Sophomore Matt Tacchino competes in his first Track meet at the Buchanan Distance Classic in the 800 meters, Feb 23.
Jump starting the FC Track and Field season, the distance team competes in the Buchanan Distance Classic, Feb 23.
Track and Field includes a variety of events, from field events like the long jump and discus to races like 100 meter hurdles, 100 and 400 meters, and the 4×4 relay, where each of four athletes runs 400 meters. The Buchanan Distance Classic is a meet that focuses only on the distance races, which are the 800, 1600 and 3200 meters. The FC track team competed in the 800 and 1600 meters.
The 800-meter race is two laps around the track with a waterfall start. About 30 athletes from different high schools raced at Buchanan. Freshman Blake Bay ran in the varsity boys race, getting a personal record time of 2:08.93. Sophomore Matt Tacchino and Freshman Jeremiah Valorosi ran in the Frosh/Soph division of the 800 meters. Both competed for the first time for FCS. Tacchino ran 2:34:93, and Valorosi ran 2:21:13.
Junior Laina Penland, Sophomore Bayley Wong, and Freshman Kayla Castro also competed in the 800 meters. Penland ran a 45-second personal record time of 2:42:73. Castro finished with 2:52:06, and Wong finished with a 3:06.14. This was an important meet, helping the team record starting marks for the season.
For 1600-meter races – also known as the mile – everyone runs four laps with about five different heats and 25-30 athletes per heat. In the Frosh/Soph race, Valorosi bested his middle school time by 10 seconds at 5:02.05. His goal is to break the five-minute threshold for the mile this season. Bay ran a time of 4:38.53 in the Varsity race. On the girl’s side, Wong finished with a time of 7:03.67.
Support the Track & Field team at their next meet at Central Valley Christian in Visalia, March 9.
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