TRACK AND FIELD SPORTS SHORTS 2009–
(Latest track and field shorts will be at the top of the section. Scroll down to check out past results. Tournament games do not count toward win/loss record. Visit the Sports Section for track and field features.)

For the 08-09 schedule or standings and stats check out highschoolsports.net. The Eagles will next compete at the Yosemite Sequoia/Sierra Championships, May 6.

TRACK AND FIELD 2009Season end
VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Freshman Kyser Anderson competed at the varsity level in the Valley Championships, May 20.

Anderson came two inches short of his personal record of 12’6. This year was Anderson’s first time vaulting since the second grade. He shattered his brothers high scool record of 11’6, and was the only Eagle to represent FC at Valley.
FOWLER SIERRA CHAMPIONS–May 6
Once again the Eagles brought home the hardware from the Fowler Sierra Championships, May 6.

Only eleven FC athletes qualified for this meet, and consisted of seven boys and four girls. There were 13 other opposing teams.

“We did the best we have ever done since my first year of coaching on the boys side by scoring 51 points and placing 4th,” Head coach Ericlee Gilmore said.

The girls scored 18 points of their own and placed ninth overall.

The Eagles dominated the medal to athlete ratio for the second time in a row. We won nine medals with only eleven team members, and achieved five new personal records.

“The highlight of the meet was the girls 4x100m relay team,” Gilmore said. “They had great hand offs and thus had a huge personal record. It was so good that they became All-Sierra Champions. To see their excitement when I told them their time was priceless.”

The girls relay team improved their time by a large margin in just one week’s time.

“This meet was so awesome because we broke our 4x100m relay personal record by two whole seconds,” Allison Camden, ’12, said. Our hand offs were much better than our previous race. We came in first place and took home the gold medal. We were really impressed by how much we improved within a week.”

Freshman Kyser Anderson broke his personal record with 11’6 in the pole vault.

“I felt energetic while soaring over the bar with my stick,” Anderson said. I had a little difficulty in the beginning because I was using a new stick. When I approached the higher bar I felt flawless. It was grand when I broke my personal record, because I am only four inches away from my older brother’s high school personal record.”

The Eagles will next compete at the Yosemite Sequoia/Sierra Championships, May 13.

WEST SEQUOIA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS–April 29
The Eagles took home multiple medals at the West Sequoia League Championships at Fowler, April 29.

Nearly every member of the FC track and field team earned medals in their events.

“Our medal to athlete ratio was off the charts,” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said, “and if that was an event we would have easily won the gold medal.”

The lady Eagles broke nine personal records out of the 13 possible events. The girls’ 4x100m relay team were proclaimed League Champions as they took first place.

“Two girls, (freshman) Allison Camden and (sophomore) Cassidy Hutchins, accomplished the very special ‘Soaring’ award,” Gilmore said. “That is when an athlete has a personal record in all four events. The only boy was Joel Hernandez, whose personal records were off the charts [3 seconds in the 200m].”

Overall the girls acquired 38 team points and placed fourth out of four teams. Fowler won the girls’ section again with over 100 points.

“The girls truly surprised me in how well they did for only being a team of five,” Gilmore said.

Senior Janae Ford scored the most points on the team and proved why she is the team captain.

“Janae led the girls with leadership, encouragement and helped show girls from the other schools what to do better,” Gilmore said. “She is definitely well known at all the schools for being a great athlete and thoughtful competitor.”

The Caruthers Blue Raiders upset Fowler for the second year in a row to claim the League Team Championship. The FC boys placed third behind Fowler, scoring 94 points.

Overall, the Eagles broke 14 personal records out of 27 events, and produced four League Champions.

“Top boy goes to [sophomore] Andrew Evans who scored the most points,” Gilmore said. “I am excited about this team because I had predicted them to get 73 points and they improved by 20.”

Along with earning the most team points, Evans received four medals, including two gold medals as a league champion.

