Arroyo Grande track stars place in top 10 in CIF state finals: ‘I’m just extremely proud’
Three Arroyo Grande High track standouts shined on the biggest stage at the CIF state finals in Clovis on May 28.
Senior track stars William Dawes (triple jump) Daniela Ruelas (hurdles) and Madeline Scovil (triple jump) each placed in the top 10 in California their respective events for the Eagles.
Along with San Luis Obispo High’s Milo Skapinksy, who placed 21st in the state in the 3200 meters, the Arroyo Grande athletes were the only SLO County competitors to reach the state finals this year.
Dawes placed third overall in his event, hitting a 47-foot, 00.25-inch mark a day after setting his personal record of 47-07.25.
Dawes said he was competing against athletes from some top sports schools in big communities such as St. John Bosco (Los Angeles), Great Oak (Temecula) and James Logan (Bay Area), but said nerves don’t get to him.
“I have learned not to take it too seriously,” said Dawes, who will play football at Hancock College in Santa Maria next year. “If my heart gets going too fast, then I don’t jump well. I have to be calm about it.”
Dawes, said the other jumpers remained loose by talking and sharing laughs as they waited to compete. But he said the success also came with a lot of hard work.
“I credit the weight room and stretching for injury prevention,” Dawes said.
Two AG girls set school records
His schoolmate on the girls’ team, Daniela Ruelas, who will compete in track at Dartmouth next year, took second in Clovis in the 300-meter hurdles (42.37, a school record) and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.33).
Ruelas said that she was nervous at an event so big, even after appearing in the California CIF finals last year (she improved her rank by moving up one spot in each event, having placed third in the 300-meter hurdles and sixth in the 100-meter hurdles last year).
“It feels very overwhelming,” Ruelas said. “It’s the best of the best and there are so many people watching. I get really nervous. My heart was racing.”
Ruelas overcame adversity after getting tangled up in the prelims with another racer in one of her events; the other racer was disqualified and Ruelas had to re-run by herself to qualify for 100-meter hurdle finals.
“The time she had to beat was 14.52 but, by golly, if she didn’t find a way. She went 14.51,” said Arroyo Grande Coach James Brown. “I was really kind of amazing because all the people that were still in the stands had no clue who Daniela really was, other than what the announcer was telling a little bit of why they’re running this race afterwards. And they all cheered and that was awesome.”
Brown said it was the first time in his long career as the Eagles track coach that he’d seen a re-run in an event.
“For the 100 hurdles, it’s all about speed and keeping your steps in right,” Ruelas said. “I do three steps in between every hurdle so I need to make sure I get that rhythm and maintain speed. For the 300 hurdles, it’s more just gauging the hurdle and seeing which leg you’re going to go over the hurdle with either the right or the left.”
Ruelas set two school hurdle records with her performances in the 100 (14.13) and 300 (42.37) this year, breaking her own previous records.
Scovil became the first girl triple jumper from Arroyo Grande to make it to the state competition, let alone the finals, said her coach Geo Abuan. She recorded a mark of 36-09.75. Her school record this year was 37-06.
“I was aiming for 38 feet, so I didn’t quite get there, but I did pretty well,” said Scovil, who will attend University of Oregon but won’t compete in track there. “I think this season was definitely the most fun of high school track. And that definitely was the how close the jumpers got.”
Abuan added: “I’m just extremely proud of these three and the work that they put in. It started in the summer when we opened up the weight room, and these kids were coming in working out and working hard. So there was a lot of prep and it showed.”
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