SANTA CRUZ—Monte Vista Christian School senior Shayna Lebovitz was on a mission Saturday afternoon, taking home the gold in four events at the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League track and field championships.
She won the 300-meter hurdles in 48.92 seconds, the high jump in 5 feet, the long jump (16-1.25) and the triple jump (32-8). She finished with 40 points, which was also good enough to earn the Bob Enzweiler Award for being the athlete who produced the highest point total.
Her score helped the Mustangs take fourth with 56 points in the team standings. Lebovitz said she felt fresh after having to qualify just for the 300m hurdles in Thursday afternoon’s league trials.
“I was pretty rested compared to what I think I would’ve been if I had to do more events on Thursday,” she said.
Aptos High junior Elizabeth Churchill won the 110 hurdles (16.63) and was the lone Mariner to win an event. However, she managed to record several second- and third-place finishes to help them win the team title with 129 points.
They were followed by San Lorenzo Valley (109), Soquel (78), MVC and Scotts Valley (42) in a field of 10 teams.
Lebovitz, who normally takes part in the 4×100 and 4×400 relay races, decided to take advantage of her senior year by competing in something different.
Prior to this season, she worked on the 300 hurdles, long jump and triple jump, which were all new to her.
“I kind of surprised myself. I didn’t come here expecting to do as well in those newer events as I did,” she said.
The Mustangs’ coaching staff had suggested that it was best for her to compete in individual events so that way they could rack up as many points as possible as a team. Lebovtiz admitted that she wasn’t thrilled about the move when it was first announced, but she made the transition in order to help the team.
“I just went out there and did it,” she said. “Coach [Jeremiah] Spears helps me through it all….I just have a great coaching staff.”
Lebovitz said that most people believe track and field is an individual sport when in fact it’s really not. They didn’t have as many athletes as they normally do on the track and field team this year, yet, they still showed up to compete day-in and day-out.
The Mustangs were invited to join the SCCAL after the Pacific Coast Athletic League decided to not to move forward with its sports season due to strict Covid-19 guidelines for youth sports set by the state.
In the past, the only chance that Lebovitz got to compete against Santa Cruz County schools was at an invitational meet. She said it was interesting to go up against the local teams, because it pushed them to bring out the best in them.
Lebovitz lost against Churchill in the high jump during their regular season dual meet on April 8.
“I was frustrated but I had also gotten a personal record,” Lebovitz said. “I think that it really helped me to have that level of competition.”
San Lorenzo Valley High sophomore Kaitlin Seigle won both the 400 (1:02.96) and 800 (2:22.72) with some style, running in sunglasses and showing some school pride by sporting a pair of Cougar paw earrings.
She admitted to being nervous going into Thursday’s league trials. She qualified for the final round but she realized that something was missing from her routine that afternoon.
“Today I was really focused on warming up,” she said. “Just clearing my head and being ready to run.”
The main goal for Seigle is to always win the race, but Saturday was all about enjoying the moment in a season full of surprises and delays due to the pandemic.
“I just decided to go out and have fun today,” she said. “I just had to adjust my focus.”
Fellow Cougars sophomore Katharina Guth also produced two wins, earning titles in the discus (94-4) and shot put (27-6). Cougars junior Amaya Gordon won the 200 (27.29).
The league season was just four weeks long, which included three regular season meets and this past weekend’s championship. Seigle was satisfied when she heard the news about six weeks ago that there was going to be a season.
“I’m just so grateful for the support that my parents and my coaches have given me,” she said.
UP NEXT
CCS semifinals
When: June 12, TBA
Where: TBA
SCCAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Top teams
1. Aptos, 129; 2. SLV, 109; 3. Soquel, 78; 4. MVC, 56; 5. Scotts Valley, 42.
Top individuals
100m: 1. Sarah Canavan, Soquel, 13.14; 2. Alisya Oliver, Aptos, 13.30; 3. Amaya Gordon, SLV, 13.34.
200: 1. Amaya Gordon, SLV, 27.29; 2. Alisya Oliver, Aptos, 27.66; 3. Kaitlin Seigle, SLV, 27.79.
400: 1. Kaitlin Seigle, SLV, 1:02.96; 2. Caelan Gilliam, MVC, 1:04.04; 3. Audrey Parmenter, SLV, 1:04.60.
800: 1. Kaitlin Seigle, SLV, 2:22.72; Rafaela Putnam, Scotts Valley, 2:25.03; 3. Annie Eikemeyer, Aptos, 2:28.26.
1,600: 1. Ashlyn Boothby, Scotts Valley, 5:05.55; 2. Amber Boothby, Scotts Valley, 5:07.98; 3. Isabel Sanchez, Santa Cruz, 5:10.22
3,200: 1. Amber Boothby, Scotts Valley, 11:18.88; 2. Layla Ruiz, Watsonville, 11:19.70; 3. Susana Estrada, Aptos, 11:35.71.
110m hurdles: 1. Elizabeth Churchill, Aptos, 16.63; 2. Jasmine Navarro, Watsonville, 17.35; 3. Lulu Mattingly, SLV, 17.41.
300m hurdles: 1. Shayna Lebovitz, MVC, 48.92; 2. Lulu Mattingly, SLV, 51.80; 3. Jasmine Navarro, Watsonville, 52.55.
4×100: 1. Soquel (Cloe Hubbard, Renee Parker, Deijah Stevens, Sarah Canavan), 51.30; 2. Aptos, June Lee, Kaityn LaRue, Kiley Brown, Alisya Oliver, 53.81; 3. SLV, Ruby Gonda, Amaya Gordon, Audrey Parmenter, Mia Hamilton, 54.01.
4×400: 1. Soquel (Sarah Canavan, Suki Kasmi, Renee Parker, Sophia Morales), 4:22.77; 2. June Lee, Lucy Bowman, Annie Eikemeyer, Alisya Oliver, 4:32.67; 3. Scotts Valley, Ashlyn Boothby, Greta Feague, Amber Boothby, Rafaela Putnam, 4:33.22.
High jump: 1. Shayna Lebovitz, MVC, 5-0; 2. Elizabeth Churchill, Aptos, 4-10; 3. Lulu Mattingly, SLV, 4-8.
Long jump: 1. Shayna Lebovitz, MVC, 16-1.25; 2. Elizabeth Churchill, Aptos, 15-10.5; 3. Lena Manchester, 15-5.25.
Triple jump: 1. Shayna Lebovitz, MVC, 32-8; 2. Elizabeth Churchill, Aptos, 31.65; 3. Jonelle Scott, Soquel, 31-0.
Discus: 1. Katharina Guth, SLV, 94-4; 2. Kate Wolsfeld, Aptos, 90-0; 3. Lisandra Nambo-Belmonte, Watsonville, 87-10
Shot put: 1. Katharina Guth, SLV, 27-6; 2. Lucy Fitzgerald, SLV, 26-10; 3. Kate Woldsfeld, Aptos, 26-10.
Pole vault: 1. Makiah Dexel, Soquel, 10-0; 2. Jade Waddell, Soquel, 9-6; 3. Jonelle Scott, Soquel, 7-6.
