North Salinas-Palma track

 The reigning five-time Gabilan Division champion Chieftains will begin defense of their track and field title, hosting North Salinas this afternoon.
 For the Chieftains, redemption could be on their minds as North Salinas knocked them off in a dual meet last spring, one of just two teams to have beaten Palma over the last five years.
 Palma is deep in a number of events, including the sprints, where Emilio Martinez and Kevin Telford are back. Both were members of the CCS finalist 400 relay team last year.
 Telford, a Gabilan Division 400 meter champion, has been spending time in practice working on the 300 intermediate hurdles as well.
 Martinez, who rushed for over 2,500 yards last fall, will find North Salinas' Justin Robante in the 100 meters.
 An event of interest includes the discus where North Salinas' Fabian Hunkin and the Chieftains Drew Dalman are among the elite in the Central Coast Section
.Last spring Dalman won the Gabilan Division title, but Hunkin rebounded and qualified for state.
 A strength for Palma is the distance events where sophomores Sam Lavarato and Tommy Padilla both went to the state meet in cross country last fall.
 Both will be pushed by Gabilan Division cross country champion Brandon Gutierrez, who will be one of the favorites in both the 1,600 and 3,200.