As she rested under an umbrella beside the triple jump pit at Los Gatos High School, Elzunia Wojcicka studiously eyed her competition stepping onto the runway.

With a leap of 37-10 in the triple jump, the San Benito High School senior had done her job by qualifying for four separate events in the Central Coast Section finals. But still, all afternoon Mount Pleasant’s Undine Becker had found ways to out-do her.

It started in the 4x100 relays. Becker and her teammates placed first, while Wojcicka and her San Benito Haybalers qualified in fourth place for the last half of the year’s final track. It carried over in to the 100-meter hurdles after Becker edged Wojcicka by fractions of a second to grab first-place in that event.

Wojcicka surely thought Becker’s winning streak would have ended in the long jump, but a sub par day from the CCS’s leader in the long jump left the door open for Becker. The Mt. Pleasant senior slammed the door shut when her jump of 18-4 ¾ cemented a first-place slot and Wojcicka’s third place bound of 17-8 ¾ came up eight inches too short.

The triple jump was Wojcicka’s final salvation. Her final jump tentatively put her in first place with one more jumper to go—Becker.

In one swoop, Becker cleared 39-10, took first in the event and set up a showdown for the two track and field stars Saturday in the CCS track and field finals.

"She’s just awesome," said Wojcicka after Becker’s final triple jump. "She’s one of the best in the entire league."

Understandably Wojcicka, the state long-jump record holder this year, didn’t want to talk about her unlucky day at the long jump pits. On every one of her long jump attempts, every cameraperson and reporter crowded around the pits eager to take a gander at what Wojcicka had to offer. Last Saturday, it wasn’t quite up to her previous 20-foot efforts.

After scratching on her first two jumps, Wojcicka needed to jump a 17-5 in her final jump in order to qualify. She made it—barely.

"Someone moved my sight rag," said Wojcicka. "I guess you can’t have them here."

The sight rag, a target long jumpers train their eyes on they won’t sneak a peek at the jump board just before liftoff—is used by a majority of the long jumpers at San Benito and is placed behind the landing pits at eye level.

With no rag in sight, Wojcicka might have peeked at the line in her first two jumps and relied on instinct for her last.

"Just as long as I’m in (the finals)," said Wojcicka. "I just hope the rest of my teammates make it too."

Across the field, Adriana Windham needed to find some shade. Fast.

After laboring through the final 50 meters of the 400-meter run, Windham--feverishly gasping for air-- crossed the finish line and trotted a few more steps before stopping, bending over and grasping her knees in exhaustion. She had just left it all on the track.

The heat, combined with the high pollen count and six opposing runners pushing her to the limit in the 400’s, put Windham on the verge of having an asthmatic attack right there on the Los Gatos track.

"I need to sit down," Windham said in between breaths. "I can’t breathe."

The Haybalers premier sprinter, the first place qualifier in the 400’s and the seventh place qualifier in the 200-meter run, could barely lift her feet as she slowly shuffled to a shady corner in a grass field directly behind the Los Gatos High bleachers. At that moment, the slowest runner at the meet could have caught her.

Sprawled out on the cool grass and well within reach of her asthmatic pump, Windham explained in two words why winning that heat in that event meant so much to her.

"Shante Smith," Windham puffed.

Last season in the CCS finals, Smith—who was running for Mt. Pleasant at the time—handily beat Windham in the 400’s and the Haybalers junior never forgot.

This season, Smith switched to Silver Creek High and told other runners that the 200 and 400 titles are hers. Windham wanted to prove her wrong.

In the 400’s Windham and Smith ran side-by-side in the same heat and both were strictly business. Windham quickly put it on, blowing out Smith by two seconds. Smith returned the favor by finishing first in the 200’s.

"She has a bad attitude," said Windham after catching her breath. "She’s the person I want to beat the most."

Saturday the battle lines will be drawn all over the Los Gatos High School’s track and field. From the long jump pits to the hurdles, from the pole-vaulting runway to the high jump bar, there will be Haybalers looking to stake their claim for a first-place finish in the CCS finals.

Hopefully, all of the athletes are successful no matter what their motivation might be.

Track events start at 1 p.m and field events begin at 2 p.m at Los Gatos High School.

200 Meter Dash-- Adriana Windham 25.67

400 Meter Dash--Windham 56.68

3200 Meter Run--Ali Schmidt 11:43.74

100-Meter Hurdles--Elzunia Wojcicka 14.62

4x100 Meter Relay—San Benito 49.21

4x400 Meter Relay—San Benito 4:01.62

High Jump-- Jennifer Towsley 5’-2"

Sarah Groman 5’-2"

Pole Vault-- Stephanie Starritt 10’-0"

Long Jump-- Wojcicka 17-08.75

Triple Jump—Wojcicka 37-10.75

Pole Vault--A.J. Wojcicki 13’6"

Mateo Marquez-Connell 13’-0"

4x400 Meter Relay—San Benito 3:24.98

Boys Triple Jump--Thomas Fernandez 43’-04 ¾"