One Hundred Sixty Track and Field Athletes Qualify for PCL Finals
Senior Leena Malik and sophomore Hannah Ko compete in the varsity 100-meter hurdles event. Malik finished in second place at 17.05 seconds and Ko finished in sixth place at 17.84 seconds, both qualifying for Pacific Coast League finals.
Track and field saw the highest number of qualified athletes in the Pacific Coast League of 160 for PCL finals at the preliminary meet on the track on April 21. League finals were at the track on April 28, where varsity girls and boys scored the most points out of the high jump, long jump, triple jump, discus throw and shot put events and placed first overall.
The next track meet will be CIF divisional preliminaries on May 6 at Ventura High.
“Our athletes are performing very dominantly compared to the context of the Pacific Coast League,” head coach Cale Kavanaugh said. “We [felt] especially optimistic going into this league finals that it’s going to be a really good turnout for us.”
Apart from the record number of athletes who qualified, the Bulldogs also broke several league records. Notably, sprinter and junior Rider Cooper broke the school record for the boys’ 200-meter sprint.
“Our athletes broke the league records at prelims, which is fantastic, because we’re not even building them to peak yet,” Kavanaugh said. “It’s really a testament to the work that our athletes have been putting in and the growth and evolution of this program over the last couple of years.”
Prior to the meet, Kavanaugh said athletes focused on conditioning their skills by refining small details within, such as basic technical and speed work. The day before the meet, some athletes prepared by eating certain foods or doing certain exercises, according to senior Simon Kim.
“I drink a lot of water, and there’s this exercise that you do where you put your legs against the wall, so I do that for about 30 minutes,” Kim said. “It’s to get the lactic acid out of your legs and be fresh for the next day. And I always just try to eat a hearty dinner the night before.”
Kim said at league finals, he broke a personal record in the varsity 800-meter run with a new record of 2:02:41, meeting a goal he had in mind prior to the meet.
“I went into the race knowing that it would be my last, and I think that was able to give me the extra boost at the end and break my record,” Kim said. “I feel great knowing that I gave it my all and thought it was a fitting end to my four years on the team.”
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