, and set a new school record for the third time this season when he recorded a first-place mark of 37.99 seconds on Friday, defeating his nearest competitor, Sean Goetzl of Aptos (39.39), by a comfortable 1.4 seconds.
“Every time he improves this season, he’s going to break that (school) record,” San Benito boys’ head coach Iran White said. “It’s his now.”
Every time he improves, Medina moves up the top-10 list in the state as well. His 37.99 is currently ranked at No. 7 in California — just two-tenths of a second off from being tied second overall.
“I wasn’t too nervous,” said Medina, who, from lane four, immediately surpassed four other runners and controlled the lead before reaching the third hurdle Friday.
And as for that foot?
“It feels pretty good,” he said. “Nothing yet.”
Injuries and illness were unfortunately part of the game on Friday for the Balers, who instead of going all out to make a statement at what is considered the final preview to the Central Coast Section Championships, opted to pick their places with specific events, try and set a meet record if they could, but otherwise try and remain as healthy as possible.
A year ago, San Benito enjoyed arguably its best performance of the year when it finished runner-up to Bellarmine at Top 8. But the grind of the season caught up to the Balers shortly thereafter, and the team was unable to reach that same level again.
This year, San Benito still had its high moments. Jayjoel Fernandez was sixth in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.80, Enrique Ramos took third in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 51-04, Krystal Alnas earned third in the discus (111-06) and fifth in the shot put (34-03), while Medina finished second in the high jump (6-02) and was also named the Varsity Boys’ Track Athlete of the Meet.
But with injuries limiting who would compete where, and a widespread flu bug influencing the girls’ side the most, the Balers wanted to make their presence felt without risking the rest of the season.
“It’s always in the back of your mind,” White said. “It’s a balancing act every year — figuring out how hard you can train, with the track we have.
“But it’s not as bad as last year. We’ve all done a better job of figuring it out this year.”
Playing it safe, Medina sat out the 400 meters for the Balers boys, as did Jason Roascio, who was slated to compete in the 200, 400 and 4×400, but only took part in the relay instead.
San Benito was only 1.39 seconds off the meet record in the 4×400, too. But without much competition, the Balers clocked a 3:21.38 — which was slightly less than three seconds shy of the meet record, but roughly five seconds faster than its nearest competitor, Live Oak (3:26.40).
“We wanted to get the meet record, but we were by ourselves and that’s tough to do by yourself,” White said. “I’ve got no complaints.
“They ran a 3:20 by themselves and I can’t remember the last time there was that big of a gap at Top 8.”
As for Roascio, who also experienced some muscle discomfort during the Salinas dual meet and sat out the 200 and 400 at Los Gatos as a precaution, he said he felt fine during Friday’s final race.
“I felt I was going fast, but not as fast as I wanted to be,” said Roascio, who ran the final leg with no competition, after David Kret, Taylor Lothman and Medina pushed San Benito out to a sizable lead.
“It’s definitely hard to push yourself,” he added. “But the goal is to run as fast as you can, whether (the competition) is in front of you or behind you.”
David Kret improved upon his standing in the 800 meters from last year with a sixth-place finish in 1:56.86, but fell five-tenths of a second short of his school-record time (1:56.36), which he set last year at Top 8.
“It’s my best of the season, but not where I want to be,” said Kret, who at one point was in second place during the event’s second lap. “Normally, I have a good kick. But I must have spent it up during the race.”
Many on the girls’ side were either still sick or just recovering from a sickness that held many competitors out.
“No bueno, but getting better,” said Vanessa Estrada, who finished ninth in the 1,600 (5:17.08) and 12th in the 800 (2:22.64) on Friday.
Darian Maroney was off her times as well in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, finishing 12th in the 100 in a time of 18.04 and 15th in the 300 in a time of 52.45.
“We are consistently able to PR, but with the sickness we’re playing catch-up,” said Maroney, who’s normally recording times in the mid-17s in the 100 hurdles and in the 51-second range in the 300 hurdles. “Today was not our best day, but we’re not mad because we know we’re top 20 in the CCS.”
Enrique Ramos is within throwing distance of first place in the CCS. His 51-04 on Friday was a personal best by more than a foot and earned him third place behind North County’s Richie Casas (52-10) and Mount Pleasant’s Scott Brazil (51-05).
“It has been pretty good in practice. I was hitting 50 (feet) in practice,” said Ramos, whose previous best was 49-10. “Today, I just felt good.
“I was just happy to break 50.”
With a rescheduled dual meet slated for Wednesday at North Salinas, San Benito is otherwise off until the TCAL Trials on May 10, which will kick off the postseason and lead into the CCS Championships.
For those who competed Friday, they now know where they stand among the very best in the section.
Said Ramos, “It shows me I need give more of an effort to get into the top ranks of the CCS.”
To see complete results from Friday’s Top 8 Track and Field Classic, go here.
Top 8 Track and Field Classic
Los Gatos High School
VARSITY BOYS
Teams (Top 10 only)
1, Gilroy, 46; 2, St. Francis, 37.5; 2, North Monterey County, 37.5; 4, San Benito, 36; 5, Bellarmine, 30; 6, Willow Glen, 28; 7, Gunderson, 18; 7, Aptos, 18; 9, Monterey 16; 9, Mountain View, 16.
VARSITY GIRLS
Teams (Top 10 only)
1, Mitty, 58; 2, Mountain View, 54; 3, Wilcox, 50; 4, Saratoga, 36; 5, Aptos, 35; 6, Los Altos, 29; 7, Los Gatos, 23; 8, St. Francis, 21; 9, San Lorenzo Valley, 18; 10, St. Ignatius, 14; 17, San Benito, 8.
