Last Thursday, Diamond Bar faced off with Bonita in the final meet of the season. The boys team escaped with the 69-62 victory with strong perseverance in the heat. On the other hand, the girls team were unable to match Bonita’s toughness and speed with a 85-46 loss, falling short of the league championship title.
Heading into the meet, DB knew Bonita was not an easy opponent and many preparations were necessary. “We made sure that all the athletes that were competing were mentally ready because it was going to be a difficult meet. We wanted to outsmart them by being prepared,” coach Marc Natividad said.
Down 19-4, the Brahmas needed players to step up and sophomore Isaiah Austin and seniors Jay Kim and Nate Moody did just that, placing top three in the 110-meter hurdle to cut into Bonita’s lead to make it 19-13. In the 100 meter sprint, sophomore Kenneth Thai and freshman Kyle Yada placed first and second, respectively, allowing DB to trail by one 30-29. “Our young athletes such as Kenneth Thai and Kyle Yada have been huge for us on varsity,” Natividad said. In the discus throw, Sam Nogami tied the meet 34-34 by placing first. The high jump was the turning point of the meet as DB got its first lead with senior Matt Harris, Yada, and junior Kelly Kraft sweeping Bonita, taking the lead 47-39. DB also swept Bonita in the 300-meter hurdle with sophomore Jesse Dickens, Austin, and Kim placing top three. DB wrapped the game up in the triple jump sprint with Thai and junior Daniel Ayala placing first and second respectively.
The girls team started off strong in the 4×100 relay, taking the lead 5-0. However, Bonita came back with a statement to take the lead and it never gave it back until senior captain Udodiri Okwandu played. Okwandu placed first and junior Candace Rucker placed third in the 100-meter sprint to take the lead 31-28. However, DB fell in a hole and was never able to get out of it for the rest of the meet. “Overall it went well but it was a little disappointing because we were hoping that the girls varsity would have won because that would have gave them a league championship, but came in second. From a coaching standpoint, there is a lot more that needs to happen to make sure that accountability is there across the board, making sure athletes are prepared and ready for every meet,” Natividad said.
DB is hosting the preliminary rounds this week to qualify top nine athletes for the league finals. One to three athletes from thursdays meet will advance to CIF. “My expectations are that athletes will be ready and committed to do track and field,” Natividad said.
