There were plenty of spectacular performances on San Jose City College's newly refurbished track Friday, but Sacred Heart Cathedral's Shannon Rowbury and Carlmont's Mary Meyman stole the show by dominating their events at the Central Coast Section girls track and field finals.
Rowbury made her move on the back stretch in the 1,600 meters, overtaking Los Gatos' Ashley Caldwell and winning by 10 strides with a time of 4 minutes, 55.81 seconds. A little more than an hour later in the 800, Rowbury, the defending state champion, showed no signs of fatigue. She went out quickly and breezed to another victory over Caldwell with a time of 2:08.74, the fastest in California and the second-fastest in the nation this year.
With her triumph in the 800, Rowbury became the third girl to win four CCS titles in the same event. After the race, she announced her intentions for next week's state meet in Norwalk.
``I'm going to drop the 800 and run in the mile,'' Rowbury said. ``I never had a chance to really focus on it, and I feel I have a lot to do in that event. To run in both would mean running four races -- with qualifying at state -- and if I did that, I think my hair might start falling out.
``It was a tough decision -- the 800 is all I've ever done. But it's unknown territory; that's what makes it exciting.''
Meyman, who moved to California from Russia at 10, won all three events she entered -- the 100, 100 hurdles and long jump.
A natural hurdler who competed in the long jump for the first time this year, Meyman eclipsed her personal best by a foot, hitting the board in stride for a mark of 19 feet -- the best in the CCS this year.
``I finally got a great jump,'' said Meyman, whose parents were members of the USSR track team. ``Last week I took off about two inches before the board and got 18 feet, so I moved up my run about five inches and hit the board perfectly.
``I still didn't know I had a good jump when I landed, then I looked back in the sand and said `Yes!' ''
Meyman easily won the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.29 seconds. In the 100, Meyman said her concentration was broken when one runner committed a false start.
``That kind of got my adrenaline rushing,'' she said. ``I thought the 100 was my biggest challenge; I wasn't sure if I could win it.''
She not only won it, she also burst out of the blocks and cruised to victory with a personal- and CCS-season-best time of 12.16.
Meyman will compete in all three events again at the state meet, where she failed to reach the final in the hurdles last year.
``I did real bad last year, and hope I can just run my best next week,'' Meyman said. ``I've been training for this for four years, and I hope I'm peaking at the right time.''
Wilcox's Christina Hardeman thought her dreams of repeating as Central Coast Section champion in the 200 and 400 meters were dashed when she suffered a minor dislocation of her right knee in February. But after a lot of training, the talented senior successfully defended both titles Friday at San Jose City College.
Hardeman went out quickly in the 400 and seemed to get stronger as she circled the track, finishing with a CCS-season-best time of 54.41 seconds. It was also the fourth-best time in the state this year.
``I just pushed out of the blocks and tried to stay under control,'' she said. ``We've been working double-time the last few months getting ready for this, and I just want my shot to perform well next week at state. I'm really excited to get that opportunity.''
Hardeman offered up a near-duplication of things in the 200, recorded a CCS-season-best time of 24.26 seconds that was the fifth-fastest state time.
Brother act
Saratoga twin brothers David and Richard La entered the CCS finals hoping to finish 1-2 in the 800 meters. Although they fell short of their goal, they accomplished the next-best thing: second- and third-place finishes, respectively, that qualify them for the state meet.
Aptos' Jacob Evans won with a time of 1 minute, 55.30 seconds.
As the runners reached the final 50 meters, there was still a crowd of about four challenging for the race.
``I was changing position every 100,'' David La said. ``The whole race was like that. Coming down the stretch I knew I was in third. I let it all out. I didn't know who was close to me.''
• Aptos' Brett Gotcher won his second consecutive CCS title in the 3,200 with a time of 9:09.78.
``It felt good to just go out there and lead it wire-to-wire,'' Gotcher said. ``My coach wanted me to run about a 4:30 first mile, and I ran 4:30.5. I wanted to drive and feel that burn. I figured Jeremy Mineau of Menlo-Atherton would be right there; you can't overlook anyone out there or they'll sneak up on you.''
Mineau finished second, about 11 seconds back.
• Lynbrook's Kim Gleeson is smaller than most of the competitors in the girls field events. But with a combination of weight-training and a new emphasis on technique, she won both the discus and shot put.
``I owe a lot to my step-dad, John Orlando, and my coach, Ron McKee; they have helped me increase my strength and helped me to perform technically solid. I'm a lot more consistent this year, hopefully that will help me do well at state.''
• Homestead's Will Faules thought about withdrawing from the 300 intermediate hurdles to focus on the 110 high hurdles.
Good thing he didn't. Faules placed first in the 300 hurdles and second in the 110 hurdles, qualifying for state in both.
``It's awesome,'' he said. ``I was going to scratch, but my coach wouldn't let me do it. It worked out well.''
Rubin Williams began his day at the Central Coast Section boys track and field finals by leading Valley Christian to victory in the 4x100-meter relay. When it was over Friday, Williams had won three first-place medals and etched his name into the CCS record book.
Williams broke a 28-year-old meet record in the 200, winning with a sizzling time of 20.84 seconds. The mark, the second-best in the nation this year, surpassed the one set by Olympic silver medalist Millard Hampton in 1974. Hampton ran a hand-timed 20.9 while competing for Silver Creek.
``It feels real good,'' said Williams, a senior who also won the 100. ``I didn't know it would feel like this. We've been training to get my best out. My coach told me when I drop, I'm going to really drop. He said tonight to let it loose, and it just happened.''
Williams and Bellarmine's Jihad Beauchman were the only competitors to win multiple individual events at San Jose City College. Beauchman won the high jump and triple jump and will compete in both events at next week's state meet in Norwalk.
But the day belonged to Williams, who now owns the section's second-best 200 time ever as well as the second-best mark in Northern California. His feat also places him alongside another CCS great -- Olympian Calvin Harrison, who ran a section-record 20.57 in 1993.
``We knew we had something special coming into the meet,'' Valley Christian Coach Scott Evans said. ``This is one of the races we've been looking toward all year, for the opportunity to really showcase his talent and what he can really do.''
Williams' previous personal best was 21.32 seconds. Friday, he jumped out of the blocks and pulled away from the pack on the first turn. He surged ahead on the straightaway and finished about 15 meters ahead of runner-up Ronnie Drummer of North Salinas.
Williams also dominated the 100, winning with a wind-aided time of 10.37 seconds. It's the state's second-best time under any conditions; the best legal mark belongs to Skyline's Garry Jones, who ran a 10.45 at the Stanford Invitational to beat Williams.
``Our goal at the beginning of the season was to break the CCS record,'' Evans said. ``We came into it planning to make a run for it. We didn't know how it would end up, but we were certainly aiming for it.''
Beauchman's two victories helped the Bells win their third consecutive team title and fifth overall.
``Our guys really struggled today,'' he said. ``We didn't get the marks we should be, so 20 points really helps for our team title.''
After scratching on his first attempt in the triple jump, Beauchman needed two more jumps to land his winning mark of 46 feet, 8 1/2 inches. He won the high jump with a mark of 6-6, beating teammate Kent Centers (6-4). Beauchman hopes to medal in both events at the state meet and perhaps help Bellarmine to a team medal.
``I feel like I have the capability to get in the top five, maybe even the top three, in both events,'' Beauchman said. ``Maybe we can get enough points at state to get a medal.''