The boys’ track and field team is still undefeated with a win against rival Loyola April 19, with the girls’ team improving to a record of 5-1.
The boys’ team defeated Loyola 74-53 for the first time in school history, and the girls’ team was victorious over Marymount 85-42.
The boys’ entered this season with high hopes of winning a Mission League title, a goal that Keon Mazdisnian ’19 knew was possible.
“This is by far the most stacked team we’ve had,” Mazdisnian said. “We have a very good balance of sprinters and distance. In previous years, we either had really good sprinters or really good distance runners, but this year we have a really good balance.”
With the win over Loyola, the boys’ team has clinched at least a share of the Mission League title, the first track and field boys’ team title in school history.
Both the boys’ team and the Cubs defeated Notre Dame by a nine point margin in their respective league meets, indicating the similar skill levels of the two programs this season.
“We knew that we had a shot at Loyola,” Mazdisnian said. “At first, it didn’t really seem real that we could beat Loyola. But it was our goal to finish the season strong with a Mission League title.”
Team captains Mason Rodriguez ’18, Jonah Ring ’18 and Tiber Seireeni ’18, as well as strong performers such as Brayden Borquez ’19, the school record holder in the 300 meter hurdles, and Joshua Johnson ’19 have been critical to the team’s success, Program Head Jonas Koolsbergen said.
“They set the tone of how things should be done and what it means to be a Wolverine track and field athlete,” Koolsbergen said. “They never back away from a challenge.”
Borquez won the 300 meter hurdles and ran on the winning 4×100 meter relay team with Johnson and Rodriguez at the Loyola meet. Borquez won the 400 meter race, which the boys’ team swept with Rodriguez in second and Jack Riley ’19 in third. He also holds the school record in the 1,600 meter relay and 800 meter relay.
“[Borquez] is probably won of the deepest runners in Harvard-Westlake history,” Mazdisnian said.
The boys’ team also collected points in critical field events. Seireeni won the pole vault at 15’6” and Darren Long ’19 won the high jump at 6’1”.
The girls’ team attributes its success to beginning training in September instead of November, when practices typically begin, Stanford said.
“We’ve had a lot of success as a team so far,” Ryan Stanford ’19 said. “I think [the Marymount meet] was definitely a testament to that.”
Several girls, including London Alexander ’18, also set personal records in the Maymount meet. Alexander, Lila Cardillo ’18 and Tierni Kaufman ’19 were named as this season’s team captains last week.
Now, the team will focus on closing out the Mission League championship meet on May 3 and the CIF prelims on May 12.
“This year’s group of guys is really special because we have a lot of talent,” Ben Beckman ’19 said. “The biggest challenge is living up to what we can do and what we are able to do.”
Both teams will travel to the final league meet of the season at Alemany April 26.
