A hot Friday was not enough to slow down Mariners Track and Field, as several athletes had career best showings in their respective events. The deep Marin team had a bevy of positive results and put the team on the map for the rest of the season.
Zach Ahlin competed in his first 800 meter run of the year, an increase from his typical 400 meter distance. He finished in 2:01:65, good for fourth place in the field of 35 competitors. It was an improvement of eight seconds from his high school personal record and places him fifth on the Bay Valley Performance List and 17th in the Northern California Performance List.
Haziel Garcia, who typically runs the 800 meter and 1500 meter, jumped up to his first 5k and grabbed third place in a time of 16:58:16. Garcia's third place finish put him at fourth place on the Bay Valley Performance List. Teammate Mark Wang finished ninth in the same event with a time of 18:40:14.
Freshman Emile Del Barrio placed third in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.85, an improvement of 1.55 seconds from his previous meet. His performance places him at third in the Bay Valley Conference, seventh in Northern California and 16th in the state.
Ahlin, Del Barrio as well as Sasha Hess and Poy Khaophuan teamed up for the 4x400 meter relay where they finished in 3:40.30. The time is good enough for fourth on the BVC Performance List and 16th In Northern California. Head Coach Elizabeth Gill was particular impressed with the showing of Poy Khaophuan as "In his first ever track meet, Poy ran a gutsy 3rd leg barely making it to the finish line with a 400m split 10 seconds faster than his time trial in practice."
On the women's side, Grace Davis took second in her 100 meter dash heat in 13.75 seconds. She took third in her 200 meter dash heat with a time of 28.74 seconds. Those two times were good enough for sixth and ninth on the Bay Valley Conference Performance List.
The Mariners have a few weeks of rest before their next competitions at SF Distance on March 31st and the Chabot Invitational on April 1st.