Although indoor Track & Field isn’t a CIF-sanctioned sport, there has been a California State Track & Field Championship during the indoor season since 2010. For the first six years, the event was held at the Save Mart Center located on the Fresno State Campus. Back then, it was called the California State Indoor Championships. In 2016, the event was held at Cerritos College in Norwalk, California. Because the event was now held outside, the name was changed to the California Winter Championships. In 2017, the meet was moved to Arcadia High School, where it remains today.

Even though the meet is now held on an outdoor 400-meter track, indoor distances are run. To qualify for the championships, an athlete must meet a standard (time, distance, or height) in their event at one of the 27 qualifying meets held around the state. The closest qualifying meet for San Diego athletes was held last Saturday at Canyon Crest Academy. Unfortunately, all of the sprint events were run into a strong headwind.

In both the 60-meter and 150-meter sprints, Lauren Gilhooly, running for CTG Development, had the best times out of all the heats. The wind was so strong during the 150-meter heats that only two girls were able to qualify. Nathan Ayan, running unattached, also had to battle the wind and emerged as one of the six finishers under the 600-meter standard of 1:31. Coronado’s Head Track Coach, Cameron Gary, owns CTG Development, where he coaches several elite athletes, including Gilhooly, during the CIF off-season. It comes as no surprise that Gilhooly and Ayan qualified, as the former has the top times in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes out of all returning runners this season. As for Ayan, he was the CIF Division III champion for the 800-meter run last season. Both were honored as MVPs last season for Islander Track and Field.

There is one more chance for athletes to beat the standard before the championships on February 8th. Coach Gary and his crew plan to enter the final qualifying meet at Vista Murrieta HS next Saturday.