Legionnaires’ girls and boys relay teams win Apollo League titles

Bonsall High School’s track and field program provided the school with the Legionnaires’ first two individual league championships.

During the Apollo League finals May 11 at El Cajon Valley High School, the Bonsall girls 4x100 relay team of freshman Najia Lamb, freshman Abigayle Ford, sophomore Delainy Reinard and sophomore Makailey Lewis won their race in 53.40 seconds, while the Legionnaires’ boys 4x400 relay team of junior Alex Greene, sophomore Florian Semrau, junior Lawrence Starks and sophomore Zel Molino broke the finish line tape 3:39.00 after the start of the race.

Gompers Preparatory Academy had the second-place girls 4x100 time of 55.17 seconds, while High Tech High finished second in the boys 4x400 at 3:41.07.

“It was really fun to be a part of it,” Bonsall head coach John Nunn said of the school’s first two league championships. “The kids are the ones who worked really hard all season long. It was really neat to be a part of the group that helped them get there.”

Nunn noted that the Bonsall girls might not have liked his instructions during the season but were willing to improve themselves.

“No matter what you asked them to do, they would just quietly do it,” said Nunnd. “I knew that they had a chance to do something really good this year.”

The league meet also included third place for Lamb in the 100-meter dash; she posted a time of 13.34 seconds.

In the boys 4x100 relay race, the Bonsall quartet of Starks, sophomore Gunnar Streich, Semrau and Molino placed third with a lap of 46.78 seconds. Greene’s 400-meter race time of 52.56 seconds placed second, behind only the 52.43-second lap of High Tech High Chula Vista freshman Drake Prince. Streich posted the second-place 300-meter hurdles time of 44.90 seconds which trailed only the 44.40-second performance of Liberty Charter junior Clinton Fulk.

“These guys were some of the most focused, disciplined athletes I’ve had the chance to work with,” Nunn said. “It was neat to see that the fruits of their labor paid off.”

The league championships automatically qualified the girls 4x100 and boys 4x400 relay teams for the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section preliminaries, May 20, at Mount Carmel High School, and Greene had a fast enough 400-meter time to earn a lane in one of the preliminaries heats. The participation in the CIF track and field meet was the first for any Bonsall High School athletes.

“For all of them who were at CIF, it was a great experience,” Nunn said.

Greene was ill May 20 but still competed. His 400-meter lap of 55.70 seconds placed 26th among the 27 Division II boys. Greene, Semrau, Starks and Molino completed the 4x400 relay in 3:38.97 for 17th place among the 25 Division II squads which avoided disqualification and had official times.

Lamb, Ford, Reinard and Lewis finished the girls 4x100 relay event in 53.44 seconds for 21st place among the 25 Division II girls teams with times.

The 2017 season is likely Nunn’s last as the Bonsall High School coach. Nunn is a member of the United States Army and is currently classified as a dental hygienist. He has been accepted into the U.S. Army’s physician assistant school and has moved to San Antonio.

“The athletes are in good hands,” Nunn said.