Piedmont High School’s track and field team is deep and talented which should translate to a lot of success this season. Coach Pouyan Assadi said both the boys and girls varsity teams will have the most athletes in school history.
The boys will get a boost with the return of Sebastien Swain. The now-junior made the California Interscholastic Federation championships last year in the 800 meters, then had surgery for a muscle condition that hindered the circulation in his legs. He missed the entire cross country season and is now working himself back into shape.
“I think it’s exactly on pace,” Assadi said. “The season has two headliner check points. The first one is going to be the Stanford/Arcadia weekend which is two-thirds through the season.
The second is in May.
“When you watch him move on the track and you see the explosiveness and the casual conditioning, you feel pretty good about the direction he’s headed. He passes the eye test.” Assuming there are no setbacks, Swain should be one of the best middle distance runners in the North Coast Section again.
“He is just so good at not getting boxed in, at pacing with the leader, he just wants to get a little bit better at that top end speed for that last 150-200 push,” Assadi said.
Senior captain Noah Sohn will also help with the distances as will sophomores Ian Chung, Aaron Bennett and Dresden Schulte-Sasse.
Three of the runners on last year’s 400 relay team are back: senior Maddux Ma, and juniors Rehan Mumtaz and Eric Venner. Ma qualified to the North Coast Section Meet of Champions in the 400 a year ago.
Assadi said Mumtaz had a personal best in the 200 and just missed a PR in the 100 in the team’s opening meet. Plus, he is the team’s top long jumper. Assadi said Ma could be a breakout performer there. Venner will start the season out with some injuries but he should be back in a couple of weeks.
“Eric might actually have the highest ceiling of everyone on the sprint team,” Assadi said.
Junior Colby Hong should be one of the top returning discus throwers in the West Alameda County Conference. Two pole vaulters who made the NCS Meet of Champions are back: junior Avedis Gourjian and senior Henry Mitchell.
Three underclassmen from the basketball program are on the team: sophomore Ovie Ojo, sophomore Yosef Baskin and freshman Quentin Dinneen. Assadi said he is looking for events that will maximize their athleticism.
On the girls side, Assadi is excited about his shot put trio of sophomore Andrea Martin, senior Saniyah Johnson and senior Uzoma Iroh. The first two are basketball players and both broke the school record last year. They will also throw the discus and Assadi is hoping to see a leap in that event.
“I think this year because they have some foundational work in, they could be good in discus,” he said.
Junior Leighton Mand and senior Skylar Best are the top distance runners with junior Cora Brozowski Shrader right behind. The threesome helped the girls cross country team make the state meet in the fall.
Senior Abigail Jacoby is training for a triathlon while competing in several events. She’ll run the 400-800 but also be seen in the shot put, long jump and hurdles. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see her try high jump and discus too,” Assadi said. “We appreciate athletes that have that kind of curiosity.”
Junior Shayna Chau is a returning all-league pole vaulter. Junior Claire Aubrecht leads the sprinters. She already has a personal best in the 200 this season. Assadi said she has a chance to challenge the school records in the 100 and 200. Junior Nia Jackson could challenge those as well.
Freshman Akunna Iroh broke the freshman school record in the long jump in her first competition. She’ll join Aubrecht and Jackson on the 400 relay team.
The boys team has won the dual meet season in four of the past five seasons. Assadi called it the deepest team he has ever had. He said 12-15 athletes could make a difference by the time the WACC championships come around. On the upper range, the team could compete for the NCS Bayshore title. The girls team also has a high upside, according to Assadi.