Edwards Stadium (Track) - Open to Public?

Cal89

11:05a, 1/14/24

Might anyone here know if Edwards is open to the public, today (Sunday) specifically? I seem to recall it was, sunrise to sunset, but have no idea if that has changed...

Thanks much!

EDIT / ADD: It was open on the NE side, by the tennis courts...

Sig test...

Cal Junkie

9:56a, 1/16/24

It's open to an extent, but closed during vacations, special events and during track practices, Sunday is usually fine.

Cal89

8:47p, 1/24/24

In reply to Cal Junkie

Cal Junkie said:
It's open to an extent, but closed during vacations, special events and during track practices, Sunday is usually fine.

Thanks CJ.

We'll be back again as my daughters enjoyed their time there. Before we left, we did a timed 800m, and our 14 year old got a 2:33. No spikes, so pretty good. I told her that if she can lower that JUST 23 more seconds over the next few years, Cal might be knocking at our front door! She got a big grin on her face, but she understands that would be no easy task... Her freshman track season starts next week. Fun times...

Thanks again.

Sig test...

DiabloWags

6:38a, 1/25/24

In reply to Cal89

So happy that your daughter enjoys the track!

In my experience of several decades of watching prep track and field, I would say that the 2:21 mark will be the first "test". After that, it will be the 2:15 - 2:16 area. And then sub-2:13

Last year at the State Meet, 2:12.72 was the final qualifier from the prelims into the Finals.

The cool thing about running track in your high school years is that as your body develops and gets stronger, you automatically improve and see your times drop.

But whatever you do, don't burn her out and allow her high school coach to run her in 4 events to rack up points for the team and over-extend her.

Keep it Fun!

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."

Cal89

9:13a, 1/25/24

In reply to DiabloWags

DiabloWags said:
So happy that your daughter enjoys the track!

In my experience of several decades of watching prep track and field, I would say that the 2:21 mark will be the first "test". After that, it will be the 2:15 - 2:16 area. And then sub-2:13

Last year at the State Meet, 2:12.72 was the final qualifier from the prelims into the Finals.

The cool thing about running track in your high school years is that as your body develops and gets stronger, you automatically improve and see your times drop.

But whatever you do, don't burn her out and allow her high school coach to run her in 4 events to rack up points for the team and over-extend her.

Keep it Fun!

DW, what a pleasant surprise. Thanks for chiming-in. You probably forgot, but we chatted several months back. We're down in Morgan Hill, near that animal shelter in San Martin, that you know very well... Heck, just fed our two cats we got from that facility!

As you might recall, she got hooked on running less than a year ago, an 8th grade track meet. She's been running since, trying to "catch-up" with the kiddos who've been running for years. As you'd guess, that doesn't come without injuries along the way, a hip last summer and the dreaded shin splint that had her miss most of her XC meets this past fall. Big wake-up call for her. She was 13 the day HS started, a young freshman, and her HS coach said, a lesson best learned now, as opposed to later. She takes warm-ups more seriously now, hits the weights and x-trains too; and probably most importantly, doesn't increase her volume so rapidly.

To be clear, it's not me pushing her. It's self-imposed. A wonderful trait, most of the time. Even her HS coach asked that I reel in that enthusiasm a bit. In retrospect, I should have done more. After her HS XC practices ended around 5:15pm, she wanted to join her former MS coach's club team which ran at 6pm on the other side of town. And if that was not enough, she'd sometimes have hoops practice (AAU) afterwards. With me driving her to these, I could have done more to limit such. Again, lesson learned, for her, me all of us.

I appreciate you noting those 800 times that often present challenges! Really curious how she does in spikes with competition pushing her. Speaking of events, she expressed interest in the 800, 1600 and 3200. She wants to do all three. Her coach was a bit reluctant, but said she'd support her. So, the coach will not be pushing her to do four…

You mentioned State, and that's a goal for her, at some point. Now that we look back at the XC season, the last qualifier spot in D3 was filled by a freshman, an impressive young runner. With the progression that she would have likely experienced by not having shin splints, it seems she might have been in contention at Crystal Springs for State. Suffice it to say, she's motivated for the next XC season. That said, she was surprised to have made CCS after having not run for 5 weeks! Some KT tape and a Tylenol helped her get a good enough time.

