Hilmar High walked out of the Trans Valley League track season and into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV/V Championship Trials with four TVL champions — Dani Olson, Hudson Harris, Kenzye Spears and Angelique Souza.
Olson and Harris dominated the hurdles for the Yellowjackets with Olson winning the 300m league title while also finishing second in the 100m hurdles and Harris winning both the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles. Souza earned her gold with her jumping ability in the high jump and Spears claimed championship glory in the 1600m, though his participation in the 800m, 3200m and 4x400m relay at the league tournament was a championship effort unto its own.
“These are all four-year track athletes. They've been working so hard for me the last four years so it's just so nice to see it all coming together,” Hilmar high head coach Clemente Labrouche said.
On Tuesday, Olson and Harris again showed their prowess on the track, this time in front of an audience larger than the TVL.
Olson placed first in all of her heats in all of her events, earning herself a ticket to Thursday's finals for the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles and 200m. It was the 100m hurdles that proved to be Olson's greatest accomplishment, however, as she overtook TVL champ Jaclyn Warwick in what has become the rivalry of the season for Hilmar.
“Dani has been fighting with the Warwick sisters from Modesto Christian all year,” Labrouche said. “They've been trading off. Whenever they run separately she runs faster, but when they run together she gets beat. So it's all coming down to Thursday, and I have a feeling they'll be racing at Masters, too.”
Olson will enter Thursday's final as the second overall in all three of her events.
Harris also qualified for the finals with an 8th place finish in the 110m hurdles and a third place finish in the 300m hurdles where he won all of his heats on Tuesday.
“The 300m is probably his strongest race,” Labrouche said. “Dani and Hudson, you know when they first came as sophomore to sections, they were so nervous and scared. As juniors it was a better experience but they were still kind of scared. Now they're just a lot more confident coming into it.”
Spears and Souza will join their teammates in competition on Tuesday as they search for a school record in the 1600m and a post five foot jump, respectively. Spears, who also competed on Tuesday as part of the 4x400m relay team, is slated to run both the 1600m and 3200m while Souza will compete in the high jump.
