Preps of the week: Track athletes impress despite inclement weather
Track athletes took center stage this week as the MCAL held its annual championship meet on Thursday and Saturday at San Rafael High.
Tam got big performances from several top athletes to edge Redwood for the team title. The Giants were not going to be denied on the girls side with multiple event winners leading the way.
San Marin’s Grasso sisters dominated the sprints and Redwood’s Antonio Bayon came close to winning four events. Elsewhere, San Rafael resident Ellie McCuskey-Hay picked up two firsts and two seconds for St. Ignatius at the WCAL meet.
The MCAL golf title was also decided this past week with Tam capping an unbeaten season with another pennant. A Terra Linda swimmer claimed a North Coast Section title. Lacrosse teams advanced to the section semifinals while baseball and softball teams wrapped up their regular seasons.
Sicily Grasso and Gianna Grasso, San Marin girls track
The Grasso sisters staked their claim to being the two fastest sprinters in the MCAL, finishing 1-2 in both the 100 meters and the 200 at the league championships. Sicily, a junior, took first place in both, winning the 100 in 12.71 seconds and the 200 in 26.26. Younger sister Gianna, a freshman, was right behind her, finishing the 100 in 13.08 and the 200 in 27.11
Antonio Bayon, Redwood boys track
The boys meet featured only one multiple individual event winner. Bayon won three different events and finished second in a fourth. Bayon’s task was made more difficult as all the field events took place on Thursday due to the weather, instead of being split up between Thursday and Saturday. Bayon won the triple jump with a personal best mark of 43 feet, 3 inches and took the pole vault with another PR of 14′,8″. Bayon placed second in the long jump with a distance of 20′,07″. On Saturday, Bayon took aim at his third event win, crossing the line first in the 100 hurdles (15.87).
Nate Wanger, Caeden Gardner, and Shea Sorcher, Tam boys track
The Red-tailed Hawks needed just about every point they could get their hands on to defeat Redwood for the team title. Wanger and Gardner picked up event wins in the 400 (50.24, PR) and the 800 (1:57.55, PR), respectively, also also teamed up to run the final two legs on the victorious 4×400 relay team. Dexter Burnett and Cooper Hatch ran the first two legs. The inclement weather caused a shuffling of the event schedule, pushing the two hurdle races to the end. Sorcher won the 300 hurdles (40.56, PR) and his second-place finish in the 100 hurdles (16.10) was enough to secure the team title.
Ruby Hauth, Trinity Chancellor, and Annalise Horn, Redwood girls track
The Giants won a slew of events during the course of the MCAL meet with Hauth wining both the 100 hurdles (17.36) and the high jump (5′,0″). Chancellor and Horn paired individual wins in the pole vault (10′,06″) and long jump (17′,08″), respectively along with spots in the winning 4×100 relay team. Chancellor and Horn were joined on that team by Tatum McPeek and Jenna Beauchamp. Redwood also got individual wins from Marley Nacco in the 1,600 (5:13.29, PR), Sydney Middleton in the 300 hurdles (50.32, PR), and Rachael McAllister in the triple jump (34′,00″, PR).
Ellie McCuskey-Hay, St. Ignatius girls track
The Marin Waves standout and San Rafael resident put up another impressive display at the West Catholic Athletic Conference meet on Friday night, winning two events and placing second in two others. McCuskey-Hay, a sophomore, won both sprints in lightning-fast times of 11.89 and 25.02, respectively. McCuskey-Hay was also second in the long jump (16′,11″) and was on the second-place 4×100 relay team.
Nicholas Arinduque and Ben Butler, Terra Linda boys swimming
Arinduque won the section title in the 100 breaststroke on Saturday, touching the wall with a time of 56.25. Butler finished on the podium twice with a second-place finish in the 100 free (45.37) and a third-place finish in the 200 free (1:38.53). Both TL swimmers also competed on relay teams that finished in fifth place — joining Rhys Garroway and Jack Middleton for the 200 medley, and teaming with Jackson Wright and Middleton in the 200 free.
Ben Friedman, Tam boys golf
Friedman was the only golfer to break par on a blustery day at StoneTree Golf Club last Monday, carding a 2-under 70 to lead the Red-tailed Hawks to the team title. Tam’s 406 points was 20 better than second-place Redwood with 426.
Abigail Brackett and Abby Bartholo, San Marin girls lacrosse
Brackett scored a team-high seven goals and Bartholo scored five as the Mustangs moved on to the NCS D-II semifinals following a come-from-behind 16-13 win against University on Thursday. Three of Bartholo’s goals came during a crucial stretch in the third quarter when the Mustangs surged in front. The top-seeded Mustangs host Acalanes at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Audrey Carr and Lulu Hobson, Marin Catholic girls lacrosse
Carr and Hobson combined to scored 13 goals and dish out seven assists over two wins last week that put MC into the NCS D-I semifinals. Carr had three goals and three assists in the first game and added three goals, an assist and three draw controls in the quarterfinals. Hobson had a team-high four goals in the first game to go with two assists then produced three more goals and an assist in the quarterfinals.
Claire Johnson, Redwood girls lacrosse
Johnson, a freshman attacker, led the way as No. 2 seed Redwood took down California 15-6 to move into the NCS D-I semifinals. Johnson has scored six goals and had five assists in the first two rounds of the NCS tournament. Next up for the Giants is a home game against Marin Catholic at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Troppman Field. The Giants and Wildcats have played two barnburners this season with Redwood winning 16-14 in the regular season and claiming the MCAL title following a 13-12 overtime win.
Jackson Lesher, Redwood boys lacrosse
The Giants goalkeeper made nine saves against No. 7 Tam in No. 2 Redwood’s 6-3 victory during Thursday’s NCS D-II quarterfinals. The Giants face a major test against No. 3 De La Salle in Tuesday’s semifinals.
Jayden Lee, Marin Catholic baseball
The Wildcats needed to finish with a flourish to ensure themselves of making the MCAL playoffs and Lee provided it with a staggering 10 RBIs over the course of a two-game sweep of Tam. Lee had three hits, five RBIs, and scored twice in a 7-0 win on Tuesday. Lee added two more hits, drove in five more runs, and scored three times in a 20-6 win on Thursday.
Sean McGrath, San Marin baseball
The Mustangs were all but assured of a playoff spot when the week started but they needed to beast Novato at least once to secure the second seed and a home game. McGrath was masterful on Tuesday, pitching a complete-game, ono-hitter with eight strikeouts as San Marin won 7-1 to wrap up the No. 2 seed. As a reward, the Mustangs will face the Hornets again on Tuesday.
Thomara Drummer, San Rafael softball
The Bulldogs leaned on their ace, who threw every single pitch for the team this week as San Rafael stretched its win streak to 14 games and claimed its first MCAL regular-season title in 20 years following wins over Redwood and Tam. All told, Drummer — who also threw all five innings against Piner on Friday — allowed seven hits and no runs while striking out 37 hitters in 19 innings of work. Drummer struck out 17 against Tam and threw a no-hitter with 12 more strikeouts against Piner.