“It was very exciting to become a league champion because last year I came very close but wasn’t able to acheive it,” Evans said. “This year I focused more on running form which helped me run faster and improve my times.”

Throughout the season, Gilmore stessed technique and repetition which instilled better running habits in the athletes.

“I cannot say if it was Joel or Frank and Nathan that improved the most,” Gilmore said. “That will be debated. Frank improved by 14 seconds in the 1600m and a whopping 30 seconds in the 3200m. Nathan was about the same.”

Two underclassmen, Kyser Anderson in the pole vault and sophomore Josiah Ford were also league champions. Anderson won the pole vault despite competing as a freshman, vaulting 11 feet. While Ford was unhappy with his jump, he still won the triple jump. It is his second time winning the triple jump at league championships. He hopes to win an event all four years of high school like his older sister, Aliza, who won the 200m for four consecutive years.

The Eagles will next compete at the Yosemite Sequoia/Sierra Championships, May 6.

FC QUALIFIES FOR SANGER METRIC CLASSIC
With a dramatic 30 degree cool down over night, the Eagles competed at the 51st annual Sanger Metric Classic, April 24.

Numerous schools, both large and small, were entered to contend. Seven FC boys qualified for the meet and only one as a varsity runner. No girls accompanied them.

“Overall we did really well,” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said. “The highlight was (sophomore) Andrew Evans winning the 110H in a new school record of 16.24.”

The previous record stood at 16.87 seconds by Ryan Austin-Brown.

Senior Nathan Hinojosa also contributed by taking first place in his heat in the 100m.

“I was astonished that I got first in my heat and beat (teammate) Nathaniel (Nyberg),” Hinojosa said. I’m happy to be able to compete against sprinters while I am a long distance runner.”

EAGLES CLAIM VICTORY AT CARUTHERS–April 22
The Eagles competed in soaring temperatures of over 90 degrees at Caruthers, April 22.

The meet consisted of just three teams, yet still offered competition at the varsity level. Those who officiated the times appeared to have a difficulty with accuracy.

“It is always hard to find adults who know how to time correctly,” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said. “This was a good meet to prepare the athletes for League Championships next week. We had eight personal records because I happened to be at the finish line to time their race.”

FC SUCCESSFULLY RELAYS AT YOSEMITE–April 17
The Eagles competed in the the mountain city of Oakhurst when they traveled to the Yosemite Relays, April 17.

The Yosemite Invitational marked the first meet following the Easter break. Due to qualifications, only seven FC members were in attendance for the event.

In the frosh/soph division, sophomore Josiah Ford clinched personal records in both the long jump and triple jump.

“It was a great competition between Josiah and (freshman) Kyser (Anderson),” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said. “Kyser was leading all jumpers with 19’4, and then on Josiah’s last jump he beat it by jumping 19’7.”

Ford received first place and Anderson followed close behind in second for the event.

“In long jump I felt I did well after returnig from four weeks with an injured ankle,” Ford said, “because I jumped 19’7 and my goal for the year is to break 20′. I chose to switch my jumping leg from right to left, because I didn’t want to put all my pressure on my previously hurt ankle. Although I was a little nervous I was very excited to jump again, and did a lot better than expected.”

The 4x100m relay girls relay team, consisting of senior Janae Ford, sophomore Cassidy Hutchins, sophomore Michelle Graham, and freshman Allison Camden, ran a combined 55.86 seconds to break their previous best.

“The girls improved on their relay time even with a bad handoff,” Gilmore said. “I am excited to see what they can do when their handoffs are better.”

Despite a flaw in handoffs between the starter and the number two runner, the girls managed to trim time in other ways.

“Before the relay began I felt nervous as I always do before my race,” Graham said. “However I also felt confident because we had practiced our handoffs numerous times before the meet. In the relay we messed up our first handoff but thankfully we were able to continue the race and beat our personal record.”

Sophomore hurdler Andrew Evans placed 4th in the 300H and 3rd overall n the 110H, as the hurdles stood a notch lower than he was used to on varsity.