With her HS XC season over after CCS, her former MS coach mentioned USATF XC, and off she went! Joined USATF and made some deadline for a race up in the Redding area. She qualified for the next race near Fresno, the day after HS State, and did well enough to make USATF XC Nationals in Louisville, KY. We were so proud of her. She was still not 100% and her conditioning had taken a hit, yet she found herself in the Championship. What a great experience! She loves the running community. She's hooked.

Gosh, so much so, she told her HS AD, who is the girls hoops coach, that she won't be doing basketball. He was holding a spot for her while she was in CCS. She began hoops in 7th grade, and it had been her goal to make her HS team. She worked so hard to raise her game, tournaments all over the state, and in my opinion, the game was finally starting to come to her too. Fond memories now. After a heartfelt family discussion, with some tears, she told us she wants to focus on running, let hoops go. The main reason is that the overlap was more than anticipated, especially if/when she makes State in XC. She'd miss nearly a month of basketball season (cannot attend those formative practices until XC is done). And now hoops would be overlapping into student-led track practices and tryouts next week. That bothered her, a lot. She never misses practices, of any type. She's all-in on running.

Sorry for the long response. Sort of a proud Daddy... Regarding the 800m, I'll make it a point to post here if/when she gets to the next "test" of 2:21. I can't imagine she'd get there this season, but maybe her sophomore year…. She might be more a distance runner, just don't really know yet. A 5k race this Sat!

Thanks again DW.

Sig test...

GATC

10:57a, 1/25/24

In reply to DiabloWags

DiabloWags said:
So happy that your daughter enjoys the track!

In my experience of several decades of watching prep track and field, I would say that the 2:21 mark will be the first "test". After that, it will be the 2:15 - 2:16 area. And then sub-2:13

Last year at the State Meet, 2:12.72 was the final qualifier from the prelims into the Finals.

The cool thing about running track in your high school years is that as your body develops and gets stronger, you automatically improve and see your times drop.

But whatever you do, don't burn her out and allow her high school coach to run her in 4 events to rack up points for the team and over-extend her.

Keep it Fun!

Good advice. My son and daughter were on the high school team in track and they really enjoyed it. They grew physically, mentally and socially. They confidence grew as they excelled. Come to think of it my son met his wife on the track team in college. It really had a huge impact on their lives.

Cal89

12:53p, 1/25/24

In reply to GATC

GATC said:
DiabloWags said:
So happy that your daughter enjoys the track!

In my experience of several decades of watching prep track and field, I would say that the 2:21 mark will be the first "test". After that, it will be the 2:15 - 2:16 area. And then sub-2:13

Last year at the State Meet, 2:12.72 was the final qualifier from the prelims into the Finals.

The cool thing about running track in your high school years is that as your body develops and gets stronger, you automatically improve and see your times drop.

But whatever you do, don't burn her out and allow her high school coach to run her in 4 events to rack up points for the team and over-extend her.

Keep it Fun!

Good advice. My son and daughter were on the high school team in track and they really enjoyed it. They grew physically, mentally and socially. They confidence grew as they excelled. Come to think of it my son met his wife on the track team in college. It really had a huge impact on their lives.

Thanks for sharing the experiences you had with your son and daughter. Rewarding in a multitude of ways...

Along those lines, the transition to HS for my daughter was made so much easier, and has been more enjoyable and satisfying because of her new teammates on the XC and now track teams. They were so receptive and welcoming, including the seniors on the team. It sort of surprised her, probably because of what I had shared about how freshman are sometimes treated, what one sees in the movies, etc. I sense that these teammates are becoming friends, some of which will be leaving in a few months to start college. She's the only freshman running with them now during these student-led practices after school and they've really taken her in and supported her. My daughter had never seen or used a spike tool before. Yesterday, upon seeing one on the ground, she asked who misplaced their flashlight (practices go past sunset) and that prompted some laughter and the expected freshman jokes! I guess she found it funny too because she told me...

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DiabloWags

10:02a, 1/27/24

Sounds like lots of great memories in the making.
Keep us posted!

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."

Cal89

3:41p, 1/27/24

In reply to DiabloWags

DiabloWags said:
Sounds like lots of great memories in the making.
Keep us posted!

