When Darius Carbin cleared 6 feet, 11 inches in the high jump early in the season, it was clear the Mt. Pleasant junior had a future in the event.

But when the Central Coast Section finals rolled around, Carbin took first place in the triple jump and second in the high jump.

He made the finals in both at the state meet, and in so doing was named Mercury News boys track and field athlete of the year.

"He's a special athlete,'' Mt. Pleasant coach Steve Nelson said. "A good student and a hard worker.''

Carbin went 6-4 in the high jump as a freshman and 6-7 as a sophomore.

"I've been averaging three to four inches a year,'' Carbin said. "If I can get three to four next year, that would be good. I'm hoping for 7-3.''

Carbin cleared 6-7 in the high jump at the CCS finals, finishing behind St. Francis junior Darius Thomas, who cleared 7-0 this season. Both will use the CCS record of 7-3, set 30 years ago by Overfelt's Jeff Rogers, as a goal to strive toward next year as seniors.

Rogers wouldn't mind seeing it broken.

"It's been up there a while," said Rogers, now the coach at St. Mary's High in Albany. "It's about time to take it down.

Carbin competed in the long jump and 110 high hurdles at the CCS meet, as well as the high jump and triple jump. The plan was for him to focus on just the high jump at the state meet, even if he qualified in other events. But when Carbin won the CCS triple jump with a personal-best effort of 47-4 on his last attempt, Nelson reconsidered.

"I think he will continue to blossom as a triple jumper,'' Nelson said. "I believe he can be a 50-foot triple jumper.''

When Carbin cleared 6-11, he broke the school record of 6-101/2 set by Joel Wyrick in 1978.

"We're getting three or four inches improvement in the high jump every year, and it's going to be a lot harder to get three or four inches next year.'' Nelson said. "But spending a lot of time in the weight room working on strength and power, I think he can definitely get to 7-3.''

The school record in the long jump is 23-31/2. The triple jump record at the school is 49-61/2.

"His goal should be to have all three by the time he's done," Nelson said.

But the high jump is Carbin's first love and also his main focus.

Rogers said he will be pulling for Carbin to break his record.

"Not to play favorites, but I hope Darius Carbin breaks it," said Rogers, who went on to set a school record in the high jump at Cal. "Sometimes growing up on the Eastside, the world can seem real small, the road really narrow.

"I remember going off to college and being flabbergasted how different life can be. Hopefully Darius can use track and high jumping as a vehicle to carve out a good path for himself, take advantage of opportunities, get a good education, meet people and enrich his life."

It was simply an incredible track and field season for Elena Bruckner.

The Valley Christian junior broke the Central Coast Section record in the girls shot put and girls discus. And not by just a little.

Bruckner hurled the discus 182 feet, 8 inches at the West Catholic Athletic League finals. It was a personal-best by 20 feet and shattered the section record that stood since 1996 by nearly 17 feet.

Two weeks later, she went nearly three feet further than any girls shot putter in CCS history with a mark of 53-51/2 at the section finals.

In addition to setting CCS standards in both throws, she also led the nation in each.

Bruckner didn't come close to matching those marks at the state meet -- she won the shot put at 50-21/2 and took third in the discus (147-9) -- but her breakthrough performances made it a pretty easy decision to name Bruckner the Mercury News girls track and field athlete of the year.

The amount she improved this season was simply off the charts. Heading into her junior year she had bests of 46-111/2 in the shot put and 129-1 in the discus.

She improved by a stunning 53 feet in the discus. And yet she said that throw of 182-8 at the WCAL finals was far from perfect.

She fouled on her first two throws and had to get a legal throw just to advance to the next round. She did that and then threw 153 on her fourth throw. She broke the CCS record with a mark of 171-9 on her fifth attempt.

"I knew the best throw in the nation was 172, and I was so close," Bruckner said.

So she let it loose on her final throw and the disc sailed 182-8.

Everything must have been perfect. Right?

"It really wasn't," Bruckner said. "I threw it real low and at first I wasn't sure if it was going to stay in the sector. It was not a super good technical throw."

The national records of 56-81/4 in the shot put and 198-9 in the discus are now in Bruckner's sights. Both could fall if Bruckner improves even a fraction as much as she did this year.

"Absolutely,'' Bruckner said when asked if the desire to break the national records would provide motivation. "It would be an amazing way to go out and set me up to be successful in college, maybe in the Olympic trials next year."

Bruckner is not a year-round thrower. She said she will play volleyball for Valley Christian again as a senior but will no longer take part in club volleyball.

"She is such a blessing for our team," Valley Christian coach Josh Small said. "She has such a great maturity and such a humble attitude. With her, it's always less about individual accomplishment and more about the team and how she can elevate others.''