Meeting the challenge

Del Norte track team at Meet of Champions today

Del Norte High track and field members, from left to right: Katelynn Rowe, Nichole Fugate, Zara Gastineau, Jennifer Goacher, Kylee Bruder and Adan Rodriguez pose for a photo during practice on Tuesday. All six have qualified for the Northcoast Section Meet of Champions in Berkeley. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

It has been a successful year for the Del Norte High track and field team.

The girls squad earned first place in the Humboldt-Del Norte Championships and eight team members have qualified for the Northcoast Section Meet of Champions in Berkeley, which is only one step away from state. The event begins today.

Assistant coach Samuel Escobar said that it’s nice to see a high number of kids make it this far. Last year, five Warriors qualified for the Meet of Champions.

“They all had a goal in mind and they made it,” Escobar said. 

For the events with finals, the top seven will make it to the final race. The top four finishers in each event will qualify for state in Clovis next week.

Here are six of the Warriors who have qualified for Berkeley.

Kylee Bruder

Bruder, a junior, earned a berth in the high jump by taking seventh  with a height of 4.10 feet at the NCS Redwood Empire Championships. Bruder narrowly missed qualifying in the pole vault with an eighth-place finish.

“It’s pretty cool,” she said about making it to Berkeley for the first time.

In the high jump a key is to get a good high knee drive when going up,  she said.

“It helps you get more lift,” Bruder said.

Her goal going in is to make it to the second day and to reach a height of at least 5 feet.

Nichole Fugate

Nichole Fugate, a senior, has finally made it to Berkeley in her final year with the team.

In the 100-meter hurdles she took fourth in the Redwood Empire Championships. She is also a member of the girls 4x400-meter relay team, which took third at the qualifier.

Fugate said that her big goal this season was to qualify for the Meet of Champions.

To reach this has given her a great sense of accomplishment, she said,

“I’ve worked on improving my times all season,” Fugate said. “I definitely wanted to make it (to Berkeley) this year.”

She hopes to set personal best marks and to have a chance to compete in the finals, Fugate said.

Zara Gastineau

This is the second straight year that Gastineau, a senior, will compete in Berkeley. Last year she competed in the triple jump.

While disappointed that she did not qualify in the triple jump again this year, she is pleased to be back in her final year at Del Norte High by being part of the 4x400-meter relay team.

“It’s nice to be going as part of a team,” Gastineau said. “It’s pretty fun. I’m glad I’m going again.”

 The group has been working hard to perfect its technique in the relay, especially when handing off the baton to a teammate. 

Gastineau said the runners know that a proper hand-off can shave valuable seconds off their time and said they have worked hard to achieve this.

After graduation, Gastineau plans to attend Southern Oregon University in Ashland, and hopes to compete in the track and field.

Jennifer Goacher

Junior Jennifer Goacher has qualified for three events in her first Meet of Champions.

 She placed sixth in the 100-meter dash and seventh in the 200-meter dash to qualify. She is also a member of the 4x400-meter relay team.

Goacher said that it’s great to see all her hard work pay off.

“I’ve worked really hard at it,” she said.

Goacher first tried track as a seventh-grader. The weather was  cold and rainy, and she disliked it so much she left the team. The next year, she decided to give it another shot and found out she was good at several events and has been competing in track and field ever since.

Adan Rodriguez

Only a sophomore, Rodriguez had come on strong the last month to earn a berth in the  pole vault. At Rohnert Park, Rodriguez came in seventh with a vault of 11 feet.

“It feels pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s nice to know I’ve made it.”

He thanked Scott Lindsay and Dave Bokor, who have worked closely with him and helped improve his technique, which has helped him vault even higher in a short period of time.

At Berkeley, the starting height will be 12 feet. If he can hit that, it will be a personal best for Rodriguez.

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” he said.

Rodriguez said he has hit 12 feet at practice this week and hopes he can clear it as well in Berkeley.

Katelynn Rowe

A sophomore, Katelynn Rowe qualified for the Meet of Champions by taking seventh in the 400-meter dash and as a member of the 4x400-meter team.

“It was a really good accomplishment,” she said. “I’ve really pushed myself hard.”

The same goes for her teammates on the relay team, Rowe said, adding they all push each other to do better.

“We give one another a lot of support,” she said

Rowe said she’s hoping to make it to the second day of competition and hopes that her teammates will achieve this goal as well.