Will do, should the 2:21 materialize...

That said, the 5k was a blast today for her and her little sister. Both got PRs, medaled for their age groups again, which makes the day a little more special.

DW, if you happen to be aware of any really good summer running camps, even if not local, kindly share via PM. I had already asked Cal Junkie, in case that matters any... THANKS.

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Cal89

7:26p, 4/20/24

Well, as promised, I'm following-up to report that she got a 2:19 today. Her PR before today was a 2:26, so a very healthy beat... Today was the first Invitational with no rain, hail, wind or lightning, so I imagine that helped some. More so I feel, the competition really made a difference (CCS Top 8 @ Los Gatos HS). A heck of a day.

DW - So, 2:15/16 is the next likely resistance area?

Sig test...

OBear073akaSMFan

11:12a, 4/23/24

In reply to Cal89

Cal89 said:
Well, as promised, I'm following-up to report that she got a 2:19 today. Her PR before today was a 2:26, so a very healthy beat... Today was the first Invitational with no rain, hail, wind or lightning, so I imagine that helped some. More so I feel, the competition really made a difference (CCS Top 8 @ Los Gatos HS). A heck of a day.

DW - So, 2:15/16 is the next likely resistance area?

Congrats on your daughter start & just to think (based on the thread) she has just started her career. A 2:19 is terrific.The CCS has some terrific 800-1600 runners & undoubtedly her time might drop even more when she compete against these more experienced runners.

I was able to find the results of the Top 8 meet and based on Morgan Hill & time was easy to identify your daughter. There was a runner from Piedmont HS (Eastbay) that went by the same last name but was a 300 hurdler. I know last names are common but any relationship? Think she might even had raced one year at CAL. Just curious. Good luck to you & your daughter!

DiabloWags

6:28p, 4/25/24

In reply to OBear073akaSMFan

OBear073akaSMFan said:
Cal89 said:
Well, as promised, I'm following-up to report that she got a 2:19 today. Her PR before today was a 2:26, so a very healthy beat... Today was the first Invitational with no rain, hail, wind or lightning, so I imagine that helped some. More so I feel, the competition really made a difference (CCS Top 8 @ Los Gatos HS). A heck of a day.

DW - So, 2:15/16 is the next likely resistance area?
Congrats on your daughter start & just to think (based on the thread) she has just started her career. A 2:19 is terrific.The CCS has some terrific 800-1600 runners & undoubtedly her time might drop even more when she compete against these more experienced runners.

I was able to find the results of the Top 8 meet and based on Morgan Hill & time was easy to identify your daughter. There was a runner from Piedmont HS (Eastbay) that went by the same last name but was a 300 hurdler. I know last names are common but any relationship? Think she might even had raced one year at CAL. Just curious. Good luck to you & your daughter!

Different last names OBear.

Lauren Barbieri of Piedmont High (2001)
Inducted into the Piedmont High Hall of Fame last year.

She went to the CIF State Meet in the 300m hurdles and broke PHS records in the TJ, 4x400m relay, and 100m hurdles. Was the student body president her senior year at Piedmont. Ran XC at Cal for 2 years and Track for 4 at CAL. Think she became a 3000m Steeplechaser at Cal. Was All-Academic Pac 10.

I'm sure that any Dad would be very proud to have her as their daughter.

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."

DiabloWags

6:49p, 4/25/24

In reply to Cal89

Cal89 said:
Well, as promised, I'm following-up to report that she got a 2:19 today. Her PR before today was a 2:26, so a very healthy beat... Today was the first Invitational with no rain, hail, wind or lightning, so I imagine that helped some. More so I feel, the competition really made a difference (CCS Top 8 @ Los Gatos HS). A heck of a day.

DW - So, 2:15/16 is the next likely resistance area?

Hey Tony, I just checked out the results and as one would expect that CCS Girls 800 was packed!
Looks like your daughter and Elise Greenstreet of Los Gatos are the two big up and coming freshman.

As you saw, the first 4 places were all Seniors with two runners at 2:10.3x and then a 2:14.87 and a 2:15.25
Then, there's massive log-jam in the 2:18 area with two sophomores.

So yes, I would anticipate that the next big area of resistance will be the 2:15 - 2:16 area.

