Over 1,000 athletes from Monterey County ran track this spring.
Just three — Salinas pole vaulter John Prader, Alvarez 300 hurdler Mike Skinner and Monterey distance ace Jake Arveson — are headed to Friday's State track and field championships.
That's less than a half-percent from our area that is headed to Fresno. It's the lowest total in 18 years. For the second straight year, no female athlete from the county qualified for state.
Is there a reason for concern that track is in trouble?
Well, the overall numbers suggest that participation is up at most schools. Times and marks may be a little down, but nothing significant.
Keep in mind that there are no divisions in track. If you qualify for the state meet, you are in a class of your own. But it may be a few years before we see the numbers rise for state participation.
John Devine has been writing about high school sports in Monterey County since, well, practically since he was an athlete at King City in the days just after leather helmets. In PrepNation, John has even more in-depth analysis of the latest results and news he's brought to you in The Herald and in his weekly videos.
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1 comment:
Why no girls once again? (and quite frankly, none on the horizon):
1) Inadequate youth programs. They exist, just not on a wide and intense enough scale. They don't have to be hardcore AAU clubs (or USATF, as it were), but at the very least more serious middle school programs. In contrast the South Bay has had them for decades and Santa Cruz County has an organized series of Jr. High meets. The results are obvious.
2) Not to make excuses, but since the first girls state meet (1974), the CCS has always been a player. The boys...not so much. Point is, year in a and year out, event by event, the CCS is usually much stronger on the girls side and therefore it is usually much more difficult for a girl coming out of our section to qualify for state. (I use the number of state champs and qualifiers for Saturday's finals as my data for this conclusion).
3) Girls club and travel sports are killing track. First they gobble up the athletes before they have an opportunity to be exposed to track & field, then they expect the girls (of all ages, even those in high school) to play on the club team in the spring (which would otherwise be off-season) and then finally they expect the young girls to give up one, two, and eventually all other extra-curricular activities. Okay, maybe that last statement was a bit of an exageration. But the fact is that this specialization becomes self perpetuating because many girls feel that this is the only way that they will earn a spot on her high school or club team.
4) We don't have the athletes? Not quite sure about this, but we shouldn't have to wait around every 30 years for a Sani Roseby (okay 100 years) or a Felicia Allen. The good news is that I feel confident that at each of the 5 schools in Salinas, the coaching , facilities, level of participation and continuity are in place. When that special athelete does arrive, she will have every opportunity to succeed.
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