Heat has a new meaning in meet
The annual CIF State Track and Field Championships are a test of high school athletes’ speed and endurance, power and strength, and … their ability to keep cool, quite literally.
The season’s pinnacle event starts Friday at Buchanan High School in Clovis, and though the field is divided by discipline, each qualifier shares a familiar opponent: Mother Nature.
Forecasts call for triple-digit heat during the two-day showcase at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Temperatures are expected to spike at 105 degrees Friday and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
“Drink lots of water and find shade under a tree,” warned Merced High senior Daniel Ambriz, seeded 12th in the 800-meter race. “It’s way cooler than staying in the stands.”
The CIF fears that won’t be enough, so the governing body is taking drastic measures. For the first time in the meet’s 98-year history, the schedule of events will be revised because of the weather.
“They’re monitoring the heat situation. Track and field has been in held in Clovis for years, and we’ve had high-temperature situations like this before,” said Rebecca Brutlag, the CIF’s media relations officer. “The health and safety of our athletes and the people who have come to watch them is on everyone’s mind. We want to make sure everyone competes comfortably.”
On Tuesday, CIF Senior Director Brian Seymour began working with the meet-management committee and the Clovis Unified School District on a new itinerary, which will be available online by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Brutlag also noted the CIF will take every precaution to ensure a safe environment for the athletes and spectators. Among those precautions are shade structures and hydration stations.
“People in Modesto are used to that heat,” Brutlag said, “but others aren’t, and we have to take that into consideration.”
Oakdale throws coach Brett Chappell believes the small contingent of state-bound Stanislaus District athletes will have a distinct advantage in the dry heat. His daughter, Hannah, is a medal contender in the discus.
“For the discus, it’s a good thing because the air is thinner and (the discus) has a chance to fly farther,” coach Chappell said. “Ultimately, we’re from the Valley. This is what we’re used to. It’s not a big deal. It’s what we train for.”
As a lifelong Central Valley resident, where triple-digit temperatures are the norm in the summer, Ambriz’s body is accustomed to performing in adverse conditions. He practiced with distance coach Tim Hagerman on Tuesday when the mercury climbed toward 100.
“We’re training at this time of the day because that’s when you (compete),” Chappell said. “You’re training your body clock.”
Under the old schedule, Mother Nature was going to test the durability of the district’s elite. The girls discus preliminaries were originally set for 3 p.m. Friday with finals to begin Saturday at 4:30.
Hannah Chappell is seeded 12th but remains a contender after winning her fourth consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section Masters title. Buhach Colony’s Morgan Johnson also qualified for the event.
Coach Chappell hopes the CIF won’t meddle with the throws competitions. Throwers don’t spend nearly as much time in direct sun as runners and jumpers, and many have patterned their training around a 3 p.m. start.
Sierra hurdler Bikram Thiara and Ambriz would have benefited from cooler temperatures Friday. The preliminaries for the 300 hurdles and 800 were scheduled to begin around 8 p.m. Now, they await a new itinerary from the CIF … not that it matters, Ambriz said.
“It’s going to be hotter than normal, but I’m used to the heat because I live here,” he said before training with Hagerman on Tuesday. “I’m used to training in this heat. I think we’ll have an advantage over the people who come from the Bay Area. I’ll be ready for it.”
The 800 is a test of speed and endurance. Ambriz will turn two laps around the rubbery surface, hunting a podium finish. He has a seed time of 1:54.21.
Despite the conditions, Ambriz believes the pace will be just where it needs to be: fast.
To finish on the podium – the top six medal – Ambriz figures he’ll need to shave two seconds off his personal best of 1:53.28, set at the Stanford Invitational on April 1.
“I want to get on the podium and (set a personal record),” Ambriz said. “A 1:51 or 1:52, I’m thinking that will get me on the podium.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Heat has a new meaning in meet."