“I felt I did bad because I’m not used to going over the shorter hurdles,” Evens said. “They threw off my step and reduced my speed, because I had to focus more on just getting over the hurdles. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to run on varsity, but I still placed third overall.”

EAGLES FACE RIVAL FOWLER–April 1
The Eagles competed in strong wind gusts at Fowler, April 1.

This week FC track athletes broke 13 personal records, despite unpredicted weather conditions.

“Janae Ford placed second in the 200m but ran her fastest career time (27.6),” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said. “She then anchored the 4x100m relay team to a victory and a personal record (55.6).”

The relay team also included Michele Graham, Cassidy Hutchins and Allison Camden.

With events going on in and out of the infield, some athletes nearly missed their event, including senior Nathan Hinojosa.

“When I found out I would have to run the 100 meter,” Hinojosa said, “I had to rush to prepare for the event. I thought I wasn’t going to beat anyone, because last time I ran this event was my sophomore year. After the race, I thought I did well considering I am a distance runner.”

Sophomore Abel Carreon scored a personal record of 125′ in the discus throw and also got 34’4″ in the shot put.

“The discus ring, where I place my feet, was very slippery so I thought I wasn’t going to perform well,” Carreon said. “However, I broke my personal record by four feet on my first attempt. I was very surprised because I felt tense from not being able to get completely warm.”

The hurdles were dominated by sophomore Andrew Evans as he won the 110m hurdles (17.1) and placed second in the 300m hurdles (45.0).

In the field events, freshman Kyser Anderson placed first in the pole vault, chalking up a personal record of 11′ while Josiah Ford placed first in the long jump (18’5″). Ford also had a personal best in the triple jump (40’2″), winning the event.

For a complete listing of how each athlete fared in their events, please read the Spring sport box scores.

PERSONAL RECORDS FALL AT EXETER–March 27
FC went forth into Exeter competing against both Yosemite and Sierra/Sequoia league schools, March 27.

Over 20 personal records were broken at the meet, including junior Doug Daniel going under 11 minutes for the first time in the 3200m race.

“I have been training hard and felt relieved when I broke 11 minutes,” Daniel said, “because if I hadn’t, the race would have been a failure. I was overjoyed when I looked at my watch after crossing the finish line, because I had accomplished my goal.”

“Doug broke his record in the 3200m again by finally going under 11 minutes,” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said. “He also came very close in the 1600m.”

Sophomore Frank Daniel also gave a good effort to come from behind and beat senior teammate and rival Nathan Hinojosa in both the 1600m and 3200m.

Overall, 4 medals were awarded to the top competing athletes on Friday. Kyser Anderson received a 3rd place medal in the triple jump and a 4th place medal in long jump, while breaking his personal records in both events.

Both senior Janae Ford and sophomore Andrew Evans went out and forged new personal records in their respective events. Ford received a silver medal for placing 2nd in the 400m dash, and sophomore Andrew Evens received a bronze medal following a 3rd in the 110m hurdles.

“The best news of the day was that both of our 4x100m relay teams made it around the track without being disqualified,” Gilmore said. “Not bad for not practicing our handoffs enough.”

FC CONTENDS AT RIVERDALE–March 25
The Eagles traveled to Riverdale to compete in their 4th event of the season versus Kings Christian, Parlier and Riverdale, March 25.

Senior Nathan Hinojosa held off sophomore teammate Frank Daniel to claim 7th place in the 3200m run.

“The highlight of the meet was watching Frank and Nathan fight it out,” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said. “For the past two years in both track and cross country, they have had a rivalry. Their closest race prior to today was during cross country where Frank won by two seconds.”

Despite a late charge from Daniel on the 8th and final lap around the track, Hinojosa kicked into gear and won by only a tenth of a second. Hinojosa finished the race in 13:19.

Senior Janae Ford ran 3 events in a row for the Eagles on short rest, scoring a personal record in the 200m sprint. She claimed 1st in both the 400- and 800-meter sprints, while earning 2nd in the 200m.

