In her final SHC race, Shannon Rowbury made State Meet history by becoming the second female athlete to win ...

Tuesday, June 4
State Meet Finals Media Coverage
More SJ Mercury News and SF Chronicle coverage...

SJ Mercury – State Finals: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/3385635.htm

GIRLS STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rowbury first in 1,600; Hardeman wins 400 gold
By Dennis Knight

NORWALK - Behind every great athlete is a supporting cast of coaches, family and friends.

On Saturday at Cerritos College, Sacred Heart Cathedral's Shannon Rowbury and Wilcox's Christina Hardeman had their entire entourages in tow for the most important and final competition of their high school careers -- the 84th annual CIF state track and field championships.

Their supporters weren't disappointed, as Rowbury took home a gold medal in the 1,600 meters and Hardeman ran a personal record of 54.09 seconds to win the 400. She came back an hour later to medal with a sixth-place finish in the 200 dash.

Rowbury, the defending state 800 champion, shifted her focus to the 1,600 after the Central Coast Section championships. Rowbury rose to the occasion in a race that started at a slow pace, with a first lap of about 75 seconds. Two runners tangled legs and went down next to Rowbury as the third lap started, but she avoided the collision and moved to the front.

As the bell lap sounded, Rowbury was running with Maria Carillo's Jenny Aldridge. Rowbury made her move on the back stretch and clocked a 65-second lap to beat Aldridge by more than three seconds at 4:52.77.

"The pace went out slow. I just wanted to be in position to give it everything I had on the last lap," said Rowbury, who received the CIF Sportsmanship Award.

Rowbury, who will run at Duke next year, credited her coach, Andy Chan, for dedicating himself to her development: "He says he's not emotional, but it's kind of cute seeing a grown man get sappy. He gave me a card and made a CD for me this week."

Chan was sentimental after the race.

"This was about seeing her run in the SHC uniform one last time, and she ran the game plan perfectly," he said. "The card I gave her said this is the end of our coach/athlete relationship and the beginning of a lifelong friendship."


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SF Chronicle – State Finals: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/06/02/SP10069.DTL

Another title for SHC girl
By Mitch Stephens

Norwalk (Los Angeles County) -- With one lap to go, Sacred Heart Cathedral High of San Francisco senior Shannon Rowbury was right where she wanted to be. But then so was her main competition, senior Jenny Aldridge of Maria Carrillo High in Santa Rosa.

The two state champions strode together side by side for 150 meters before Rowbury gave one last push. "I thought, 'This is it, I might as well go for it,' " Rowbury said.

She left Aldridge virtually standing still, taking a 15-meter lead down the stretch and winning the 1,600 title going away at the California state high school track and field championships at Cerritos College on Saturday.

Rowbury's time was a rather slow 4 minutes, 52.77 seconds. Aldridge, who plans to attend Arizona State, was second in 4:55.94.

It was the second straight title for the Duke-bound Rowbury, who won the 800 last year. She became the second girl in state history to win both events. The other was Kathy Costello of Pleasant Hill, both in 1975.

Sacred Heart coach Andy Chan stood motionless when informed of Rowbury's historic feat.

"I stopped being amazed at anything Shannon does after her freshman year," Chan said. "You almost just come to expect it."

Rowbury was the only defending champ in the bunch, and her experience showed in the 1,600 as she remained in the pack during a sluggish first lap of 78 seconds. When the pace picked up, Rowbury avoided
disaster for the second straight year. Feet got tangled and Liza Pasciuto of Murrieta Valley and Sarah West of Davis went down in a heap. Rowbury quickly scooted to the outside and came through unscathed. (Last year in the 800 finals, two girls dropped and Rowbury had to hurdle over them en route to victory.)

"I saw the girls falling and just tried to get out of there," Rowbury said. "I was just lucky. That's so terrible. It could have easily been me to go down. That's scary."

Aldridge, the state 1,600 champ as a sophomore who had the state's top time coming in, took the lead down the backstretch of lap three and Rowbury pulled along her outside with 400 meters to go. "She adjusted beautifully throughout the race," Chan said. "That's pretty much just how we played it out. Two state champions going at it with a lap to go. From there it all comes down to heart."

Said Rowbury, comparing the two titles: "This was a lot more fun. Last year I felt so much pressure. This was the race I chose and I had no regrets."


Tuesday, June 4
State Meet Trials coverage
It was a media blitz at State Meet. Here is what the SJ Mercury News and SF Chronicle had to say about the Fri State Meet Trials.

SJ Mercury – State Trials: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/2002/06/01/sports/3380035.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Another Central Coast Section runner awaiting today's race is Sacred Heart Cathedral's Shannon Rowbury, who cruised to a third-place finish in her 1,600 heat to qualify for today's final.

