CLOVIS — Jett Charvet was nowhere to be found on the list of the state’s top 10 season times in the boys 800 meters before his race Saturday night.
But that did not stop the Heritage junior from living up to his name at the 99th California Interscholastic Federation state track and field championships. With 300 meters to go in a race that included state leader Alex Scales of Bellarmine College Prep, Charvet roared like a jet to separate from a pack and kept soaring until he crossed the finish line before anyone else.
He won the state championship at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium in a personal-best 1 minute, 51.07 seconds, holding off Scales and what has become his trademark kick.
The Bellarmine star finished second in 1:51.56, and Westmont’s Jason Gomez took fourth in 1:52.22.
Charvet’s victory followed Alyssa Brewer’s win in the girls 800, the California High junior successfully defending her championship in the event by outlasting Del Oro’s Cathilyn McIntosh by an eyelash. Brewer ran 2:07.07; McIntosh finished in 2:07.62.
In all, there were four individual champions from the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area as Pittsburg’s Iffy Joyner won the boys discus in 203-8 and Sanjay Kettels of St. Mary’s-Berkeley won the boys long jump in 24-3 3/4.
Bishop O’Dowd won the girls 1,600 relay in 3:46.33.
St. Joseph Notre Dame’s Cooper Teare did not defend his state crown in the boys 3,200 as the national leader in the event, who has had a magical season, finished third in a race that was a dead sprint for the last 400 meters.
Winner Callum Bolger of San Luis Obispo ran the final lap in 55.5 seconds to win in 8:53.91. Teare finished in 8:55.93, and Luis Grijalva of Armijo placed second in 8:54.65.
In the 800, Charvet followed the game plan precisely as his coaches put together, even though the race was a bit more physical than usual given the stakes.
“We talked about a race plan going into the (final) 300, just trying to get ahead and keeping that,” said Charvet, whose previous best time this season was 1:53.70, according to athletic.net. “It worked. That was the main thing, just trying to make sure I got far enough ahead that I could keep it.”
Scales, who charged back to win the 800 and 1,600 at the Central Coast Section championships last week, had a bumpy run but made a last-ditch effort to reel in Charvet.
It just wasn’t to be.
“My plan this time changed,” Scales said. “I was going to try to take it out after 400 and see if I can win that way. But I got boxed in. I got bumped around a little bit on the back stretch. Coming around the turn, I was in the second lane, which I never want to be. It was not my best strategy, I guess.”
Scales still holds the state’s top time, 1:50.64 at Arcadia, but Charvet now has the state’s second-best time — and, even better, a state championship.
Brewer’s race was a quick one. She ran the first 200 in just under 30 seconds and reached the halfway point in a more manageable 62 seconds. Down the stretch, she had no margin for error.
“The final 200 I was really turning on the speed,” she said. “I could still feel people right behind me. I just really kicked it in that last 100.”
The Oregon-bound Teare was the clear favorite in the 3,200, but he noted after the race that his training was affected by a broken toe he suffered a few weeks ago.
Still, Teare said that was not an excuse for coming up short.
“We definitely messed around the first five, six laps,” said Teare, who won the event at Arcadia in 8:41.46. “During the last 8, we started moving. I was there, but I just didn’t really have the finishing speed today. I still closed just about as fast as I did last year, but it wasn’t my day.”
Hours earlier, Pittsburg’s Joyner wasn’t quite where he needed to be through four rounds in the boys discus. On his fifth toss, the next to last of the competition, Joyner won himself a state championship.
His throw of 203-8 put him atop the leaderboard as he edged runner-up Robbie Otal of Oak Park, who threw 202 in the fourth round.
“I felt relaxed; I felt good going into it,” Joyner said. “I knew I could throw 200. I didn’t know I could throw 203, though.”
Joyner certainly picked a good time to reach his goal.
“I like to do it when the moments count,” he said. “I like to do it when the moments are big.”
Joyner threw only 175 on Friday to qualify eighth but had a mark of 198-4 this season, a personal best.
“I was thinking today is a new day, and I’ve got to show them what I am really made of,” said Joyner, who later placed fifth in the shot put in 59-9.
Clovis’ Jonah Wilson won the shot in 66-2 3/4.
Kettels’ winning leap in the boys long jump came on his final attempt. The senior’s best to that point was 23-6 1/4, and he had fouled on his previous two attempts.
“I knew I had it in me,” Kettels said. “I just had to dig deep. I’d come too far.”
In the girls 100 hurdles, Kaylah Robinson of El Cerrito ran one of the fastest high school times ever, 12.98. But the wind-aided time was good for only second because superstar Tara Davis of Agoura ran a 12.83. Davis also won the triple jump and the long jump.
In the boys pole vault, College Park’s Noah Hurley finished third in 15-10 and Los Gatos’ Thomas Johnstone took fifth in 15-4. Redondo’s Tate Curran, who had a state-best 17-3 this season, won in 16-10.