Track team heads to State in force

Griffin Track Team Heads to State Meet in Force

By Tom Danehy

The strange and wonderful Green Fields track & field season got a little bit stranger and lot more wonderful on Thursday, May 7 at the combined 1A-South and 1A-East Regional meet at Bisbee High School. The Griffin girls, despite the absence of one of their top scorers, tied for third among the eight teams competing, finishing ahead of powerful conference rivals St. David, Valley Union, and Academy of Tucson in the process.

Senior Michelle Spector grabbed two first-place medals (in the high jump and long jump) and placed at least in the top four in five different events (although, by rule, she will be limited to only four at State). Junior Delaney Gould had three top-five finishes (including a third in the discus), and a new star emerged as freshman Maya Holzman placed second in the high jump in her first track competition ever!

The aforementioned three joined with freshman Alyssa Yoshino to place fourth in the 4 X 100 relay and third in the Sprint Medley relay, despite none of them ever having run a relay before. Yoshino was also suffering from a sore back due to a volleyball injury and was limited to basically jogging her legs of the relays. Nevertheless, the Griffin girls recorded the fourth-best time in the state so far this year in the sprint medley.

Missing from the team was sophomore Jessica van Zijll, who was in Russia (yes, Russia) with her club volleyball team. She would have been almost certain to place high in the 100 meters, long jump, and high jump. She will be back for the State Meet next week.

Holzman's accomplishments were nothing short of stunning. A week earlier, she had been a member of the Green Fields softball team and had never run track before. Following the season-ending softball game between the players and the faculty last Friday, Holzman casually walked over to the high-jump area and cleared a State-qualifying height of 4' 4” in her softball uniform and cleats! After a couple days of practice, she kept up with Spector, jump for jump, as all the other Regionals competitors dropped away. Holzman also ran two stellar relay legs.

The girls racked up 62 points, compared to the 15 they scored in last year's Regional meet.

On the boys' side, junior Leon Wells soared 18' 8” to easily win the long-jump title. He also grabbed a surprising second place in the 100 meters, third in the 400 meters, and fourth in the triple jump. Junior Zoë Young, who had been coming on strong all season, qualified for the finals in the 100, 200, and long jump, and in the process, qualified for State in all three events.

The boys scored 34 points, good for sixth place.

Now it's on to the State Championship Meet next Friday and Saturday, May 15 and 16 at Mesa High School in Mesa. The girls have a decent shot at a Top 10 finish in the State, which would be a remarkable accomplishment for a second-year program.

Competing at State will be:

Michelle Spector – High Jump, Long Jump, 100 Meters, 4 X 100 Relay

Delaney Gould – High Jump, Discus, 4 X 100 Relay, Sprint Medley Relay

Jessica van Zijll – High Jump, Long Jump, 4 X 100 Relay, Sprint Medley Relay

Maya Holzman – High Jump, 4 X 100 Relay, Sprint Medley Relay

Alyssa Yoshino – Sprint Medley Relay

Leon Wells – Long Jump, Triple Jump, 100 Meters, 400 Meters

Zoë Young – Long Jump, 100 Meters, 200 Meters