“On the girls side it was all Janae,” Gilmore said. “For a hard workout, she ran the 400, 800 and 200 in that order with little rest. She had a personal record in the 200 even though it was on dirt and her muscles were tired.”

Other highlights on the team included two 1st place finishes in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles, by sophomore Andrew Evans. After finishing the 300 in 47.4 seconds, Evans got 18.1 seconds in the 110. Freshman Marten Moreno finished in 2nd place in the 110 meter hurdles with a 20.2.

Freshman Kyser Anderson placed first in the long jump with a distance of 17’8″ and 3rd in the 800 meter sprint with 2:34.

EAGLES COMPETE AT TAFT RELAYS–March 14
The Eagles tested their skills at the Taft Relays competing against over 20 schools, Divisions III through V, March 14.

“Practically every person had a personal record today,” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said. “I am very proud of my senior captain [Janae Ford] who ran extremely well for her first 400 of the season.”

Ford ran a 1:04.68 to finish in 3rd place in the event after only two weeks of practice.

Prior to the meet, the Taft coach decided to include the steeplechase, a college event where participants hurdle four barriers including a water pit. Sophomore Rachel Wilhelm ran the 2000m Steeplechase for the Eagles, while senior Nathan Hinojosa and junior Doug Daniel ran the 3000m equivalent.

“It is a difficult race because you must jump as well as run a long race,” Gilmore said. “Rachel finished the race wet and tired but she beat three girls in the process. Doug finished in the middle of the pack with Nathan close to beating him.”

Daniel’s unorthodox form in the steeplechase drew a laugh from his watching teammates.

Hinojosa went on to run a personal record in both the 1600m and 3200m.

FOWLER REDCAT RELAYS–March 7
The Fowler Redcat Relays meet brought together 800 athletes from 21 different schools.

“We have a small team this year of only four girls and 11 boys,” head coach Ericlee Gilmore said. “We have only one senior girl and one senior boy.”

Although the team had only a week to prepare, sophomore Josiah Ford says the team performed well in their first meet of the season. Ford competed in the triple jump and achieved a distance of 39’11.5″.

“Overall we did pretty well for it being our first meet,” Ford said. “My best event in the race was the triple jump because it’s my favorite and I jumped my third-farthest distance ever.”

In addition to the triple jump, Ford participated in the 4x100m relay with three other teammates.

“I don’t think I did my very best in the 4x100m relay,” Ford said, “but as a team we did well because no one dropped the baton to cause a disqualification.”

Sophomore Andrew Evans broke both of his personal records in the 110m shuttle hurdles and the 300m hurdles.

“I was excited because I wasn’t sure how I would do this year, or if I would even improve,” Evans said. “My best event was the 110m hurdles, because I started the relay 25m behind a Taft competitor and caught up to beat him for second place in our heat.”

BUCHANAN DISTANCE CLASSIC–Feb. 27
Five athletes represented FC in the track team’s first meet of the ’09 season, the Buchanan Distance Classic, Feb. 27.

Head coach Ericlee Gilmore gained assurance in his team from the effort displayed in their performances.

“Overall I felt everyone did well for their first meet of the year,” Gilmore said. “Especially Doug Daniel [’10] because he was only five seconds away from beating his mile time.”

Daniel echoed his coach’s contentment, but said it could have gone better.

“I’m okay with my mile time,” Daniel said, “But my two-mile time was like a Jurassic Park movie where everything that could go wrong, did.”

However, Gilmore went on to say there is still much to improve on in the early season.

“Distance runners still need to work on their two mile times,” Gilmore said, “That will come in practice throughout the season.”

Not only do many of the track members physicaly work hard in the after school practice, but also in their daily strength and conditioning classes. In this course they are taught to maintain a healthy lifestyle through nutrition as well as lifting and running.

“I am excited to see how Doug, Frank and Rachel will do now that they are in the strength and conditioning class,” Gilmore said.