TRACK SEASON AT HALFWAY MARK

By Jay Leon Guerrero

The fourth track meet is in the books for half of the league and teams are starting to gear for the All-Island Meet which is scheduled for March 9th at the JFK Track.

The ND Royals girls team is gaining experience and having fun in the process as a first-time stand-alone team. In the previous seasons, the Royals did not have enough athletes to have their team. This season, a record number of female athletes came out for Track and Field and they have their squad.

Previously, the ND Royal athletes had to join as affiliates for other schools. This season, they have more than enough to participate.

Isabella Kebreau, a senior, said she is happy to represent the Royals. “We are a small team and it makes me feel proud to be a part of this team,” said Kebreau.

“Going this far into the season, we have grown closer. I feel like they are all my little sisters and we are so supportive of each other,” said Kebreau.

Okkodo making strides

The Okkodo Bulldogs are showing they are also contenders for some all-island hardware next month. Colin Gogo, a junior, said the Bulldogs are showing drastic improvements since the first meet.

“You can tell there have been some definite improvements since the beginning. Our athletes are making PR’s and you can see the difference in form,” said Gogo.

Gogo, a sprinter, said that Track and Field enables him to strive to accomplish his goals. “I’ve been doing this since middle school and being out here gives me a rush. My goal is just to place and give points to my school,” said Gogo. Gogo was first overall in Thursday’s 100m sprint with a new PR time of 12.31 seconds.

Dingcong, Hollingsworth win for Southern

Benny Dingcong, representing the Southern Dolphins, won both boys hurdles events. Dingcong was the clear winner for both events with winning times of 18.50 seconds in the 110m hurdles and 47.32 seconds in the 300m hurdles.

In the 800m event, Southern’s Gabriel Hollingsworth edged out JFK’s Landon Taitingfong by two-tenths of a second. The race had both runners sprinting for the finish but Hollingsworth’s lunge at the finish gave him the narrowest of victories thus far this season.

The JFK Islanders boys swept the long-distance races. Sophomore Kaito Sakaguchi won the 3000m race and was second to teammate Taitingfong in the 1500m event.

“Our team is getting better and we are having fun cheering for each other,” said Sakaguchi. “I think both the boy’s and the girl’s teams can win the all-island. Some of us have hit PR’s and some have not but we are all improving since our first meet”.

Friday’s meet will feature Guam High, GW, Sanchez, FD/AOLG and Tiyan.

For full results of Thursday’s meet, click the following link:

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/486683/results/all

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