Watsonville High senior Lisandro Pantoja last week got a sneak preview of what the best track-and-field athletes within the section have to offer.
The mighty and powerful Wildcat placed sixth in the discus event with a toss of 148 feet at the 45th annual Central Coast Section Top 8 Invitational at Los Gatos High on April 18.
“I feel like I belong in these types of meets,” said Pantoja, who also took 13th in the shot put event with a throw of 44 feet, 5 inches. “There’s always mixed feelings of what if I mess up, all those negative things.”
Nevertheless, the former Wildcatz football lineman continues to work on having a positive outlook as his final season in a gold and black uniform nearly comes to an end.
“I’ve had a few bad meets, so I’m trying to work on having a better attitude,” Pantoja said. “Be more optimistic.”
Watsonville head coach Rob Cornett said his stud hurler is having a successful spring campaign, yet Pantoja hasn’t been able to reach his top mark of 156-5 such as he did in last year’s Mission Championships at Rancho San Juan.
“A little bit of a form flaw that we have to fix. It takes a lot of repetition to do it,” Cornett said. “[Pantoja’s] working on it, but he’s consistently throwing over 140s, which is really good. Not a lack of strength, that’s for sure.”
Pantoja recorded a season-best throw of 153 feet at the Winter Time Trials on Feb. 28. He came close to beating that mark with a toss of 152-6, while also setting a personal best of 46-11 in the shot put at the Leland Don Bell Quicksilver Classic on April 4.
The following week, Pantoja made an appearance at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in Southern California, placing 14th with a throw of 146-10 in the discus.
“There was so much more competition,” Pantoja said. “It was a really odd environment for track and field because it’s rare to see a lot of people go out of their way to view the meet…Stanford-packed like it was a football game.”
In the shot put, athletes have a choice between what is called the glide (linear) or spin technique.
But there’s no such thing as a linear throw in the discus, which is why most athletes will opt for the spin technique because throwing off a rotation is better than going in a linear motion.
“But by doing so, it’s technically 10 times harder,” Cornett said. “[Pantoja’s] doing it well. So that’s getting him that rotational speed that’s getting him to where we need to be.”
Pantoja added it’s not just about chucking a heavy ball or disc.
“A lot of coordination skills are required,” he said. “Of course, you have to be fast, explosive, balanced, and there’s the mental aspect of it.”
Luis Marquez, a senior, has been another good thrower who has been doing well inside the ring for the ‘Catz. He set a personal best in the discus with a toss of 139-11 at the Allen Dunn Haybaler Invite on April 18, and a record throw of 43-5 1/2 in the shot put at the 53rd Avis Kelley Invitational on March 28.
“I have high hopes for [Marquez], too,” Cornett said.
Watsonville sophomore Noel Navarro, who began the season with some lower back issues, is getting close to breaking 40 seconds in the 300 hurdles. He set a personal best of 41.91 while notching his sixth first place finish of the season during a Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division meet on April 21.
“[Navarro’s] starting to turn some heads,” Cornett said.
Junior distance runner Nain Garcia-Ferreyra has held a steady pace throughout the season, earning three first place finishes in the 800 and three wins in the 1600.
Cornett is hoping Garcia-Ferreyra will have enough to take him to the CCS finals but it’s a really rough section.
“There are some great runners in our section,” Cornett said. “But then again, that kind of competition breeds good marks for [Garcia-Ferreyra], too. That’s going to push him.”
On the girls side, sophomore Noemi Torres is having a record-setting season after tossing a personal best of 28-9 in the shot put at the Avis Kelley Invitational and hurling a 91-2 at the Haybaler Invite.
The ‘Catz have a newcomer in sophomore Victoria Perez, who is leaving quite the impression in the shot put and discus. She set a personal best mark of 82-1 in the discus at the Haybaler Invite, and tossed a 26-4 in the shot put in last week’s Mission Division meet.
Brianna Vanegas, a junior, hit a personal best in the triple jump with a leap of 31-11 at the Haybaler Invite.
“It’s going to put [Vanegas] in the mix of going to PCAL Masters to get to the CCS Championships,” Cornett said.
Cornett said last week they competed against a challenging Pacific Grove squad, and they faced a tough Monte Vista Christian group on March 26.
Both schools were promoted from the Cypress to the Mission following a successful season in 2025.
“[Pacifc Grove and MVC] were really good down there, and just got better,” Cornett said. “They came into our league with high expectations, and they’re doing it. So it’s gonna be tough against those two, they just got some very outstanding athletes.”
Monte Vista Christian senior Conor Gilliam placed eighth in 1 minute, 58.37 seconds in the 800-meters boys race at last week’s CCS Top 8.
Gilliam was also part of the 4×800 relay team with senior Gavin Beckmen, and freshmen Owen Beckmen and Joseph Palacios, who took 11th in 8:35.40.
MVC junior Isaiah Ortega placed 15th with a jump of 10 feet in the pole vault,
MVC sophomore Anna Conca (5:08.27) and junior Finley Castro (5:29.33) placed ninth and 17th, respectively, in the 1600 girls race. Teammate senior Nylie Joneson finished 10th with a jump of nine feet in the pole vault event.
Other formidable opponents in the Mission Division include Alvarez, Carmel, Monterey and Stevenson.
The goal for Cornett moving forward is to prepare the ‘Catz for the upcoming PCAL Mission Championships at Watsonville High on Friday at 4pm.
Then hopefully after that it’s on to the Masters Meet at Monte Vista Christian on May 8 at 4pm.
“Again, it’s the cliche of taking it one meet at a time,” said Cornett with confidence. “But we’re gonna get Masters and then see how many we can get through to CCS.”