"I got boxed in there for a while and had to fight to get out of that position," said the senior, who won the state 800 last year but dropped it in favor of the 1,600 for this meet. "I'll be a little nervous tonight, but that shows that this race means a lot to me. Tomorrow I'll try to relax and maybe see a movie, something to keep my mind off the race."

Coach Andy Chan was pleased with his runner's performance. "She did exactly what she needed to do," Chan said. "Our theme is to live to run again tomorrow. There is a real art to it. You have to run fast enough to get to Saturday and save enough energy for the big race, the one we're all hoping to remember for a long time."


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SF Chronicle – State Trials: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/06/01/SP151001.DTL

Big showdown in girls 1,600
By Mitch Stephens

Norwalk, Los Angeles County -- Sacred Heart Cathedral senior Shannon Rowbury was about to project today's winning 1,600-meter time when Irish coach Andy Chan intercepted with a hand over her mouth.

No free strategy here. The state championship will be a battle of wills and minds.

Rowbury will take on Jenny Aldridge, a senior at Maria Carrillo of Santa Rosa, in a battle of champions today at 4 p.m.

The two played a little cat-and-mouse during Friday's trials at Cerritos College with Aldridge winning the first heat in 4 minutes, 58.77 seconds just ahead of Rowbury (4:58.89).

"We were kind of spying each other out the whole race," Aldridge said. "It should be a lot like that (today) but a whole lot faster."

Said Chan: "Shannon is just where she wants to be. She ran fast enough to qualify but didn't seem to expend too much energy."

Aldridge won the state 1,600 as a sophomore while Rowbury captured the 800 last year. Even after posting the nation's second-best 800 last week in the Central Coast Section finals, Rowbury put all her legs in the 1,600 after she ran the state's then-fastest time (4:51.0) in her league finals. That caught the attention of Aldridge, who had the previous best time.

"I thought it was very interesting," the Arizona State-bound Aldridge said. "I wanted to make a statement of my own."

She did that by taking back the lead with a winning 4:50.18 time in the North Coast Section finals. Aldridge believes the race will come down to the final lap between her and Rowbury. The winning time should be in the 4:45- range, Aldridge said. Murrieta Valley sophomore Liza Pasciuto and College Park of Pleasant Hill sophomore Lindsay Allen also should be in contention.

"(Rowbury) is the only girl who has the same closing speed as me," she said.

"We both went 68 seconds on our final lap (on their lifetime bests). No matter what, it will be very interesting."


Tuesday, June 4
SF Chronicle Friday Section Article
Click on the above headline to read a great article written by Cicero Etrella of the SF Chronicle on Shannon Rowbury.



Wednesday, May 8
Class of 2002

Tuesday, June 25
2002 Award Winners

Congratulations!!

Tuesday, January 21
SHC 4X400's - Through The Years (1999-2002)
The 4X400 Relay. It's provided quite a few exciting moments for the Fightin' Irish over the years. In 1999, the Serra Invitational came down to the last race. The SHC Varsity Girls were tied with Hillsdale HS coming into the 4X4. Whichever team did better in this final event would win the team championship. Hillsdale won heat 1 in 4:20. Seeing that SHC's best time of the season up to that point was 4:22.1, things looked grim. But the team of Gina Collignon, Carmen Bullard, Toni Russell and Shannon Rowbury raced to a 4:17.69 giving the Irish the win.

Also in 1999, the SHC Varsity Boys made their last trip to the CCS Meet in the 4X4. At WCAL Finals, an injury to a St Francis athlete in the 200 opened the door for the Irish to get 5th….and they did. The team of William Hu, Moe Arnaiz, Tommy Lee and Jon Jung qualified SHC on to CCS. At CCS, Jason Cacho replaced Arnaiz on the team so Arnaiz could focus on his specialty the long jump.

At the 2000 CCS Top 8 Meet, SHC broke the school record in the 4X4. The previous record was 4:10.6 set in 1993. The team of Russell, Collignon, freshman Jennifer Greene and Rowbury shattered the record, running 4:06.56 and placing 4th. That same team went on to win the GPSL title in the 4X4.

