by Macade Maxwell

As their season comes to a close, the St. John Bosco track and field team gears up for the CIF-SS Divisional Championship Finals on Saturday. 

The Braves have displayed an impressive amount of success this season from the athletes in their twelve total meets. With notable achievements across the leaderboard of various events, the Braves are putting their names on the map and displaying their talents. 

Out of the 33 runners who competed in the 100m, a whopping 27 have achieved personal records (PRs) so far. Leading the way is junior two-sport athlete Jacob Holmes (10.93 seconds). Holmes also holds the lead for the 200 as well. Seventeen out of 19 athletes reached new PRs in the 400s, as junior Kendal Handy leads in that category (48.40 seconds). Senior Caden Fuller leads in the long jump event, while junior Kijani Dumas leads the 110 and 300 hurdles. Senior Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-commit Aidan Aldana leads in the long-distance events, the 800m, 1600m and 3200m, showcasing his cross country experience.

The Braves had CIF Prelims on May 4th, followed by the CIF Divsional Championship Finals that will take place this Saturday, May 11th. Each event raises the stakes for the Braves, and they continue to live up to all expectations with the help of new assistant coaches.

“We’re working on goal setting, tailored workouts, progress tracking, communication and mental preparation to ensure our athletes perform at their best,” says new Assistant Coach and Bosco alumnus Steven Caudillo. 

“I feel that me and my teammates are having a pretty good season [so far],” said Caden Fuller. “There’s always room for improvement, but I’m happy with the way we performed these past few meets.” 

Fuller, in particular, has shown his versatility among different events.

“My coach put me in a wide variety of events, but I’m most confident in my long jump,” he said.

Adjusting to a new coaching staff can be a difficult task for a team, but for the Braves, it is evident that it has a positive impact.

“There’s a new coaching staff, and at first, it wasn’t very easy adjusting to their coaching styles,” said Jacob Holmes. “But I’m starting to enjoy it, and I believe it’s contributing to our growth as a team.”

“With a team of returning athletes, we are building our way towards winning that Trinity League title,” said Head Coach Tim McIntosh, as his team finished third in league competition this past season. 

The following athletes will compete in the CIF Divisional Championship Finals for division three on Saturday: Jacob Holmes (100m), Kendal Handy (400m), Kijani Dumas (110HH) and, for the 4×100 relay, Ja’Shaun Shaffer, Ethan Naudin, Azari Warren and Jacob Holmes.