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Season Recap: Hurdles on and off the track LAVOZDEANZA.COM
By Abel Tariku SPORTS EDITOR
De Anza’s track and field team ended its season on May 20 with the men’s team tying for sixth place in the CCCAA California State Championship. This is an improvement from last year’s eighth place ranking, but the journey was a lot harder than the team had expected. Elliot Daniels, 18, nursing major, said that expectations were high as he set the bar for himself and for the team. “I wanted to qualify for state, and I’m excited to say that I have achieved that,” Daniels said. The team started off strong as the men placed first and the women in fourth at the Monterey Peninsula Premiere on Feb. 18. At the Chabot Opener on Feb. 25, the women’s team placed second. They continued their dominance as the men’s team placed first at both the Monterey Peninsula Premiere on Feb. 18 and the Chabot Opener on Feb. 25 whereas the women’s team placed fourth and second respectively. However, the following week was when disaster started to strike. A COVID-19 outbreak stopped the Mountain Lions from attending the Beaver Relays on March 3, which brought down the team’s momentum. Poor weather conditions postponed meets and strained the team even further. Conrad Lomeli, 19, political science major, said he had a lot of frustration with these issues, as it slowed the team down. “Sometimes we didn’t perform as much as we did because we had to compete in back-to-back meets, and we’re really tired,” Lomeli said. “Our bodies were not going to get better, so a lot of (us) thought, ‘Let’s just get through the season. Let’s compete.’” However, things would go from bad to worse as head coach Nick Mattis would be put under administrative paid leave during the final weeks of the season, interim coach Sam Boulanger said. La Voz will be further investigating this matter and a follow up story will be posted soon. Instead of throwing in the towel, the team proved themselves able and continued competing. Daniels ended up placing fourth
Above: Antoine Moret, 19, aerospace engineering major, hurdles during the 3,000 meter steeplechase event at the Wildcat Cup meet on March 18.
in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races while Travis Martin, 19, communications major, placed first in the hammer throw at the final state championship meet and fourth in the discus throw. On the women’s team, Yadi Set, 19, business major, placed 12th in the shot put and said she remained determined throughout the season. “I’m pretty happy with my performance,” Set said. “The journey to get there was very tough but I’m grateful for the experience.” Despite the challenges faced, Daniels said he believes there is still hope for the team and thinks it can get better from here. “This is without a doubt the best season that I could have ever asked for,” Daniels said.” I’m going to give it everything I got to try to get that win at state (next year).”
Left: Elliot Daniels, 18, nursing major, runs his last lap of the 10,000 meter race at the Coast Confrence Prelims meet on April 26.
PHOTOS BY CONNOR BLUM
Madison Moe takes the opportunities given to her By Abel Tariku SPORTS EDITOR
From playing badminton casually, to winning back-to-back state championships, Madison Moe always takes the opportunities given to her. Madison Moe, 21, kinesiology major, was recently awarded California Community College Athletic Association athlete of the month after leading the women’s badminton team to their second straight state championship.
Madison Moe, 21, kinesiology major, stands in front of the track fence. PHOTO BY ABEL TARIKU
“It was actually a surprise,” Moe said. “I wasn’t really expecting to win the state championship.” Moe said she started to play badminton in fifth grade because “my cousin suggested to my dad that I should play and my dad signed me up for a summer camp.” “The coach from the summer camp asked if I wanted to train with him after the camp and I said,‘I might as well give it a go,’” she said. “I started to train with him for a couple of years until I stopped in my freshman year of high school.” She said her journey required a lot
of hard work. “Starting from when I was 10 to when I was 14 or 15, it was daily training,” Moe said. “It started to get more intense and competitive as I kept going.” Moe said she wasn’t planning on playing badminton at De Anza, but when the opportunity came, she took it. She encouraged students to take any opportunities that come to them. “If you see an opportunity just go for it,” she said. “Even if it doesn’t look good in the very beginning, if you just keep trying and give it a chance, it’ll come through.”