Our first complete season in 3 years was capped off pretty well as our Whitney Distance Squad competed at SFL Championships on Friday, May 6. Whitney varsity scored the most points of any distance squad in our high-powered league. Of the three distance races (800m, 1600m, and 3200m), Whitney outscored every other squad by double digits. This effort helped our varsity girls win the league title, and our varsity boys to finish as league runner-up.
Sadly, we say good-bye to our seniors, who ran their final race in a maroon and gold jersey at SFL Finals: Kylee Wibbeler, Alex Wan, Hunter Schwab, Ashlyn Fujioka. James Bowen advanced to Divisionals where he ran his final race as a Whitney runner.
Here are some Frosh Soph SFL Finals highlights…
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Akanis Surapak and Grey Robinson were our top two 800 meter runners, advancing to the finals
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Sophie Bowen placed 4th in the 1600m finals with a fast PR of 5:39
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Alishia Elie placed in the top 10 in the frosh soph 1600m finals with a 5:52 PR
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Mandy Rao completed her season with a PR in the 1600m at 6:33
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Tyler Kubota just missed a PR in the 1600, but did break 5 minutes again to place in the top 10
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Peyton Boyd PR’d in the 1600, nearly breaking 5 minutes, going 5:05
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Landon Wibbeler hit a new PR in the 1600 at 5:12
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Akanis Surapak went 5:17 in the 1600, a new PR
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Victor Needham ran 5:22 to earn a new PR
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Max Bowen hit lifetime bests in both the 1600 at 5:34 and the 3200 at 13:12
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Sophie Bowen and Taylor Bettencourt placed 2nd and 4th respectively in the 3200m run
And here are some of the varsity highlights from SFL Finals…
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Ava Kopec defended her league title in the 800 meter run from 2021 by dominating the competition in 2022, winning the race by a full 2 seconds, and advancing to Divisionals
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Grace Scott placed 6th in the 800, scoring for Whitney, and advancing to Divisionals
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Mateo DelGadillo went with the leader with 300 to go, then put on a kick in the final straight of the 800 to claim the title of league champion, and advanced to Divisionals
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Cole Jamieson and James Bowen placed 5th and 7th in the 800 respectively to advance to Divisionals
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Jaden Rapp placed top 10 in the 800 and advanced to Divisionals as an alternate
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In the girls 1600, one of the fastest league finals races in the state of California (and in the nation), Whitney had 3 girls place in the top 10. Katie Kopec once again broke 5 minutes, placing 2nd, and advancing to Divisionals. Ava Kopec placed 7th to advance to Divisionals. Grace Scott was 9th, and Mariana Blanding hit an impressive season best at 6:04.
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In the boys 1600, five of the top 11 runners were from Whitney. Nick Herrmann led the way with an impressive PR of 4:23 to place 3rd (5th on the all-time Whitney list). Callum Turner hit an eye-opening 4:25 to place 5th, and James Bowen hit his goal of breaking 4:30, going 4:29 and placing 7th. Nick, Callum, and James all advanced to Divisionals. Brandon Olah hit a huge PR, breaking 4:40 for the first time ever, going 4:38, giving Whitney 8 runners at sub-4:40 for the season, most in the Sac Joaquin Section. Aidan Barkve hit a solid PR of 4:56.
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In the 3200, Katie Kopec managed a tactical effort to place 2nd and advance to Divisionals. Katie would end up going all the way to state in this event.
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Kylee Wibbeler put a bow on her high school career with an incredible double-digit PR in the 3200, hitting 13:38
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In the boys 3200, Whitney clearly showed dominant depth with more than half of the top 15 runners being maroon and gold. This depth will be especially potent during cross country, which rewards depth more than track and field does (in terms of team scoring). Nick Herrmann placed 5th to advance to Divisionals. And in maybe the most surprising performance of the day, sophomore David Hurren, who was in the varsity race primarily to shoot for a PR, ended up climbing all the way to 7th! David got his PR, a blistering 10:04, but also punched a ticket to Divisionals. Cole Jamieson, having already raced the 1600 and 800, asked if he could jump into the 3200 to see what he could do; he did really well to place 8th and advanced to Divisionals.
From league finals, the varsity athletes who placed in the top 8 in any league finals event advanced to Divisionals. So although league finals marks the end of the season for most athletes, Whitney advanced 10 runners in the distance events.
