2024 Cypress League Championship

April 26th, 2024

It was a long, hard-fought meet at Seaside High School. The final event, boys triple jump, concluded just after 7 p.m. When the sand settled from the last jump, the boys had collected seven first-place finishes but still found themselves one point behind North Salinas for the team title. Having lost to North Salinas earlier in the season in a dual meet, the Breakers needed a victory to claim the league championship.

For the second year in a row, the Breaker boys came up just short, finishing as runner-up in the Cypress Division. With a large group of seniors set to graduate, this season felt like their best opportunity to take home the title.

Just as the realization of second place began to sink in, it was announced that a Monterey runner had been disqualified from the Varsity Finals for also competing in the JV Finals just two days prior. This ruling caused a ripple effect: PG freshman Aidan McFarland-Walton was moved from 6th to 5th place in the 400 meters, earning the team two critical points. Suddenly, the boys went from losing by one point to winning the league championship by that same margin.

The girls' road to co-champions was equally dramatic and also involved Monterey. At the very same dual meet in which the boys lost to North Salinas, the Breaker girls secured a crucial victory over Monterey to remain undefeated. The win came under unusual circumstances: the Monterey team left the meet just as the rain began to pour down before the 3200-meter race. The reason for their departure is unclear, though it may have stemmed from their earlier disqualification in the girls’ 4x100m relay for an out-of-zone baton pass.

Regardless of the circumstances, that in-season victory gave the Breakers a one-point season total advantage heading into the Varsity Finals. Despite not earning a single first-place finish, the Breaker girls fought hard, collecting an impressive ten second-place finishes. This effort secured a second-place team finish behind Monterey, resulting in a season points tie and a shared league championship title.

All-League Honors

The following athletes earned first-place finishes and were named All-League:

• Senior George Hatfield – Triple Jump

• Oliver Ottmar – High Jump

• Sophomore Travis Travaille – 100 Meters & Long Jump

• Sophomore Antony Gabrik – 1600 Meters & 3200 Meters

• 4x100m Relay Team: Senior John Klevan, Senior Oliver Ottmar, Senior George Hatfield, Sophomore Travis Travaille

• 4x400m Relay Team: Senior John Klevan, Freshman Betinho Zunguze, Sophomore Antony Gabrik, Sophomore Tadeo Ortiz

The Masters PCAL Meet will take place next week at Pacific Grove, with 17 Breakers set to represent the team.

Full results can be found here