Windsor High School athletes were out of the blocks quickly on Saturday, March 7 at the Big Cat Invitational track meet at Santa Rosa, giving local fans a glimpse of great things to come.
The event, which serves as the unofficial start to the spring season, included some two dozen teams and hundreds of participating athletes, many getting their first taste of high school competition.
The Jaguars were well represented at the Big Cat, fielding one of the largest and most accomplished teams.
“I was really impressed by the way we competed at the Big Cat,” WHS coach Brandon Bronzan said. “We were holding out a couple of our top student-athletes who are coming back from injuries, but it was a great way to kick off our season.”
Turning in standout performances for the Jags were Jake Sievers (100, 200 meters), Emily Johnson (long jump), Lilja Chung (1,600, 3,200 meters), Joshua Aguayo (800 meters) and Alberto Figueroa (shot put).
Overall, the Jaguars figure to be very competitive this season in both running and field events.
Top returning sprinters are; senior Max Sandwina (returning NBL 100 meter champion), junior Jaden Fernandez (100 and 200 meter school record holder), senior Jake Sievers (100, 200 meters) and senior Kendall Campos (400 meter school record holder).
Returning distance runners include: senior Hunter Larson, sophomore Dustin Smith, junior Landon McAlister, sophomore Tallen Theiss, senior Steven Vail, sophomore Garrett Melvin and sophomore Kevin Manni. The top distance runners for the girls squad are sophomore Lilja Chung and seniors Jayda Pignataro and Erin O’Mara.
Sophomore Valentino Bugica is the top returning hurdler, while senior Marques Pigg and junior Emily Johnson (NBL long jump, triple jump champion) figure to be the leading jumpers for the boys and girls teams respectively.
Ready to set new marks in the throwing events are junior Gil Brantley, senior Alberto Figueroa for the boys and senior Riley West and sophomore Savannah Burger for the girls.
Top newcomers to the varsity team this year are freshman sprinter Alejandra Chavez, senior Alberto Figueroa, freshman distance runner Elsa Nolen and sophomore Max Pietrok.
Team captains for this season are Sandwina, Campos, O’Mara, Pignataro, Larson and Brantley.
“I’m excited about the roster we’ve put together,” Bronzan noted. “It’s a good mix of returners and newcomers, with more overall depth than I felt we had last year.”