The 2001 SHC team lost Collignon (to graduation) and Russell (who skipped track season to prepare for her collegiate basketball career at USF) but gained a senior transfer from Ohio named Ahimsa Hodari, who just happened to be a junior national competitor in the heptathlon. The other new addition to the team was Santia Andrews. This team finally came together to run fast towards mid-season. A fast 4:10.34 at Mt Sac gave a preview of things to come. Aileen McAteer subbed in for Andrews at GPSL Finals as the Irish raced to a 4:07.51 and their 2nd straight 4X4 league title. They tied the school record at the CCS Sub-Sections. And then things got real fast. The coaches settled on Greene in the lead-off position and Andrews second. But Rowbury, who had always run anchor for SHC was moved to the 3rd leg so her superior speed would allow SHC to move up large amounts of ground mid-race. This left the anchor leg in the capable hands of a senior with a lot of heart in Hodari. The combination paid off with SHC's fastest two 4X4's ever, 4:02.98 at the Semi Finals and 4:03.89 at CCS Finals, which was good for 7th place. In all, this year's team ran faster than the 1993 school record time an amazing 5 times and ranked #6 in the CCS for the season.

In 2002, the dual meet against Notre Dame Belmont was close and it appeared that SHC would need to win the 4X4 to win the meet. With Rowbury already having run 4 events, it came down a very young squad to get the job done. Andrews, now a junior, was the veteran of the bunch. The rest of the team were freshmen, Danielle McCray, Rachel Giovannetti and Ashley Thrailkill. The foursome handled the pressure beautifully and never trailed, winning going away in 4:31.

Also in 2002, a veteran team of boys, would run the 4X4 for SHC. Andy Lee (3rd year junior), Misha Osipov (3rd year junior), Matt Gonzalez (3rd year junior) and Peter Fleming (4th year senior) would provide all kinds of excitement. Against Riordan on March 27, the meet came down to the 4X4. This time Riordan would get us but it was close and it took an amazing final leg from football/track star Eric Wright to do it. Then against Mitty on April 17, SHC was on the brink of history. Again it came down to the 4X4. Between the 4 members of the relay team were 13 seasons of SHC track & field and 0 WCAL varsity wins. "The guys looked nervous before the race….but so was I," remembers coach Andy Chan, "I told them that this was fun and that this was what made the sport so exciting. I was reminding myself as much as them." Lee, leading off against his hurdle nemesis, Mike Boulton, pulled away in the final 200 meters to give SHC a slight lead. Osipov would extend it slightly and Gonzalez kept it the same. Fleming would take the baton with a 3 second lead. "I was going crazy inside," recalls Chan, "For the last year I'd been saying I want to win a WCAL Meet and I thought the Mitty meet was our best chance. And here we were maybe 50 seconds from doing it." Fleming would cross the finish line after a 51.4 split and SHC had their win. Chan ran over to congratulate his senior and announce the baton they were using, "The Black Beast" would now be retired on a winning note. However, even without the Black Beast, this team had one more magical performance in them. At the WCAL Finals, Bellarmine, Serra and SI were the favorites, all having run under 3:30 during the season. SHC, Mitty, Riordan and St Francis were all expected to battle it out having run between 3:30-3:34. The atmosphere was terrific as fans and team members gathered on the field to cheer on the teams. Everyone's lead off leg seemed to run fast as Lee brought it in in last place even after a fast 53.8. Osipov then did what he has done all season, close ground. In the last 200 he moved SHC close to the 4th-5th-6th battle. Osipov's split: 52.8!! Gonzalez was next for the Irish as the race became very physical with lots of bumping on the back stretch. Gonzalez raced past 2 runners in the last 150 who were more concerned with elbowing each other. Gonzalez's split: PR 52.9!! Fleming took the baton in a close battle for 4th, but he quickly pulled away into a clear 4th and closed ground on the leaders. When the dust cleared, not only did SHC place 4th in a season best (5 sec PR) 3:29.10, but Peter "Spiderman" Fleming had his sub-50....49.6!! The 4th place finish was the team's highest WCAL Finish in years and just missed qualifying for CCS. The time ranked 14th in the CCS for the season.

Thursday, May 8
SHC Sweeps all 4 Divisions at Valley Christian
The SHC Fightin' Irish Track & Field team closed out the WCAL Dual Meet season on Wednesday May 7th with a sweep of Valley Christian in all 4 divisions. "It was a great way to end the regular season," said SHC Head Coach Andy Chan, "We came in here hoping to sweep to give us some momentum heading into league finals." Because Valley Christian does not have a throwing facility, SHC already had an 18-0 lead as they got off the bus as Valley Christian was forced to forfeit the points to the Irish. However, a variety of circumstances would make this anything but an easy meet. SHC was already missing athletes due to the school choir dress rehearsal. Then two people missed the bus when their AP test went long. Once at Valley Christian no less than 6 athletes were unable to complete their scheduled events because of injury or illness. In the end, only 62 of the 86 people on the SHC roster competed. "This team is the most resilient team I've had here," said Chan, "They are all very versatile and flexible so we can make last minute substitutions and still compete well. They are also mentally strong so that when someone is out, someone else is ready to step it up in their place."