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800m League Champion Mateo DelGadillo advanced in the divisional trials to the finals, where he placed a very impressive 3rd (photo finish from 2nd), and hit a crazy new PR of 1:57 to put him 3rd on the all-time Whitney list, and advanced to Masters.
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Two-time 800m League Champion Ava Kopec advanced to the divisional finals, where she was one of only three runners who also raced the 1600. So even with 9 of the 800m finalists on fresh legs, Ava still placed 7th and advanced to Masters.
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Grace Scott ran the 800 in the divisional trials and missed reaching the finals by less than half a second
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Katie Kopec placed 4th in the 1600, hitting a new PR at 4:57, which also lowered her own school record. Although this qualified her for Masters, she ultimately scratched the event to focus on the 3200.
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Callum Turner raced the 1600 and missed the at-large mark by a fraction of a second, nearly qualifying for Masters
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Senior James Bowen competed in the 1600, toughing out his final race as a Whitney runner on a bad wheel. Nursing a strain in his lower leg, James was not able to run after SFL Finals, but to his credit made it his goal to step to the line one last time.
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Katie Kopec placed 4th in the 3200 to advance to Masters
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Nick Herrmann placed 5th in the 3200 to advance to Masters
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In all, Whitney had 4 distance runners qualify for the next round, among the most of any team from Divisionals
Not only did Whitney advance 4 runners to the prestigious Masters event, Mateo DelGadillo, Ava Kopec, Nick Herrmann, and Katie Kopec each advanced past the trials and made it to Masters Finals. And even at the finals, they didn’t just make it there. They each finished in scoring position at the finals… the most of any program in the entire section, regardless of division. Highlights from Masters…
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Ava placed 7th in the 800 at Masters Finals, beating a couple of top runners who finished ahead of her at divisionals. For the season, Ava hit a blazing 2:17 PR, just one second off the school record.
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Mateo placed 7th in the 800 at Masters Finals, finishing his season with only 3 returning (non-senior) 800m runners posting a faster time than him in the entire section. Mateo will be considered one of the favorites to challenge for a state berth in 2023.
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Nick ran a monstrous race in the 3200 at Masters Finals. With a qualifying time from divisionals that figured to place him maybe in the top 10, Nick worked his way into the lead pack of 7 and kept in close contact with the leaders throughout the race, closing with a very strong final lap to place 5th. Nick’s time was a huge PR at 9:19, putting him 3rd on the all-time Whitney list, just about 3 seconds from the school record. Nick will be considered one of the top runners in the section for cross country season and next track season.
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Katie dropped the 1600–where she very likely would have placed in the top 3 and earned a berth to the state meet–and focused on the 3200. It was a bit of a risky decision since most of the top talent was also scratching the 1600 in favor of the 3200. But we felt the script for the 3200 was more predictable than the mile, with a solid belief she would get 3rd. And, more importantly, the 3200 is Katie’s preferred distance. The race played out as expected, with the top two pushing ahead, leaving Katie to basically have to “win” the chase pack. Katie sat in 4th for much of the race, then made her move with two laps to go, knowing she had a strong 800. Her strategy worked to perfection, and Whitney had a distance runner heading to state.
The season officially came to a finale at the state meet, where 20 mph winds were the main headline. This generated a wonky dynamic in the women’s 3200, where the top nine girls broke away at a blistering pace early, leaving a chase pack with nobody wanting to lead, since the headwinds were so brutal. The result was the lead pack disintegrating in the wind, and those in the chase pack too far off pace to recover. Only four girls in the entire field hit PR’s, very unusual for a state championship. But even with the wind and the odd race developments, Katie still finished within 13 seconds of her personal best (which was a brilliant effort at Arcadia). Most girls were much further off their PR than 13 seconds, so overall a good outcome for Katie at her first state meet in track. (Historical side note: In 2014 in the girls 3200 at Masters Finals, there were two top runners who took off, leaving a chase pack to scramble for the 3rd and final spot to state, when a certain runner named Jenica from Whitney emerged from the chase pack with two laps to go, and powered her way to the state berth, and at state, Jenica finished 13 seconds off of her PR; strange but true… )
Many of our runners have been on a break from running, some have had a full break and begun running again, a few who ran deep in the postseason will begin their break. Most of the distance squad will begin to prepare for cross country, as we pick up for summer conditioning later in June. Great job to all of our committed runners on a terrific track season. Things look very promising as we look ahead to autumn on the trails.