As the Track and Field season came to a close, Senior Sprinter and Jumper Jimmy Morinaga and Junior Pole Vaulter Karlly Feng headed off to C.I.F.s on May 16, in hopes of advancing to State Championships.
Feng conquered C.I.F. preliminaries after reaching her personal goal of eleven goal of 11 feet as well as placing in the top nine, a sure ticket to Finals. On May 23, Feng competed in Finals, won six medals and advanced to the Masters Competition, although she wasn’t able to reach her goal of 12 feet.
“Prelims and Finals were pretty cool to vault at; the pit was set up right by the stands and the audience was really supportive,” Feng said. “I really enjoyed attending because I met some of my fellow athletes and got to catch up with friends who have helped me arrive to where I am today. In all, it’s just been a great experience.”
Morinaga also attended C.I.F. preliminaries, although due to an ongoing injury he was not able to complete his events in the precision and time he had trained for. He was later hospitalized after finding out that the pain was caused by a ruptured ulcer, and had surgery done immediately to repair it. Morinaga is now back in school recovering, and hopes to return to track soon.
“Since this is my last year, I really wanted to make a name for myself,” Morinaga said. “This season has been a good one. After four years of being apart of this exhilarating sport, I’m proud of where I and the rest of my fellow athletes have come, despite it ending with my injury.”
Feng is continuing in C.I.F.s, balancing her stress levels from school and extracurriculars and keeping a strict health regimen for herself. She hopes to continue improving her skills, honing down on her form, and to later participate in the Arcadia Invitational next spring.
“My overall experience in Track has been great because I have a group of people who work hard with me during the preseason,” Feng said. “Later seeing our hard work paying off with new P.R.s when the track season arrives is probably the best feeling in this sport. I think the biggest obstacle for me is keeping a good open mind since pole vaulting co-resides with it, which is why I try to balance stress before competitions.”
On May 29, Feng overcame the final level, Masters, reaching her goal to move onto State. By surpassing the qualifications of 11 feet 5 inches with a height of 11 feet 7 inches and placing in the the top seven, she was able to continue to State preliminaries on June 5 as the only representative for TCHS.
“My experience at Masters was slightly more intimidating,” Feng said. “I didn’t realize that my coach wasn’t going to be on the field so that was definitely a surprise. Thankfully, the girls pole vaulting event occurred before all the running events, so I was able to hear what he was saying to me in the stands. I also was able to finally meet the number one female vaulter in the state and one of the top five in the nation since I’ve been wanting to meet her since I first started. That was a pretty cool experience.”