Junior Heidi Johnson competes in the triple jump event. Her season record is 35 feet, 10.25 inches.
Sophomore Charles Thomas and juniors Joe Mo and Heidi Johnson have competed in seven meets.
Coach’s comment (per coach Nick Domich): “Because (athletes) think track and field is an individual sport, many don’t show up to practice or meets. We just have one serious athlete, Heidi Johnson. We started out with five (athletes), but now we have only three. If there’s a meet, I never know if people are going to come.”
Player’s perspective (per junior Heidi Johnson): “The biggest challenge was probably membership. Other than that, I think this season has been fairly comparable to the last.
“I would still like to improve, but since I started working with Roosevelt Kent, the track and field coach at Rocklin High School, I’ve been able to train using their facilities and learned how to use the pits, and that’s important too.
“I also haven’t been injured all season!”
Player’s perspective (per sophomore Charles Thomas): “During a lot of our meets, it was cold or rainy, so the weather was definitely a challenge for us.”
Best meet: In the Sacramento Meet of Champions on April 28, Johnson (the only competitor) won the triple jump in the open section and placed in the finals for the long jump.
Biggest heartbreaker: No athlete qualified for the Stanford Invitational (on March 31), which Johnson competed in her freshman and sophomore year.
Though Johnson said the Invitational is fun, she said she wasn’t too upset about not qualifying because her qualifying results had to be sent in early in the season, when she said she didn’t have great marks.
“The upcoming part of the season, especially sectionals (Thursday, May 15), is much more important,” Johnson said.
Originally published in the May 8 edition of the Octagon.
—By Héloïse Schep
