Runner is gracious in moment of heartbreak
It takes guts to grab command. Race out front. Take the lead. Especially in front of 10,000 spectators, against elite competitors with a state title at stake.
Concord senior 800-meter runner Rayna Stanziano took on all of it. She looked strong, poised and determined for the first 700 meters, before her legs simply had no more. Two runners passed her down the stretch in one of the most exciting races of the 101st annual state meet at Buchanan Stadium in Clovis (Fresno County) on Saturday.
Marin Catholic-Kentfield sophomore Samantha Wallenstrom won the race in a personal-best 2:08.78 to become the only Metro athlete to come home with a state title. Menlo School-Atherton junior Charlotte Tomkinson ran a lifetime best of 2:09.41 to place second.
For the second straight season, Stanziano took third, this time in 2:10.07, just off her lifetime best of 2:09.44 set in last year’s state final.
If the St. Mary’s-bound runner showed guts early in the race, she showed even more afterward when meeting with the media.
Visibly shaken, she requested a few minutes to compose herself before speaking. While Wallenstrom enjoyed the winners’ circle, Stanziano stared teary-eyed into the night. When finally summoned again, she took a deep breath and answered every question.
Her voice cracked a couple of times, but she stayed strong and defended her race tactics. She likes racing out front and she wasn’t changing now. She wanted no regrets.
“I felt like it was my race,” she said, “because I led most of the way. That doesn’t feel the best right now.”
She composed herself and praised Wallenstrom, the same girl who encouraged Stanziano to get up after falling in the North Coast Section Meet of Champion final.
“I can’t believe how much time she’s dropped in the last two weeks,” Stanziano said. “It’s incredible. I know she has so much ahead of her.” More state track: RedwoodLarkspur senior Liam Anderson’s quest to be the fifth runner to double in the 1,600 and 3,200 came up short; he finished third in the 1,600 (4:10.26) and then two hours later took second in the 3,200 (8:53.28) . ... Bellarmine sophomore Colin Peattie, after placing second in the 1,600, took eighth in the 3,200 (9:09.17). … Clayton ValleyConcord senior Cameron Reynolds, who is UCLAbound, took second in the 200, repeating his personal best from Friday’s trials, going 20.99. Earlier, he was fourth in the 400. … Healdsburg senior Gabrielle Peterson also earned two medals in the distance races. … Los Gatos senior Masaki Wada-Law won two hurdles medals, taking fifth in both races. Teammate Joey Monti placed fourth in the 300; Monti’s sister, Abby, just missed a medal, finishing seventh in the 300 hurdles. … Silver Creek-San Jose senior Jazlynn Shearer won the triple jump (41-1) and 100 hurdles (13.24); both marks were wind-aided. … Under the honest-effort rule, St. Mary’sBerkeley junior Malcolm Clemons, the defending champion in the long jump, scratched from Friday’s triple-jump competition, thus making him ineligible to compete in the long jump final. … In all, 24 Metro Area teams or individuals earned top-six medals. … The two-day crowd total was 18,021.
CCS baseball: Cal-bound Steven Zobac and William Kempner, a Gonzaga signee, combined on a one-hitter and Zobac added a two-run double as second-ranked Valley Christian (29-4) won its third straight Central Coast Section Open Division title with a 2-0 win over Mitty (21-11) on Saturday at Excite Ballpark in San Jose. … Tenth-seeded Mountain View (20-10-1), which finished fifth in its league, won its first CCS title with a 6-5 victory over fourth-seeded Leland (20-8-2). Cae Cox scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Gabe Barrett worked a 1-2-3 bottom half to pick up the save. … Despite two hits and an RBI by Keshawn Ogans, 12th-seeded Sacred Heart Cathedral (18-12) dropped the D2 title game 5-3 to third-seeded Christopher Gilroy (23-8). … Run-scoring singles from Joey Thompson and Jeffrey Taylor led The King’s Academy to three runs in the first inning, and the fifth-seeded Knights (17-13) pulled out a 3-2 D3 championship win over Monte Vista Christian-Watsonville (16-14).
CCS softball: Holly Fletcher fired a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts as Aragon-San Mateo won its first CCS championship with a 6-1 victory over top-seeded Watsonville (23-5) in the D1 title game. A four-run rally in the second, keyed by a two-run single from Shannon Galliano, paved the way for the Dons (22-6), who last played in a CCS final in 1986. Freshman Megan Grant, who has committed to UCLA, had an RBI single and scored a run for the winners. … Mari Takeda-Bajan tossed a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts, and Lizzy Smith and Breanna Ryan had two hits apiece as fifth-seeded Pioneer-San Jose (15-11) prevailed 5-0 over third-seeded Hillsdale-San Mateo (17-8) in the D2 title game.