VARSITY GIRLS - After a 2nd place in the 4X100 Relay, Michelle Gallagher took 2nd in the 1600 behind state leader Amanda Thornberry in 5:03. The Irish then flexed their hurdle strength with Veronica Martinez and Jessica Lau going 1-2 in the 100H. In the 400, Santia Andrews and Danielle McCray took 2nd and 3rd. Next came a slew of points from Christina Young and Helena Silva. Young took 2nd in the 100 and won the Long Jump, while Silva took 2nd in the Long Jump. SHC was now out to a commanding 44-24 lead. Valley Christian closed the Irish lead to just 13 points after the 800, 300H and High Jump, 52-39. However, SHC's Andrews and Kiersten McKoy went 1-2 in the 200 and when Young and Silva scored 4 points by placing 2nd and 3rd in the Triple Jump, SHC had clinched the win. Gallagher and Melanie Scannell's 1-2 in the 3200 and convincing win in the 4X4 that included a 63 leg from Lau and a 61 leg from Andrews were the final points for the Irish.

VARSITY BOYS - Running un-opposed in the 4X100, SHC dropped the baton on the final exchange. However, when Misha Osipov and Manuel Splain went 1-2 in the 1600 and the Irish swept the 110H 1-2-3, the lost points in the 4X1 were quickly forgotten. SHC had jumped out to a 35-1 lead. But the bad news was Nick Lien tripped on the last hurdle in the 110H and was pretty badly scrapped up and out for the rest of the meet. That combined with Julius Santos feeling under the weather and Steven Perez having an injured leg, put the Irish down 3 key team members. That's when the team's depth started to show itself. Matt Gonzalez continued his strong running by winning the 400. Even more importantly sophomore Christian Santamaria justified his move up to Varsity by placing 3rd in the 400. Then Chris Kennedy took a 3rd in the 100, running for the injured Lien. In the 800, Osipov ran a dominating 2:03 for the win and again it was a F/S Boy moved up to Varsity to score some points that came through as Josh Ling took 2nd in 2:12. In the Long Jump, Odelle Edora stepped up in the absence of his buddy Santos to take 3rd. "We were grabbing all the 'little points' that sometimes get away with our strong depth," said SHC sprint coach Patrick Roehrdanz, "That allowed us to keep a pretty commanding lead and never allowed Valley Christian a chance to get back into the meet." By the time Andy Lee and Christian Bonifacio placed 1-2 in the 300H, with Lee running a WCAL-leading 40.0, SHC had clinched their first Varsity Boys dual meet win of the season. A 1-2-3 sweep in the Triple Jump, a 1-2 in the 3200 and a season-best 3:33 to win the 4X400 were the final points in a solid meet for the SHC Varsity Boys.

JV GIRLS - The JV Girls came into the meet with a 3-3 dual meet record, looking to finish the season above .500. SHC had the early lead thanks to the forfeited points but Valley Christian fought back. After the 100 meters, SHC trailed 29-30. "Even though we were down, I felt good about what we were doing," said Chan, "We scrapped for some points in the 400 and 100 using our distance runners and I felt our jumpers, distance runners and hurdlers were likely to score some big points for us later in the meet." Chan was right. Within minutes after falling behind 29-30, the Irish re-took the lead. First in the Long Jump Nicole Gonzalez, Juliet Olmos and Sun Nguyen went 1-2-3 for 9 points. Then Nina Martinez, Joanna Angeles and Jessica Rojo all ran PR's in sweeping the 800. Boom another 9 points for SHC. Finally a 1-3 finish in the 300H by Nina Pedersen and Elena Jimenez put SHC firmly ahead 53-33. Still worried about the outcome, Chan continued to move people around to maximize the points. Lena Dughman grabbed an important 3rd place in the 200. Then Nguyen, triple jumping for the first time, had a successful 25-0 jump to place 2nd. By the time SHC won the 4X400, they had outscored Valley Christian for a 68-49 win. After the meet, Chan recognized Bernadette Frias, who ran in 4 events, three of which she was not originally scheduled for but just volunteered to do when the team needed additional competitors.

