One of many female long jumpers
for La Jolla. (Photos by Ed Piper)
No high jump pit. No pole vault pit.
Not just that. No hurdles, either. The only starting blocks were ones La Jolla Head Coach Paul Byrne brought with him.
The Vikings girls and boys track teams helped inaugurate Kearny's brand new track and field--opened only four days earlier for first use--in an unusual meet Thurs., March 19, in which Byrne found other events his vaulters and jumpers could take part in.
Kearny's athletes and staff seemed pretty excited over the new venue. The sports portion of the campus was redesigned for the new facilities. It's a great setup, with the baseball field right off a turn in the track. A fan can move easily between concurrent games to watch multiple sports. A baseball game was going on while the track teams were battling it out right next door.
A conversation about the new track led to discussion about La Jolla's remodel to begin in June. Byrne didn't know how many lanes the new track at La Jolla High would have. A write-up in the new baseball program says the track will be "widened", without saying how many lanes there will be.
Kearny's new surface, a dark reddish-brown color next to a beautiful new synthetic green infield, features no curb around the track, as is the modern design.
Byrne, a teacher at Muirlands Middle School, said next year should be "an interesting year" for his team. There won't be a home field. "We've heard that we're going to use the (new) Mission Bay track," he said in the midst of the makeshift meet. Middle school physical education classes will have the baseball field at Muirlands occupied, so P.E. classes coming up from the high school wouldn't even be feasible is they had time to traipse back and forth between schools.
Andrew Mitchell, a sophomore, stopped to chat before heading over to the new shot put triangle. A multiple-sport athlete, he said he's mainly out for track to help his speed and agility for football. He started some games for Coach Jason Carter's team on defensive line. He says he has grown about a half inch since the football season. He said playing linebacker or line are both to his liking. He hopes to see action as a wide receiver, in addition. That would mean participation in the Vikings' summer passing league activities, which he didn't get to do last summer as a lineman.
Mitchell had tossed the discus over 100 feet earlier in the meet.
Kearny is apparently still waiting on its shipment of hurdles. The field, without any hurdles, curb, high jump pit, or pole vault location, looked pretty flat. In fact, when some running events were started, a large number of girls who long jump for La Jolla at all levels--varsity and otherwise--were instructed to sit on the ground so as not to be a distraction for the runners nearby.
For the staff working the long jump pit, sweeping sand off the new synthetic surface back into the pit looks pretty tricky. One gentleman had to use "elbow grease" with patience and a lot of broomwork to even make a dent in the amount of sand sprayed by the jumpers out of the pit. That's going to take a lot of work, since the surface is uneven and so kind of holds onto the sand--making it difficult to sweep things clean.
Vikes' Carter Simington hefts the shot. This throw
caused his repaired leg some pain.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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