The blazing sun scorched the track of Orange Glen High School on Wednesday, March 11, as tents popped up across the bleachers, each sporting the color of a different team. Athletes roamed around the sports complex, some chatting with friends while warming up, others jogging laps and jamming to music, as they prepared mentally and physically for their events. Bishop’s runners, throwers, and jumpers competed in the first Coastal Cluster Meet of 2026, along with seven other schools in San Diego. 

Sprinting Events:

The first event the Knights competed in was the 4×100-meter relay. Elenor Meyer (‘26), who ran in the women’s race, explained her focus heading into the competition, citing nerves and weather as key factors. She added, “I think our relay team has a lot of potential, so that’s probably what I’m mainly focused on.”

The team unfortunately dropped the baton on the second hand-off, but regrouped and finished in 58.07 seconds. 

On the men’s side, the sprinters created an early gap between the competition thanks to a rapid opening 100 from Chace Sun (‘28). The Knights maintained their lead and won first place, crossing the line in just 46.94 seconds.  

Chace reflected, “It was really fun. I think our team ran really well, and I hope we continue to improve in future races.” 

He wasn’t finished. Chace also competed in the 100-meter race, looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance in the Battle of La Jolla meet, where he ran a time of 12.18 seconds. 

In practice, Chace had been focusing on his finish. “My start is the most dominant part of my race since I’m a smaller sprinter,” he explained, “but when everyone gets to top speed, they’re faster, so I’ve been working on [the end of my race].”

The gun went off, and sprinters sprang from their blocks, driving towards the finish line. Chace delivered a dominant performance, securing first across all heats and clocking a time of 11.69 seconds. Chace executed his game plan successfully, gapping his opponents in the first 30 meters during the drive phase and maintaining his lead to the finish line.

Joining Chace in the sprint races was freshman Benny Chen (‘29), who had raced in middle school. While preparing for his first high school race, Benny said, “I’m feeling good. Also a bit nervous. But I feel like when you step up to the line and adrenaline kicks in, you forget about all that.” He hit his goal of being faster than he was last year, finishing in 13.56 seconds.

 Middle Distance Events:

As volunteers cleared the sprinting blocks from the 100-meter race from the track, 800-meter racers entered the staging area to compete in the first middle-distance event of the day. Before his race, Kellan McDougal (‘27) said, “It’s my first race of the season, so I’m excited to get a baseline for the rest of the year, and I’m just going to see how it goes.”

Another athlete, Beckett Langager (‘29), who was running in the 800 for the first time, explained, “There’s a lot of pressure. It’s all on you, that’s running.” 

The duo stuck together for the entire race as Kellan finished with a time of 2:22.51, followed closely by Beckett, who crossed the line in 2:24.47. 

Distance Events:

Earlier in the day, four Knights had competed in the staple race of distance running, the 1600-meter, commonly associated with the mile, but truly nine meters short of that length. Four laps around the track the 1600 tests athletes’ physical and mental fortitude. 

Isabella Bredt (‘27), one of Bishop’s top women’s distance runners, said she draws motivation from “breaking PRs,” adding, “recruitment is definitely a good source [too].” Isabella finished the race in a time of 5:42, marking her best time this season in the 1600.

A few hours later, distance runners participated in the longest race of the meet, the 3200-meter. Tejas Gluth (‘28) broke down the race: “I went out with the lead pack, stuck with them for the first mile. I think my split was 5:09. But then I lost them, and I fell off in the second mile.” Tejas still finished with a strong time of 10:40.19, putting him in fifth place.

Throwing Events & Pole Vault:

The Knights sported not only runners and sprints, but also a discus and shot put thrower, Ethan “SonSon” Santiaguel (‘26), and a pole vaulter, Colomba Joulin-Batejat (‘27). 

SonSon explained the significance of the first meet: “It’s going to set the bar for my expectations on where my growth should go. If I don’t throw a good mark today, I’m expecting a lot from the next one. And if I do throw a good one today, I’m still going to expect a lot [next time].”

SonSon had hoped to throw the school record in shot put at the meet, and though he came up slightly short, he still made the longest throw of the meet, 42’ 11.5”. 

Colomba, who jumped an impressive 10’ 0” at the meet, described the challenge of pole vaulting, unfamiliar to most track athletes. “It’s being focused for a longer amount of time. And obviously, you have to be really focused when you’re actually doing the jump.”  

Because of the downtime between attempts, each jump gains extreme importance and pressure. To combat this, once she’s on the runway, Colomba explained, “I try to block everything out, and do my runway routine. And then, when I start running, I just try to keep super focused on each step and where my hands are.”

The Coastal Cluster concluded with the 4×400 relay. Kellan described the race: “You’re really fighting for your team in a relay. Other people are relying on you, so you really want to get out fast and prove what you’ve got.” Beckett had a simpler goal: “I just don’t want to drop the baton.”

Two Bishop’s teams competed in the relay: one, composed of more experienced runners including Kellan, and another, an all-freshman team that included Beckett. Both teams ran well, finishing in fourth and fifth with times of 4:05.02 and 4:24.15, respectively. 

Bishop’s athletes left Orange Glen with strong performances, new goals, and momentum as they look toward the rest of the track and field season.