In what could be her swan-song season at Humphreys, sophomore Cassandra Jarzabek says she’s aiming to run away with the Pacific’s 800, 1,600 and 3,200 records. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Carlos Cadet and Cassandra Jarzabek said they couldn’t help feeling some longing after coming up short in their bids for Far East track and field titles last season.
Cadet, a Kubasaki senior hurdler-jumper, and Jarzabek, a sophomore distance runner for Humphreys, said they’re vowing this season to take those final steps and win their respective events, both in league and the Far East meet in late May at Yokota.
“Winning those events has been on my mind,” Cadet said of chasing and training to win Far East titles in the hurdles, long and triple jumps; he won the triple last year, but took third place in the long jump, 110 and 300 hurdles. “I eat, sleep and dream about it.”
For Jarzabek, determination didn’t just set in after she won the Far East cross country meet in October; it lit a fire inside her last April, when she finished second in the Far East 800, 1,600 and 3,200.
“I really wanted to go out and prove myself to me and to everybody, how hard I’ve been working, where hard work takes you and the things I can accomplish,” Jarzabek said.
They each begin those chases this weekend when the Pacific track and field season opens.
Korea’s and Japan’s first meets are Saturday, at Camp Humphreys and Yokota, while Okinawa’s DODEA schools’ first official meet is on March 20-21 at Kadena High School and Ryukyu Middle School.
Kubasaki senior Carlos Cadet is looking to better his third-place finishes in the 110 and 300 hurdles and long jump. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Jarzabek has had her eye the last two school years on Jane Williams of Matthew C. Perry; she was the 2023 Far East cross country championship and set Pacific records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 last track season.
In what may be her swan-song season for the Blackhawks, Jarzabek says she has her eyes on breaking 2 minutes, 15 seconds in the 800, 5 minutes in the 1,600 and 11 minutes in the 3,200. Her family is due to transfer after this school year.
“I’ve been dreaming about it ever since” last season, she said. I’ve really put everything into training for all of those goals. You can ask anybody. They know I’ve been waiting for track season to start.”
“That’s her goal,” Humphreys distance coach David Elger said of Jarzabek. “She wants to get those records before she goes.”
Cadet came in first in the triple jump on the first day of Far East. But he had to settle for third place in the long jump, in which Guam High’s Aaron Johnson set the meet record, and third again in the 110 and 300 hurdles, with Cameron Brantley of Guam High winning each. Brantley broke the 300 meet record.
“Everything I do is about that goal,” Cadet said.
The Humphreys and Kubasaki stars are also team captains, which carry duties of building up younger athletes behind them.
“It’s a new build here; we have lots of freshmen, so I’m trying to give guidance to them” in hurdles and jumps, Cadet said.
The two also have their eyes on what might come in future years; Jarzabek is planning to enter summer competitions and camps in the States and is hoping to reach the times that would qualify her to compete.
“My goals are Pacific and Far East, but I’m aiming higher than that, too,” Jarzabek said.
Matthew Rowland of Yokota won the Far East Division II cross country title and is running distance events for the Panthers. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
One thing Kadena's track team possesses is depth. Here, Brook Oliver, Baden Francis, William Rhoades and Jeremiah Williams go through their distance paces. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena senior Isiah Cepin will compete in throws and long jumps. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
While individual athletes are always in pursuit of event victories and records, track and field coaches try to build balance on their teams in the chase for league and Far East team banners.
Nile C. Kinnick is the defending Far East meet Division I boys and girls team champion.
Coaches Luke Voth and Tony San Nicolas and the Red Devils not only possess depth, especially on the girls side, but are also practicing on their own track for the first time in team history, so they won’t have to borrow a Japanese track off base.
“It’s really cool,” said Kinnick senior distance runner Mia Bartram. “We’re so used to having to run at the track off base. This is much easier and so much nicer.”
Kadena is also deep at all events and could challenge the Red Devils for the Division I school banners.
Division II historically has been a chase between Yokota and Zama, and each team seems positioned to do the same thing, in the Kanto Plain, DODEA-Japan and Far East.
And for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, Kubasaki is hosting the DODEA-Pacific’s lone in-season inter-district meet, the Mike Petty Memorial on March 27-28.
