Lopez: Why it’s time for Modesto City Schools to focus on adding all-weather tracks
Oakdale, Pitman, Ripon, Sonora and Turlock.
Their high schools all have something Modesto’s seven public high schools don’t: all-weather tracks.
“Having an all-weather track shows the student-athletes that we want the best for them and it invites more athletes to the team,” said a coach who requested anonymity. “Turlock is a perfect example of this. They have a significantly larger team that is extremely successful. These other schools dominate.“
Turlock recently won both the boys and girls Central California Athletic League titles, and will host the CCAL championships in a league whose Modesto schools outnumber Turlock’s, 4-2.
Why do Modesto athletes have to travel south for the big meet? You simply can’t hold one of the most important events of the year on dirt or clay/cinder surfaces, which is all Modesto has.
“Sometimes when it’s windy, dust flies in your eyes,” said Gregori sophomore Madison Kackley, one of the state’s stop middle-distance runners. “Stuff happens that you can’t control that you just have to deal with I guess.”
The antiquated surface – compared to the all-weather’s rubberized surface – can lead to injuries, wet and muddy conditions, lost practice time and precious seconds off their marks in competition, athletes and coaches say. Money, of course, is at the crux of the issue, an administrator for Modesto City Schools countered.
“(A dirt track) creates a higher risk of injury with poor maintenance with uneven surfaces,” said Mike Beeman, track and field coach at Enochs High. “The sand spots increase the risk of injuries to the knees.”
Last November, Modesto City Schools passed bonds totalling $131 million for much-needed improvements to aging elementary and junior high schools. There’s more work to be done at the district’s older high schools, including Modesto, Downey and Davis. The district is pointing to 2022 for another bond measure for high schools, which could include improvements to athletic facilities.
But, there are no guarantees.
According to Tim Zearley, the Modesto City Schools Associate Superintendent of Business Services, said there hasn’t been a facility bond measure prior to 2018’s since 2001. In that bond, all-weather tracks weren’t included.
The bond was for building two high schools, Enochs with a pool in northeastern Modesto and Gregori High with a football stadium in the Salida area. Enochs cost $101.4 million when it opened in 2006-07 — without a planned pool. The $3 million pool finally opened in 2014.
In 2007, FieldTurf was installed at Downey High thanks to a community effort, Modesto City Schools and state funds. The new football field cost approximately $1.8 million.
The cost of an all-weather track?
“Initial cost estimates are $1,000,000 for installation of an all-weather track, compared with $300,000 for the clay/cinder tracks we currently have,” Zearley wrote in an email.
It’s not that the district doesn’t care about track facilities, or its athletes. There’s just no funding source.
And it’s not a good look when Pitman High — Turlock’s newest high school — is building an all-weather track and football field scheduled to be completed this summer. Crunching numbers, Turlock, a town of roughly 73,000, has two all-weather tracks. Modesto, with a population of 210,000, has none.
The money for the renovations at Pitman came from Measure 0 that passed in November 2016. By 65 percent, voters passed a bond allocating $48 million for high school improvements in the Chatom, Keyes, and Turlock school districts.
The combined cost of the all-weather track and synthetic football field at Pitman is $2.5 million.
Zearley said if Modesto voters pass a high school bond and the district determines all-weather tracks are a priority, it is “likely” all high schools would get them. The district said selecting only certain schools to get an all-weather track could create “divisiveness” among the community.
Maybe. But the district certainly didn’t seek funds for FieldTurf — or a football stadium — at every school when Downey’s field surface was installed in 2007. Interestingly, in a story that year by former Bee columnist Ron Agostini about the Downey field, there was a reference to coaches who felt all-weather tracks should come next.
It’s a shame that in 2019, districts at smaller cities like Oakdale and Hughson can get it done, while Modesto can’t.
The city was once known as a “track town,” the host every year to the Modesto Relays, which brought the world’s best athletes to Modesto Junior College the first Saturday of every May. There were more than 30 world records set at The Relays in the 67 years it called Modesto home, the last event in 2008.
Carl Bryant, who is in 17th year as head coach of the Central Valley Roadrunners youth track and field club, still can’t believe Modesto athletes run on dirt.
“I was hoping by now there would be one, it just hasn’t happened,” Bryant, who coached at Big Valley Christian and Modesto Christian said. “Oakdale, Riverbank, Ripon... all these little towns around us have one. Modesto is the largest school district and yet there is not one.”
Enochs’ Beeman also mentioned that besides not being able to practice when it rains — the track and field season, a spring sport, starts Feb. 1 — the wet stuff leaves behind mud.
Robert Rivera, a senior sprinter at Downey, wondered how he is supposed to compete if other schools have better training facilities.
“Schools that have a dirt track run on it 90 percent of the time and are getting 1 percent better when racing at meets with an all-weather track,” he said. “How are students suppose to improve and compete if they are not getting the best support on their legs?”
Enochs senior sprinter Xavier Vera, said the dirt surface has hurt his shins substantially.
“The starts (of a 100-meter dash) are terrible,” he said. “And it’s harder to get out the starting blocks, especially with the possibility of always slipping.”
Rich Gonzalez, who is an editor for prepcaltrack.com, one of the most in-depth California track and field websites, said all-weather tracks can provide “springs” for a runner during their strides.
And, fast times.
Rivera said he is seven-tenths of a second slower in the 100 and 1.5 seconds slower in the 200 when he runs on dirt or clay/cinder.
“It (0.7) doesn’t seem like a lot but for sprinters, that’s a spot in sections or not moving on,” Vera said. “It’s crucial.”
There is one all-weather track in Modesto: Modesto Junior College.
But, the logistical issues of scheduling time —along with a team getting there — makes it virtually impossible to use for high schools.
Bryant said MJC doesn’t charge his club to use the track but they do have to share it with the general public.
“I have 55 kids on the track club so with casual walkers on the track, it becomes a problem,” Bryant said.
Is there a solution?
Well, there’s not an immediate one. However, when administrators get together to plan for the 2022 high school bond, an all-weather track — at least one — must be a high priority.
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A look at which selected Stanislaus District schools have all-weather tracks?
This story was originally published April 27, 2019 at 8:38 AM.
