Track team holds their own at East Bay Invitational

By Patrick Cochran

The Guardsman

The sun was shining on April 19 and, with the temperature in the mid 70s, it was a perfect day for a track and field competition.

The City College track and field team took a quick bus ride over the Bay Bridge to Chabot College to participate in the California State East Bay Invitational.

In addition to other community college teams, four-year schools like UC Santa Cruz and Chico State University also fielded teams.

With 30 teams competing, City College placed seventh on the men’s side with 100 total points, while the women’s squad finished in 15th place with 31 total points.

“It was definitely a crowded field today,” City College runner Daniel Galloway said.

Showing great natural speed and form, with legs and arms pumping in perfect motion, Galloway was able to catch up with most of his competition after a poor start and finish in third place in his 100-meter heat in 11.39 seconds.

“Could of had a better start,” Galloway said. “Basically that’s the race, how you start. I was thinking too much, just have to relax.”

Cassie Stansbury competed in the women’s 800-meter race and finished in a more than respectable time of 2:29:69, finishing third in heat 2 of the finals, which helped her team gain five points.

“We just come out and try do our best at these meets,” Stansbury said. “There are a lot of runners here, so you really have do your best to get noticed.”

One of the other main standouts for City College was sophomore Keith Lewis. A top notch runner who competes in the 100 and 200-meter dashes, Lewis’ blazing speed was on display.

Lewis ran an 11:03 time in his 100-meter heat, second only to teammate Zac Schuller, who was timed at 11:00, for the best overall time of the day.

Lewis has the stereotypical body build of an elite runner, long and lean with just the right amount of muscle on his frame. His running technique is very natural, and when Lewis hits his full stride, it is a site to behold.

Lewis runs very aerodynamically, making sure his body and motions are as compact as possible, helping shave a few fractions of a second off his race time. In track and field, those milliseconds can be the difference between being the best and being mediocre.

A fierce competitor, Lewis wished he could have gotten the gold.

“It was alright, could have done better, hit my drive phase earlier in the race,” Lewis said.

Lewis has a friendly rivalry with teammate Schuller, who is also a star wide receiver for the City College football team.

“Zac is a great runner, we compete against each other,” Lewis said. “He is great at getting out of the start, but if I can get out with him, it’s my race.”

Inner-team rivalry is a great way to bring the best out of teammates. With the intensity and passion City College showed on Saturday, that type of friendly competition is helping the Rams deliver their best performances possible.