With 6 seniors and 2 juniors ahead of her, it's not far-fetched that she will be representing the CCS at the State Meet someday as she gets stronger and more experienced with the event and her training. Staying healthy will be the key. And again, that means good sleep and staying away from over-training and running too many events to help the team. Dont worry if she "hangs-out" in this 2:18 - 2:19 area for awhile. There's no rush to get to 2:15 right away.

Keep in mind, the State At-Large Mark is 2:13.79 for this season.

Hopefully, she can find someone on her team that she can run workouts with that can stay with her and push her. If it's some of the boys on the team then so be it. Whatever it takes to help her train with others so that it doesn't always feel like she's doing all of the work and out there running interval workouts by herself.

And most of all, it's got to be kept FUN and come from her.

Just my 0.02 cents.

PLACE VIDEO ATHLETE TEAM MARK WIND HEAT
1

Ashlyn Boothby
12 Scotts Valley (CC) 2:10.31 1
2

Tatum Olesen
12 Menlo-Atherton (CC) 2:10.32 1
3

Lillian KAELBER
12 St. Francis (CC) 2:14.87 1
4

Amaya Bharadwaj
12 Palo Alto (CC) 2:15.25 1
5

Heidi Green
11 Santa Cruz (CC) 2:17.79
6

Kiarra D'Arcangelo
12 Westmont (CC) 2:18.47
7

Emma Lewis
10 Los Altos (CC) 2:18.61
8

Annie Pflaum
12 Menlo-Atherton (CC) 2:18.71
9

Cassidy Misuraca
10 Mountain View (CC) 2:18.89
10

Shea Elmore
11 Los Gatos (CC) 2:19.23 1
11

Cali BARBERI
9 Sobrato (Ann) (CC) 2:19.61 1
12

Elise Greenstreet
9 Los Gatos (CC) 2:19.77 1
13

Katie Mullane
10 St. Francis (CC) 2:20.82 1
14

Alaska Ontoria
9 Westmont (CC) 2:21.07 1
15

Sarina Salzer-Swartz
11 Los Gatos (CC) 2:21.57 1
16

Allie Difede
12 Palo Alto (CC) 2:22.23 1
17

Briana Kropp
11 St. Francis (CC) 2:23.09 1
18

Maya Wastie
St. Francis (CC) 2:23.84 1
19

Lily Symon
10 Los Altos (CC) 2:24.36 1
20

Abigail Riggs
12 Willow Glen (CC) 2:25.99 1

CCS Top 8 Invite 2024 - Varsity Girls Results (milesplit.com)

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."

OBear073akaSMFan

11:07a, 4/26/24

In reply to DiabloWags

DiabloWags said:
OBear073akaSMFan said:
Cal89 said:
Well, as promised, I'm following-up to report that she got a 2:19 today. Her PR before today was a 2:26, so a very healthy beat... Today was the first Invitational with no rain, hail, wind or lightning, so I imagine that helped some. More so I feel, the competition really made a difference (CCS Top 8 @ Los Gatos HS). A heck of a day.

DW - So, 2:15/16 is the next likely resistance area?
Congrats on your daughter start & just to think (based on the thread) she has just started her career. A 2:19 is terrific.The CCS has some terrific 800-1600 runners & undoubtedly her time might drop even more when she compete against these more experienced runners.

I was able to find the results of the Top 8 meet and based on Morgan Hill & time was easy to identify your daughter. There was a runner from Piedmont HS (Eastbay) that went by the same last name but was a 300 hurdler. I know last names are common but any relationship? Think she might even had raced one year at CAL. Just curious. Good luck to you & your daughter!

Different last names OBear.

Lauren Barbieri of Piedmont High (2001)
Inducted into the Piedmont High Hall of Fame last year.

She went to the CIF State Meet in the 300m hurdles and broke PHS records in the TJ, 4x400m relay, and 100m hurdles. Was the student body president her senior year at Piedmont. Ran XC at Cal for 2 years and Track for 4 at CAL. Think she became a 3000m Steeplechaser at Cal. Was All-Academic Pac 10.

I'm sure that any Dad would be very proud to have her as their daughter.

Damn 2001?? Time is passing by so fast. Thanks for the correction DW.