F/S BOYS - The F/S Boys were looking for their first dual meet win since 2001 when they beat Mitty. After taking 2nd in the 4X100 Relay, Bryan Tolentino and Albert Cheng went 2-3 in the 1600. Then Adrian Bonifacio and Chris Blanco took the top 2 spots in the 65H and McJullian Aujero and Matt Szeto did the same in the 400. Suddenly SHC had a 38-11 lead. In the 100 meters, James Dees placed 2nd and in the Long Jump Javieree Pruitt and Alex Apalit were 1-2. "We've got some real strength on the F/S Boys team," said Chan, "We cover all the events pretty well. Everytime you look up it's someone different scoring points in an event." Tolentino and Jason Lee placed 2nd and 3rd in the 800. Then Pruitt and Apalit repeated their 1-2 performance in the High Jump. A 1-2-3 sweep in the 300H, led by Jimmy Szeto (making up for a DQ in the 65H with a PR 46.5 in the 300H), put SHC ahead 70-24 and guaranteed an SHC victory. Dees grabbed a 3rd in the 200 and Matt Szeto and Apalit triple jumped PR's of 38-10 and 38-5 to place 2nd and 3rd. Cheng placed 2nd in the 3200. In the 4X400, the SHC F/S Boys team found themselves in a tight battle…with Valley Christian's Varsity squad. Aujero led off and it was pretty even. On the 2nd leg Bonifacio surged by the Valley Christian runner and Jimmy Szeto maintained the lead before handing off to his brother Matt Szeto. The elder Szeto brother held the lead as SHC put an exclamation point on the meet for SHC.

In the end, SHC could boast that they scored points in every event that was contested except the Varsity Girls High Jump. "I'm very proud of the team's effort today," said Chan as the team celebrated its successful meet, "We've been working so hard this season and it's very nice to see the smiles on everyone's face right now." 47 different SHC athletes scored points at the meet.

After the meet, Chan emphasized two things: 1. Recognition of the seniors in their final dual meet. 2. Reminder to the underclassmen that it feels very good to have success and with some hard work and dedication they can have this type of good feeling at the end of more meets next year.

SHC RESULTS

VARSITY GIRLS
Shot Put; 9-0
not contested
Discus; 9-0 / 18-0
not contested
4X100 Relay; 0-5 / 18-5
Christina Young
Santia Andrews
Helena Silva
Kiersten McKoy
(2nd)	53.3
1600; 3-6 / 21-11
2. Michelle Gallagher	5:03
Francesca C-Bowman	5:31
Melanie Scannell	5:37
Rhiannon Cadelinia	6:00
100 Hurdles; 8-1 / 29-12
1. Veronica Martinez	18.3
2. Jessica Lau	19.2
Nicole Choy	19.9
400; 4-5 / 33-17
2. Santia Andrews	62.7
3. Danielle McCray	65.5
100; 3-6 / 36-23
2. Christina Young	13.1
Helena Silva	14.1
Long Jump; 8-1 / 44-24
1. Christina Young	15-7
2. Helena Silva	14-3
800; 4-5 / 48-29
2. Ashley Thrailkill	2:35
3. Rachel Giovannetti	2:37
Kim Pacatte	2:42
Natalie Martinez	2:43
Amanda Gogna	2:58
High Jump; 0-5 / 48-34
no SHC competitors
300 Hurdles; 4-5 / 52-39
2. Jessica Lau	52.3
3. Veronica Martinez	53.3
Nicole Choy	53.6
200; 8-1 / 60-40
1. Santia Andrews	26.9
2. Kiersten McKoy	28.1
Danielle McCray	29.8
Triple Jump; 4-5 / 64-45
2. Christina Young	30-5
3. Helena Silva	28-2
3200; 8-0 / 72-45
1. Michelle Gallagher	11:01
2. Melanie Scannell	12:34
4X400 Relay; 5-0 / 77-45
Danielle McCray	66.6
Ashley Thrailkill	67.6
Jessica Lau	63.9
Santia Andrews	61.9
(1st)	4:20
Final Score: 77-45, SHC
Final WCAL Record: 3-4

JV GIRLS
Shot Put; 9-0
not contested
Discus; 9-0 / 18-0
not contested
4X100 Relay; 0-5 / 18-5
Elena Jimenez
Nicole Gonzalez
Nina Pedersen
Lena Dughman
(2nd)	55.2
1600; 1-8 / 19-13
3. Bernadette Frias	6:43
Stephanie Bonifacio	7:04
Isabelle Cruz	7:06
100 Hurdles; 8-1 / 27-14
1. Nina Pedersen	19.0
2. Elena Jimenez	19.7
Jessica Young	21.0
400; 1-8 / 28-22
3. Bernadette Frias	71
Stephanie Bonifacio	78
Isabelle Cruz	79
100; 1-8 / 29-30
3. Jessica Young	14.3
Lena Dughman	14.3
Bernadette Frias	14.4
Gabriella Santimauro	15.6
Mariele Thadani	15.6
Long Jump; 9-0 / 38-30
1. Nicole Gonzalez	13-5
2. Juliet Olmos	12-2
3. Sylvia Nguyen	11-10
800; 9-0 / 47-30
1. Nina Martinez	3:08
2. Joanna Angeles	3:10
3. Jessica Rojo	3:11
High Jump; 0-0 / 47-30
no competitors
300 Hurdles; 6-3 / 53-33
1. Nina Pedersen	53.8
3. Elena Jimenez	56.9
200; 1-8 / 54-41
3. Lena Dughman	29.6
Triple Jump; 8-0 / 62-41
1. Nicole Gonzalez	25-2
2. Sylvia Nguyen	25-0
Juliet Olmos	N.M.
3200; 1-8 / 63-49
3. Mariele Thadani	15:14
Gabriella Santimauro	15:17
4X400 Relay; 5-0 / 68-49
Elena Jimenez	71.4
Lena Dughman	77.8
Bernadette Frias	77.0
Nina Pedersen	71.6
(1st)	4:57.8
Final Score: 68-49, SHC
Final WCAL Record: 4-3

