The stage was set for a dramatic finish, and that finish was delivered! Trevor Rogers, holder of the #1 long jump in the state, made less than 24 hours before Saturday afternoon’s long jump finals with an amazing PR jump of 24′ 7.75″, was in 2nd place after his first five (of six) jumps. Due to Trevor’s #1 preliminary jump on Friday, Trevor had the last jump, finding himself in a precarious and unusual position since Trevor usually leads the long jump from start to finish. With the last jump of his high school career, and the last Don athletic performance of the year, so much could happen. Let the adrenaline take over and you run too fast and foul. Slow down trying to control it and you jump early leaving precious inches behind. Not Trevor. Poised and patient, Trevor raced down the runway and jumped a day’s best 24′ 3.75″ for a convincing win and a State Champion title (Acalanes first since Brent Burns pole vault record in 1987). Congratulations Trevor Rogers.
Shortly before Trevor jumped, senior Natalie Lyons finished her high school career with a fantastic 9th place finish in the girls long jump, soaring 18’3″, second among the jumpers from Northern California. What a finish for the Dons long jumpers and quite a tribute to iconic ACA Track Oerformer and Long Jump Coach icon Joy Upshaw.
The other qualifiers for the state meet (100-Paul Kuhner, 4×100-Colin Glick, Paul Kuhner, Matt Schwarz, Trevor Rogers, Discus-Deonte Littlejohn and the Unified 4×100 relay team of Alyvia DeCredico, Ainsley Dodge, Charlotte Sutherland and Chloe Boyle) all represented Acalanes very well and had outstanding performances. It is an incredible privilege and honor to participate in the state meet, the top state meet in the country and our Dons represented admirably.
That’s a wrap on the 2024 Track and Field Season, an incredible season highlighted by the Boys team winning the division and league and numerous top 10 records falling:
Trevor Rogers–#1 in the long jump, #2 in the 100, #2 in the 200, #4 in the 400, #5 in the triple jump, #7 in the high jump and #3 in the 4×100 (Trevor is on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd best 4×100 relay teams in ACA history)
Paul Kuhner–#1 in the 100, #1 in the 200, #6 in the 400, #8 in the Long jump and #3 in the 4×100 (Paul is also on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd best 4×100 relay teams in ACA history)
It is a huge achievement to get on the Acalanes top 10 list once in your track career. Our track records date back about 50 years, and Trevor and Paul appear on the record board sixteen times combined. Incredible! Top 10 records can be found at acalanestrack.com.
Dulci Vail–#2 in the high jump
Boys 4×100 Relay Team (Colin Glick, Paul Kuhner, Matt Schwarz, Trevor Rogers)–#3
Girls Distance Medley Team (Neve Murphy, Haley Chelemedos, Megan Yee, Olivia Williams)–#4
Logan Farzan–#4 in the 1600
Natalie Lyons–#5 in the long jump
Haley Chelemedos–#5 (tie) in the high jump
Neve Murphy–#6 in the 3200 and #7 in the 1600
Megan Yee–#6 in the 1600
Ace Reeder–#8 in the triple jump
Illias Kaplanes-Jones–#9 in the long jump
Matt Schwarz–#9 in the 100
An additional shoutout to the Queen of the Track, Olivia Williams. Olivia holds the school record in the 1600 and 3200 in times that may never be matched. Olivia approached both of those records in 2024 and will undoubtedly eclipse them at U Penn where we can all see her track performances continue.
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Thank you coaches–Joe Escobar, Bruno Morlan, Chris Clark, Tim Silveira, Joy Upshaw, Alex Marchan, Dave Kohls, Ken Bayliss, Jeff Hutson and Julian Hinds and thank you team parents extraordinaire–Patrick and Veronique Kuhner, Gina McKenzie, Stefania Kaplanes, Heidi Lockwood, Karen Hiatt, Jessica Langevin and team publicist Jane Smith.
Enjoy your summer and remember: Run fast, turn left.