Despite the loss of several stars from last year’s track and field team, the Auburn Mountainview girls are on the verge of their most successful season ever.
Already guaranteed a share of the South Puget Sound League 3A dual meet title with an undefeated record through five meets,
Lions had a chance to lock up the title Wednesday against Decatur (results unavailable at press time).
Coach Joel MacDougall credit the team’s success largely on the efforts and leadership of junior Erika Lombardo.
“First and foremost, she’s a great teammate,” MacDougall said. “We don’t have the team we had last year. We were more individually gifted, with Lexi (Morton) and Marissa Paopao, who was our discus and shot putter.”
This year the team had to do without the services of Morton – now running track at Boise State University – who helped key the Lions’ fourth-place finish at last year’s 3A state meet with an individual first-place and two second-places. Paopao, who transferred, added a third in the state discus last year.
“(Losing them) really hurts as a team … so what we asked Erika to do at the beginning of the season is take the reins by being a leader,” ” MacDougall said. “We’ve got great senior captains, but Erika leads by example. She’s tough as nails.”
Challenged by her coach at the beginning of the year, Lombardo has responded by emphasizing her track career.
“Erika really is focusing on her running,” MacDougall added. “It’s not that she’s given up on basketball, she just realized that she’s a better track athlete. She’s committed to being one of the fastest in the state.”
So far this season, Lombardo is fifth in the state 3A rankings in the 200 at 25.81 seconds and seventh in the 100 with a time of 12.5.
In the 400, which she just started running this year, Lombardo is 11th in state 3A with a 59.87.
“In the first meet she ran the 400, she broke the school record by three seconds,” MacDougall said. “She looked really great. She didn’t run a great race, but she just destroyed the other girls.”
MacDougall added that it’s Lombardo’s combination of work ethic, athleticism and competitiveness that makes her one of the state’s elite athletes.
“She just likes to beat people,” MacDougall said. “It’s inspiring to the other kids on the team. She inspires all of them.”
Lombardo added:
“I’m pretty competitive, I hate losing,” Lombardo said. “I’ll be running in practice with girls running with me. And they’ll say, ‘Hey, go this speed.’ And I’ll have to run faster. I just hate losing.”
Lions notes
Another key to Auburn Mountainview’s success this season has been the efforts of junior Aalia Braboy, who competed in the high jump at the state 3A meet last year.
“She has been a champ for us this year,” MacDougall said. “She was primarily a high jumper, who turned out for track for the first time last year. She started triple-jumping for us last year also. She’s just strong, quick and athletic.”
MacDougall chose to take advantage of Braboy’s athleticism by pressing her into service in the throwing events this season.
“It may hurt her chances in the high jump a little, but it’s been great for the team,” he said. “She told me she didn’t care, as long as we got the points and won meets.”
For the boys, junior Shaddye Melu looks to be the team’s best hope of moving deep into the postseason meets. Melu is currenlty fifth in 3A in the 300 hurdles with a time of 39.94.
The Lions will compete in the SPSL/Seamount/Bremerton 3A sub-district meet May 12 and 14 at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.
