Watsonville senior Nate Aguilar was facing elimination going into his final attempt in the triple jump at the Central Coast Section Track and Field Championships on May 24 when all of a sudden he asked spectators for a slow handclap.
As the claps began to speed up to a boisterous applause, he sprinted toward the sandbox and leaped like a gazelle hopping through the savannas.
Aguilar ended up placing third with a jump of 46 feet, 4 3/4 inches, and advanced to the California Interscholastic Federation Track and Field Championships at Buchanan High in Clovis on May 30-31.
“It’s been a big goal for me to go to State, always, all four years,” he said. “It’s awesome to finally make it.”
The Wildcatz’s standout athlete established another school record that he had set with a jump of 45-8 3/4 at the Pacific Coast Athletic League Masters Meet in King City on May 9. Aguilar surpassed Kasem Green’s previous record of 44-5 that was set in 2014.
Prior to that, Genaro Alcantara first set the record of 43-5 in 1975, followed by current Watsonville track and field coach Rob Cornett (43-11) in 1982. That record stood for nearly 30 years until Fernando Olivares broke it with a jump of 43-11 in 2010.
After the final attempt, Aguilar and Cornett embraced with a powerful bear hug to celebrate a record-setting feat that both won’t soon forget.
“It means everything to me because I didn’t know I wanted to do track in high school,” Aguilar said. “Coach Cornett got me out there and I fell in love with it right away, and to finally come out here and make it to State, that’s awesome for me.”
The top three finishers in each event except for the 4×800 relay race advanced to the CIF State Championships.
Aptos senior Logan Brantley took fourth in the shot put with a toss of 58 feet, yet his mark was still good enough to surpass the at-large qualifying throw of 55-4 1/2. He also placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 158-11.
In the 800-meters, Aptos sophomore Sam Hansen took eighth in 4 minutes, 15.70 seconds, while teammate junior Brady Bliesner (4:21.21) placed 10th. Scotts Valley junior Aaron Weiss (1:56.92) placed fifth in the 800.
Aptos’ 4×800 relay team—Brady Bliesner, Vincent Sanford-Carroll, Anthony Sanford-Carroll and Sam Hansen—placed ninth in 8:10.48.
Pajaro Valley senior Izaak Ocampo narrowly missed the cut into the State Championships as he placed fourth in the long jump with a leap of 22-1 1/4, while Aptos senior Casey MacConnell (21-5 3/4) took seventh.
Cornett was just as excited for Aguilar as the longtime ‘Catz coach pumped his fist in the air in a Michael Jordan like manner after he heard the result.
Cornett said he’s amazed how Aguilar was able to recover from a sprained ankle he suffered during the basketball season in the winter.
“We held him out as long as we could, and then he started to show some promise,” Cornett said. “At that Masters Meet, when he hit that jump, it surprised me. I wasn’t sure if he was capable of that big of a jump.”
Another astonishing thing is how Aguilar was able to train without having the proper facilities on campus. With ongoing reconstruction at Emmett M. Geiser Field, there were some days he wasn’t even able to practice.
“It’s a miracle and a testament to Nate’s ability to adapt, improvise and overcome,” Cornett said.
Apart from almost calling it a career at Watsonville, Aguilar spent most of Saturday morning feeling ill with a migraine. It prevented him from getting ample rest, which then led to a late start to his day.
However, he managed to battle through the headache. Aguilar also overcame some early adversity after recording a foul on his first two attempts, and again on a critical fifth attempt.
“I thought his fifth jump was on, they called it a scratch,” Cornett said. “I was like oh my God, we have to go after this last jump otherwise we won’t go to State, we gotta get it. I always knew he had something big in him, I just knew.”
On the sixth and final attempt, Aguilar began to handclap for some motivation and the crowd followed. The rest was history.
“I know I’ve had it in me to be able to jump that far,” Aguilar said. “It’s just execution, and what better time to do it than my possible last jump in high school. I got it done.”