DiabloWags

3:10p, 4/26/24

In reply to OBear073akaSMFan

No worries Sir.

This year is going to be a glorious year for Track & Field heading into Paris!

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."

Cal89

11:52a, 5/15/24

Just noticed the responses, sorry. Between caring for parents in their 80s, supporting two little ones with their academic and athletic endeavors, various projects, I almost forgot I posted here! Would be nice to have BI email notifications…

First, thanks much for the input. Her track season ended last Saturday. There were some tears. She was very disappointed with her 800m time. She qualified for CCS in the 800 and 1600. As I believe I explained earlier, she's only been running for a year (8th grade track meet last May). She never did any base building and with that, her aerobic foundation has been a relative weak point. Her 1600 times were lagging in comparison to her 800. We contemplated just having her run only the 800 for CCS and scratching the 1600. While we knew that would afford her the best shot to make CCS Finals this Sat, to skip a chance to lower her 1600 PR, run against some great competitors was too hard to pass! She cracked below the 5:20 mark in the 1600, which was quite an achievement for her. However, she couldn't get her legs back for the 800m. They felt heavy afterwards and I sensed she'd struggle. She did. Very few who ran the 800m also ran the 1600 earlier. Those who did were generally the top runners who didn't need to go 100% max effort to qualify for the 1600 finals. Hard to see your daughter in tears of sadness and say it was good day, but she ran that 1600 very well. The experience of running both events in CCS will hopefully pay dividends going-forward…

Thanks for providing that list of 800m finishers in that CCS Top 8 a few weeks ago. It was stacked alright. We went there that day with her as an alternate, not knowing if she would compete in the 800. We were told that the chances were good she'd run though. Once she learned she was a go, and I remember exactly where we were at that Los Gatos HS track, she said "Daddy, I don't belong out there with those girls." While giving her a hug, I told her that I believe she belongs, that she was an alternate for a reason, and that she will soon show to herself that she belongs. It was a heck of a day, tons of emotion. As I recall she passed seven runners in the last 200 or so meters. I've never seen her dig that deep before as she rode that pain train to the finish. You likely are well aware of the winner: Ashlyn Boothby. She's off to Stanford this fall. Tatum Olesen, one-hundredth of a second behind her, UVA.

A name you might not know, but should: Kylie Hoornaert. She's a junior at Prospect HS in Los Gatos. She bagged a 2:09 in Arcadia earlier this spring. She scratched in this Top 8 800m to focus on the 1600m. We might go watch her this Sat at Gilroy HS for the CCS Finals. Needs top 3 to make State of course. Prospect HS is in our League's division, so we see her quite a bit. I've hung-out with her parents a bit at the start/finish line, and they are amazing folks. Her dad graduated from Cal, also in '89! I sense that Kylie can qualify for State in both the 1600 and 800 this Sat. Curious if she attempts both…

As for my daughter, she's taking at least a week off, studying for a chem exam this Friday that would qualify her for AP Chem in the fall. She misses running already, but I've convinced her to rest. As soon as next week she might start with, finally, some base training! If you have any recommendations, do's / don'ts, please share. We're thinking a lot of aerobic zone 2, even zone 1 heartbeat ranges, with 80% of her running in this "easy" range. I found a Jack Daniels calculator to help with this training. In early July she'll be attending a Stanford track camp and late July, an XC camp in Tahoe. She has a 4th of July 5k in there too. Yup, doing what I can to help her improve, including the all important rest, recovery, sleep, diet and strength training too. Her little sister in 7th grade just finished middle school XC and track. She did very well. She is starting earlier and has learned so much from what her big sister has experienced the past year. Never thought I'd be this busy in retirement, but I love it too. So glad they found running.

EDIT/ADD: DW, in response to her having someone on her team to run workouts with, no girls. Heck, her 2:19 was a school record apparently. It's not exactly a huge running or sports HS... The top boy distance runner is a senior, leaving for college in Denver where he'll continue to run. There are a couple other boys who run 1600s in the low 5s who would push her, but I don't think they want to practice in the off season. Her middle school coach has a son in the 7th grade who runs a 5:20 1600 and I believe he'll be running this summer in preparation for USATF XC. Open to any suggestions... If I didn't have a bad hip, I love to get into 1600 shape and push her.

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