VARSITY BOYS
Shot Put; 9-0
not contested
Discus; 9-0 / 18-0
not contested
4X100 Relay; 0-0 / 18-0
Nick Lien
Andy Lee
Christian Santamaria
Joe DeFilippo
	DQ
1600; 8-1 / 26-1
1. Misha Osipov	4:51
2. Manuel Splain	4:59
Tristan Arcelona	5:04
Gino Giusti	5:23
110 Hurdles; 9-0 / 35-1
1. Andy Lee	15.8
2. Jason Kobuchi	17.1
3. Christian Bonifacio	18.6
Justin Yip	19.2
Nick Lien	DNF
400; 6-3 / 41-4
1. Matt Gonzalez	52
3. Christian Santamaria	55
Randy Dilag	62
100; 1-8 / 42-12
3. Chris Kennedy	11.9
Odelle Edora	12.4
Long Jump; 4-5 / 46-17
2. Joe DeFilippo	18-3
3. Odelle Edora	17-1
Chris Kennedy	16-8
Vincent Fontela	15-8
Randy Dilag	15-6
800; 8-1 / 54-18
1. Misha Osipov	2:03
2. Josh Ling	2:12
Brian Clark	2:23
High Jump; 8-1 / 62-19
1. Matt Gonzalez	?
2. Vincent Fontela	?
300 Hurdles; 8-1 / 70-20
1. Andy Lee	40.0
2. Christian Bonifacio	44.0
Justin Yip	46.2
Jason Kobuchi	46.9
200; 1-8 / 71-28
3. Christian Santamaria	23.8
Randy Dilag	26.4
Triple Jump; 9-0 / 80-28
1. Matt Gonzalez	37-6
2. Joe DeFilippo	37-3
3. Odelle Edora	35-2
Chris Kennedy	35-0
Vincent Fontela	33-9
Randy Dilag	33-7
3200; 8-1 / 88-29
1. Manuel Splain	11:07
2. Tristan Arcelona	11:12
Gino Giusti	11:53
4X400; 5-0 / 93-29
Andy Lee	53.3
Joe DeFilippo	54.5
Matt Gonzalez	52.1
Misha Osipov	53.4
(1st)	3:33.3
Final Score: 93-29, SHC
Final WCAL Record: 1-6

FROSH/SOPH BOYS
Shot Put; 9-0
not contested
Discus; 9-0 / 18-0
not contested
4X100 Relay; 0-5 / 18-5
Alex Apalit
McJullian Aujero
Javieree Pruitt
James Dees
(2nd)	47.5
1600; 4-5 / 22-10
2. Bryan Tolentino	5:28
3. Albert Cheng	5:39
65 Hurdles; 8-0 / 30-10
1. Adrian Bonifacio	10.6
2. Chris Blanco	11.1
Jimmy Szeto	DQ
400; 8-1 / 38-11
1. McJullian Aujero	56.1
2. Matt Szeto	57.3
100; 3-6 / 41-17
2. James Dees	11.4
Javieree Pruitt	11.9
Long Jump; 8-1 / 49-18
1. Javieree Pruitt	18-4
2. Alex Apalit	17-7
Matt Szeto	16-9
800; 4-5 / 53-23
2. Bryan Tolentino	2:26
3. Jason Lee	2:52
High Jump; 8-1 / 61-24
1. Javieree Pruitt	5-4
2. Alex Apalit	?
300 Hurdles; 9-0 / 70-24
1. Jimmy Szeto	46.5
2. Adrian Bonifacio	47.2
3. Chris Blanco	47.5
200; 1-8 / 71-32
3. James Dees	24.0
McJullian Aujero	24.6
Triple Jump; 4-5 / 75-37
2. Matt Szeto	38-10
3. Alex Apalit	38-5
3200; 3-6; 78-43
2. Albert Cheng	13:01
Nick Slepnikoff	14:01
4X400; 5-0 / 83-43
McJullian Aujero	57.0
Adrian Bonifacio	58.6
Jimmy Szeto	57.8
Matt Szeto	57.2
(1st)	3:50.6
Final Score: 83-43, SHC
Final WCAL Record: 1-6

Congratulations, Michelle! We are all proud of you!

