San Marin hasn’t always been ahead of the curve when it comes to track and field, but that doesn’t seem to have affected this year’s young track stars. As many of San Marin’s sports teams have flourished, so has the track and field team.
Varsity sprinter Sicily “Nelly” Grasso finishes first in the 100 meter dash at the Mustang Invitational; she later came in 8th at NCS.
Running can be described by some as boring and exhausting. But to distance runner freshman Justin Catanach, it’s exhilarating. Catanach runs a 4:45 minute mile and is on varsity. He runs cross country as well as track and field. Yet even though he is one of the fastest freshman runners in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL), he takes each race one personal record at a time.
His goal for the future is to keep beating his previous times.
“I want to run a mile in less than 4:40 minutes. It’s better to race yourself. I could win, but I’m really focused on getting my time down,” Catanach said.
To him, running feels like more than just a sport.
“I’m committed to track, and I want to get a scholarship for track, but there’s a lot of pressure and it feels like a job.”
There are a plethora of talented sprinters competing for San Marin this year; freshman Leo Matiuzzo on the varsity team is ranked tenth in MCAL for the 100 meter dash, and seventh in 200 meter dash. Along with fellow runner sophomore Sicily “Nelly” Grasso who qualified for NCS for the 100, 200, and 400 meter dash. She also ranked fourth in MCALs for the women’s 300 meter hurdles, and mainly competed with the invitational athletes throughout the season.
“I want to break my sister’s records.”
– Nelly Grasso
Varsity Track athlete
The Meet of Champions took place on May 26 and 27 at Dublin High School. Grasso took seventh in the qualifying round of the 200 meter dash and advanced to take eighth in finals the following day. Grasso has big goals for the future.
“I want to break my sister’s records,” Grasso said, referring to her Mustang alumna sister Ariel Dunbar, who holds six school records for Track and Field.
San Marin’s mens throwers dominated the rankings for MCAL, as sophomore Kyle Frasersmith took second in shot put as well as fifth in discus. Sophomore Trenton Jepma competed at the Meet of Champions and placed 14th in NCS for discus and tenth in MCAL for shot put. Jepma says his brother inspires him to do better.
“I want to give my little brother a good example.”
– Trenton Jepma
Varsity Track athlete
“I want to give my little brother a good example to look up to,” Jepma said.
As the track season comes to an end, San Marin’s track team looks bright as many of these stars are freshmen and sophomores.
