Johnny DiSalvo and Siljef Tabancay have pushed each other to the
limits this year.
By NATHAN MIXTER
Sports Editor
Johnny DiSalvo and Siljef Tabancay have pushed each other to the limits this year.
The San Benito High duo often trade places in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles during meets. And often they will place first and second ahead of all other runners.
“Siljef is probably the better athlete of the two because he has more the natural speed,” said coach Iran White. “But Johnny has the longer legs, the height and more flexibility. He has had to work a lot harder to get where he is at.”
When DiSalvo started competing in track during his sophomore year, he looked to Tabancay for leadership, even though Tabancay was a year behind him.
“I just watched him -that is how I go better,” DiSalvo said. “It is tough having two top guys on the same team. But it is a good thing, because the best competition you have can be from your own team. We wouldn’t be getting better if we weren’t pushing each other.”
“We competed to make ourselves faster, and we do that every time,” Tabancay said. “I look to him as he looks to me.”
Tabancay, a junior, is ranked sixth in the Central Coast Section in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.38, and DiSalvo, a senior, has a time of 15.95, which places him 21st in the section.
In the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, Tabancay is ranked ninth with a time of 41.03, and DiSalvo is right behind him with a time of 41.05.
“No one really wins each time,” DiSalvo said. “We are always really close. In the beginning of the season, I was able to beat him because I have always been able to three-step him the whole way. Usually, he can three-step until the fourth hurdle when he starts four-stepping.”
The sprinters often trade off events each week. Tabancay, who also has a long jump mark of more than 20 feet, usually wins the shorter races, while DiSalvo wins the longer ones.
Tabancay started running when he was in sixth grade at Maze Middle School and credits the early start and the ability to focus to his success.
“I usually just try to block everything out and concentrate on what is going to happen – who’s in front of me and who’s in back” Tabancay said. ”
Both runners have high expectations for the league finals.
“If I don’t win, he wins,” Tabancay said. “He wants to win the 330s, and I want to win the 110s. As long as one of us takes the medal home, I am fine with that.”
“They both have the desire to be the best in CCS – that is the bottom line,” White said.
DiSalvo will be heading to Australia in July to compete with the California team. He is still short about $1,000. Anyone interested in contributing should contact [email protected].