Sunday, June 8
Michelle places 4th at 2003 State Meet!!
Congratulations to Michelle Gallagher who capped her SHC running career with a 4th place finish in the 3200 meters at the CIF State Meet Sat night. Her time was 10:41.37. After placing 3rd at CCS last week, she turned the tables on rivals Ruth Graham (Gunn) and Melissa Grelli (Presentation), finishing as the top CCS runner at State Meet. Because Michelle had been sick with a virus every since WCAL Finals, it was difficult to tell how well Michelle would place. On paper, her best time ranked her #2. But her time of 11:01 from CCS Finals, where she was 3rd, only ranked her 15th. There was also the issue of how to train for this race. "Typically you taper runners the week of State Meet," said SHC Coach Andy Chan, "But I felt Michelle had missed so much training during her illness that it was important to stress her legs to get some sharpness back for State. It was an agressive approach to work her hard the week of State Meet but we both agreed to go for it." Michelle ran a vert smart race, running the first lap in a fast but controlled 76 seconds. She came through the first lap in 18th place out of 25. "Even though Michelle was quite a ways back place-wise after lap 1, I was not really concerned," said Chan, "She practiced 80 seconds laps all week long so I knew she knew the right pace." During the week leading up to State Meet, Michelle ran no less than 17 laps at 79-81 seconds during various interval practice sessions to hammer the pace into both her legs and her head. Michelle definitely showed she knew what she was doing as she gradually began passing other runners who went out too fast. She ran 80-81 seconds for laps 2-7. "Michelle looked very strong on lap 3 and I thought to myself, 'She's having a good day'" said Chan. After the first mile in 5:19, Michelle moved into medal contention by passing still more runners. "She passed a group of 2-3 runners on lap 5 at the same spot she made a defining move at Arcadia," said Chan, "At that point I was so happy because she was running the type of race she wanted to and I felt good that there was going to be medal in her near future." With 800 to go, Michelle was in a pack of runners battling for a top 6 finish. She continued to move up, and was in 4th with a lap to go. "Michelle was tired but she went with the Ukiah girl on the last lap and that helped insure a State Meet medal," said Chan. Clarie Rethmeier (San Pasqual), the State leader in the 3200 won the race in 10:27.32. Defending champion Rachel Bryan (Laguna Creek) was 2nd in 10:35.07, with Ukiah's Shelby Leland in 3rd (10:38.09). Close behind Michelle was Phylilis Blanchard (Rancho Cotate - 10:41.83) and Lindsay Flacks (Harvard Westlake - 10:45.32) for the last medal. "Everyone went out so fast," said Gallgher, "I just hung back and did my own thing. I heard Andy a couple of times during the race telling me to pass people and I just tried to do it." "I could not be prouder of Michelle. She showed a lot of courage and determination just to get to this point with the illness and all," said Chan, "But she never lost sight of her goal for this season. It was like 2 years of learning the sport all coming together in one big race. She paced it well, ran a smart race strategy was aggressive at the right time and left it all out there on the last lap. What better way to finish your high school career. When she transferred here as a sophomore she was already a great runner. But as a senior, she leaves here as a GREAT RACER."

Monday, May 12
Class of 2003
Thanks to all the seniors on the team. This year we graduate 16 team members plus special mention to Christian Panganiban, who would have been a 4-year team member if injuries from a car accident in the early season had not prevented him from competing. This really has been the class that has come and changed the most. There were 10 people on the team as freshman who are still involved with the program. Through the years the program has grown and changed. Coming to practice, working hard, striving to be the best team we can be and having fun have all become part of the norm.

Thursday, June 19
2003 Award Winners
Check out this collage of the awards winners from the 2003 season. Congratulations to the award winners as well as all the team members for a great season!

Saturday, May 22
CCS 2004
Jason Kobuchi and Christina Young capped their senior year at SHCP on May 22, 2004 with a big doubleheader....GRADUATION and CCS. Immediately after receiving their diplomas they walked out of the Cathedral and into the school van to head for San Jose for the meet.

In the 110 Hurdles, Jason placed 5th in his heat and 12th overall (out of 30) in 15.86. That time made him the fastest WCAL athlete on the day, just ahead of Moon's 15.89 for Riordan and Guttadauro's 15.90 for Mitty.

