San Marcos Track and Field Star Avery Leck Is Poised for a Memorable Postseason

‘Her Natural Ability Is Just off the Charts,’ Says Coach

Avery Lack | Photo: Gary Kim

Coming off of a breakthrough sophomore season last year, Avery Leck of San Marcos High School track and field has exceeded expectations thus far this season and is poised for a memorable run in the postseason.

Leck excels in a long list of events and finished fourth overall in the heptathlon at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational this past weekend, accumulating a lifetime best of 4,603 points at a meet that attracts some of the top track and field athletes from all over the country. Leck ran 14.51 in the 100-meter hurdles, cleared 5′2.25″ (1.58m) in the high jump, produced a shot put mark of 28′4.50″ (8.65m), clocked 25.38 in the 200, posted a 15′9.50″ leap in the long jump, threw the javelin 100′11″ (30.76m) and finished off the heptathlon with a time of 2:30.05 in the 800 meter.

In addition, she finished third in her heat of the open 300-meter hurdles with a time of 44.38, which was good for 15th place overall.

“She just picks up things super easily. She is very coachable, likes learning, and wants to become good at things,” said San Marcos track and field coach Marilyn Hantgin. “Her natural ability is just off the charts.”

Leck’s formal introduction into track and field didn’t really begin until high school. She was exposed to a couple events in junior high, but was slowed by injury as a freshman. She initially excelled in the sprints before adding the more technically challenging events.

“It has been really difficult to learn all of the different aspects of each event. Over time I have had a lot of coaching in high jump and long jump and everything,” Leck said. “For me, personally I do one thing, learn how to do that, and then add more and more things.”

One interesting component of Leck competing at the high school level is the team aspect and scoring. In most dual-meets and tri-meets against local competition, her results are so far ahead of the pack that she is competing with her own expectations. In the recent Crosstown Showdown between San Marcos, Dos Pueblos, and Santa Barbara High, Leck won the 300-meter hurdles by nearly 10 seconds.

She also took first place in the 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, and the high jump.

In preparation for a run to the state finals, Leck and her coaches have made competing at more highly competitive invitationals a priority.

At the Stanford Invitational on April 5, Leck competed in the 400-meter hurdles for the first time and finished in first place with a time of 1:01.91. Leck’s improvement in hurdling in a short period of time after picking up those events as a sophomore is an excellent sign going forward.

“It was definitely surprising, especially in the 400 hurdles, since that was a fully new event and since I had only started hurdles last year. But that gave me time to improve for sure,” Leck said. “I’ve just slowly started to get my technique and from the very first day I could three-step and most people can’t three-step on the first day so my coach knew that I would be good.”

Leck seems to improve in the 100 meter hurdles every time she takes the track, setting personal records in several meets this season even when the lack of elite competition puts her well ahead of the pack.

“In the 100-meter hurdles I didn’t realize how much I would improve this year, I was hoping for a high 14 [seconds],” Leck said. “It was kind of surprising this season that I have PR’d in a lot of meets where I had no competition and I was running against myself.”

For many of Leck’s teammates, the season will be ending at the Channel League finals the last week of April and she will very likely be competing into June if she makes the state finals. It’s a lonely road for elite track and field competitors, but she is in a strong position to clear every hurdle on the way to her goals.

“She is super humble; she doesn’t want to stand out. She wants to be like one of the other kids, but it’s hard because she is different,” Hantgin said. “Last year was kind of exciting and easy, but now she is expected to win, so there is a little more pressure on her to continue on through CIF and onto the state meet.”

Leck also competes in volleyball and soccer. As a junior, college recruiting is starting to pick up and she is optimistic about the prospect of competing in track and field at the college level.

“The Stanford Invitational gave me some exposure in terms of the 400 hurdles, which was eye opening for me. There were coaches there because it was also a college meet,” Leck said. “For track, you just email people your times. [The recruiting process] is kind of simple compared to the other sports, which is nice because if I have a [good] time I can see if I can go to a certain school.”

Ready for Battle

After filling an integral role in a legendary run to the state tournament for the Santa Barbara High boys’ basketball team, Carter Battle has put together an impressive second act in track and field in his senior year.

At Arcadia, Battle broke Randall Cunningham’s school record in the high jump and finished first in the open division with a massive leap of 6′8.75″. Cunningham’s record stood for 44 years until Battle’s jump.

Battle’s mark moved him to No. 5 overall in the state of California and No. 2 in CIF-SS Division 2.