St. Helena’s Tutui Gomes shined the brightest again this week from the Coastal Mountain Conference as he was a double winner at the North Coast Section 1A Track Championships at Montgomery High Saturday.
Gomes started his day by helping his 400 meter Relay team to a second place finish in 44.21. He followed that with his two individual wins in the 400 (50.41) and the 200 (22.12). Gomes’ 200 time broke the old meet record.
After the first 200 meters of the 400 race Gomes trailed a number of runners in his heat. “I stuck to my plan of not blazing the first 200,” said Gomes. “ I held back in about 5th to that point but felt confident the whole time.” By the finish Gomes had opened a gap of over a second for the win. “In the 200 I had a good start and then just let it all out,” he said.
In the boys team race, the championship was not decided until the final event of the day, the 1600 meter Relay. When the dust cleared Fort Bragg claimed the title with 60 points, just ahead of Lick Wilmerding (58) and Stuart Hall (56).
Standouts for the Timberwolves and qualifying on in individual events for them were Carlos Portillo, who won the 300 hurdle race in 41.19 and was second in the high hurdles in 16.23, Leith Butler who won the triple jump at 45-4 and was third in the high jump at 5-10, Jacob Richards who won the pole vault at 11-0 and Donald Mack who took third in the same event at 10-6.
The other local boy’s champion was Clear Lake’s Zuhuri Manley who fell just one and a quarter inches short of the meet record in the long jump at 22-1½.
On the girl’s side, the lone Empire champ was St Vincent’s Sarah Tarrant who took the shot put at 33-6.
St. Helena’s Marina Spadarotto moves on to next week’s NCS Meet of Champions in Berkeley with a second in the 400 at 59.40.
Third place advancers were Middletown’s Amber Hart 100 hurdles (17.35), Sonoma Academy’s Melissa French 300 hurdles (50.16) and Willits Kim Agenbroad discus (89-1).
Other boys advancing on include Middletown’s Nick Dellia, 2nd shot (44-10) and discus (124-8) plus Victor Montanez 2nd in the 300 hurdles (42.13).
Willit’s Joe Sasso, 2nd pole vault (11-0).
Cloverdale’s Roberto Alvarez 3rd 110 hurdles (16.32).
St Vincent’s Martin Siragusa 3rd 400 (51.46).
Two others who were able to advance even though they placed fourth were Kelseyville’s Arnulfo Vargas, triple jump (42-9½) and Sonoma Academy’s Aaron Rotman, 1600 (4:32.92).
Girls meet records were turned in by University’s Bridget Blum who covered the 1600 meter race in 4:57.73 and Branson’s Julia Maxwell who ran 10:42.50 to eclipse the record held by Julia Stamps when she ran for Rincon Valley Junior High as a freshman back in 1994.
University took the girls team title with 67 points.