In the Triple Jump, Christina shook off early nervousness to jump 34-7 1/2 (2nd longest jump of her life). She placed 15th out of 29 and she too was the #1 placer in the WCAL for her event. CLICK on the above headline for complete results.

And go to: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/21/WBGG56NQOU1.DTL
to read a great article from the Friday Chronicle about SHCP's exploits at WCAL Finals. SI and Riordan are also mentioned but Christina is the headline and Jason and Clarissa get mentioned in the first section of the article!

Wednesday, May 5
Class of 2004
It’s that time of the year again to honor and thank the seniors. Wed marked their final WCAL Dual Meet. As is tradition we will honor the seniors with some brief introductions at practice on Thur. There are 14 seniors on the team this year.

4 YEAR SENIORS
Tristan Arcelona
Clarissa Barnes
Gino Giusti
Chris Kennedy
Jason Kobuchi
Justin Yip
This group has been through a lot on the SHCP Track & Field team. The girls were in the old Girls Private School League when they started. The uniforms have been upgraded from the old boys blue and girls white nylon singlets to the current green Irish tops. Over the years this group has traveled to Redding, Fresno and Mt Sac. When these guys were freshman, the SHCP F/S Boys got Coach Andy's first WCAL dual meet win, with a 81-51 decision over Mitty. That day set the stage for the Varsity win over Mitty in 2002 and the sweeps over Valley Christian in 2003 and 2004. The team was 58 strong back in 2001. This year we have 108 people on the team. Clarissa was the last GPSL champion, winning the Varsity SP as a sophomore. Jason and Justin trained in the hurdles as juniors even though they often did not get to compete in their specialties because we only had 3 entries in the hurdle events with no second heat and they were stuck behind then seniors Andy Lee, Nick Lien and Christian Bonifacio. Still, they did the work and have been rewarded with a senior year to really remember. Chris has improved his long jump PR in each of his 4 seasons. Tristan chased the 5:00 mile for 3 years before shattering this year. And Gino has set the record for most 11:0-something 2 miles and 5:0-something miles.

3 YEAR SENIORS
Amanda Gogna
Reina Heinz
Yesenia Herrera
Christina Young
Some of the distance girls started out on a sort of JV taxi squad that had to use the white uniforms because we didn’t have enough new green ones. Over the years, however, people like Amanda, Yesenia and Reina improved tremendously to become valuable JV scorers at dual meets. Christina has been a very versatile athlete, sprinting, jumping and hurdling during her 3 years on the team.

2 YEAR SENIORS
Francesca Cannata-Bowman
David Wong
Nicholas Wong
Francesca was a successful cross country runner a freshman but was unable to come out for track & field until her junior year. David competed as a sophomore but took junior year off to study and returned this year. Nicholas is the only Varsity thrower to be on the team both this year and last.

1 YEAR SENIOR
Sean Mulligan
Sean was finally convinced to give track a try after 3 years of cross country running.

The 4 year team members have made great improvement over the years. Back in 2001 the theme was “2001: track & field odyssey”. Check out the old photos of them (remember the digital camera technology wasn’t as good back then so the photos are not the best). - Jason ran the 65H in 12.12 (now runs the 110H in 15.96) - Chris was the Outstanding 1st Year Jumper with a leap of 16-9 (current PR, 19-2) - Justin’s 300H best was 51.4 (current PR, 44.8) - Tristan ran the 1600 in 5:15 (current PR, 4:48) - Gino ran the 3200 in 11:50 (current PR, 11:00..although he swears it’s 10:59) - Clarissa was the JV Champ in the Shot Put at 28-9 (current PR 33-11).

Thank you to all the seniors who have put so much time and energy into the GREATNESS of the SHCP Track & Field program.

Thursday, June 3
2004 Award Winners
Congratulations to all the award winners as well as the entire team from the 2004 season. And thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the season at the Awards Banquet. The turnout was over 200 guests! Thank you to the team for all the coaches' gifts. Below is a collage of this year's award winners.

Friday, April 1
First Place in Fresno

Celebrating 1st place

At the 77^th annual Bob Mathias Fresno Relays, the Fightin’ Irish came away with two 1^st place finishes.  The Varsity Girls won the small schools division while sophomore James Mabrey captured the High Jump in 6 feet 2 inches.

Great stuff! Thank you Margaret Gallagher for the picture from Penn Relays.

THANKS, Seniors!

Coach Chan with the WCAL Champions

SHC's 2008 WCAL Champions

Reilly Hall and Jocelyn Rodriguez - 2008 CCS Qualifiers

Rowbury was a 2-time State Champion and 5-time CCS Champion in Track & Field