Winning has essentially become routine for Paly’s varsity boys’ track and field team: after its 78-49 victory over the Los Gatos Wildcats Tuesday night, it now holds a perfect 4-0 record in the De Anza division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
One aspect of the meet that was not quite routine, however, was the presence of sophomores Henry Jordan and Peter Wilson running at the varsity level for the first time in their young careers.
Both competed in the varsity boys’ 800-meter run, finishing in the top three places of the race, and both set personal records in the event as well.
Jordan won the race, clocking in at 2 minutes, 4.99 seconds and crushing his previous personal best by a full five seconds.
“I was just really excited that I showed him [boys’ distance coach Jeff Billing] what I could do,” Jordan said. “I thought it [the run] went great.”
On Friday, Jordan competed in the Frosh/Soph Central Coast Section Track and Field Classic, during which he raced against freshmen and sophomores in both the 1600- and 3200-meter runs and claimed times of 4:46.14 and 10:14.38 respectively. With those finishes, he has qualified to run both events in the Frosh/Soph division of the Top 8 Classic set for April 18 at Los Gatos High School. There, Jordan will compete against the fastest freshmen and sophomores in the Central Coast region.
Despite such a feat, Jordan remains humble.
“It’s nothing special,” he said of qualifying.
In the past week, Jordan says he has dropped five seconds from his previous personal best 1600-meter time and 15 seconds from his 3200 time. Combined with his improvement Tuesday, Jordan has shaved off a substantial 25 seconds collectively from his previous personal bests in three distance events within just one week.
Jordan’s fellow sophomore Wilson took third in the varsity 800 Tuesday, finishing in 2:08.13. Like his teammate, Wilson also is modest about his performance.
“It was decent,” Wilson said. “I was happy to score.”
Having experienced track and field competition at both the frosh/soph and varsity level now, Wilson notices distinct differences in the manner of athleticism of both divisions.
“The race was quicker than what I was used to,” Wilson said. “It was a little more competitive.”
Because Wilson spent last week’s Spring Break out of town, he was unable to compete in the Frosh/Soph Classic Friday. Had he run the 1600 at the Frosh/Soph Classic in the time he ran it during the dual meet against Gunn High School on March 21, he would have qualified for the Top 8 meet.
Nevertheless, both Jordan and Wilson showcased dedicated efforts in their runs Tuesday, adding a total of six points to the varsity boys’ overall team score of 78 in their first attempt at varsity track and field competition.
Paly would end up claiming all nine points possible from the 800 event with senior Robert Miller finishing second between Jordan and Wilson at 2:06.18. Paly also swept the 400, during which seniors Julius Berezin and Erik Roberts, junior Ariel Arsac-Ellison, and senior Nathan Tall dominated the first four places of the event with times of 52.25, 54.25, 54.25, and 55.28 respectively. Three Paly throwers placed within the top four spots in both the shotput and discus, while a similar situation occurred in the 1600: sophomore Phil MacQuitty, junior Skyler Cummins, and senior Rajan Narang came in at first, second, and fourth at 4:31.99, 4:33.21, and 4:46.50 respectively.
The varsity boys’ track and field team hopes to maintain its undefeated streak in its next dual meet set against Milpitas High School at 3 p.m. on April 10 at Milpitas.