NORWALK – The underdog story isn’t over yet for El Modena’s Sydney Gidabuday.
With his time of 4:14.71 in the 1,600 meters at the CIF-SS Maters Meet on Friday at Cerritos College, Gidabuday ensured his journey will continue all the way to the State Meet next weekend at Buchanan High in Clovis.
After finishing fourth in the Century League finals just a few weeks ago, the junior pulled out a surprising victory in the 1,600 at the CIF-SS Division 2 finals last week.
In that race, Gidabuday used a burst of speed on the third lap to take a small lead which he was able to hold onto to beat two of his rivals, Villa Park’s Garrett Corcoran and Canyon’s Austin Goins.
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Gidabuday didn’t finish in first place at the Masters Meet. He finished last in his race, but that didn’t bother the smiling Gidabuday, who was satisfied with qualifying for state.
“Coming around the 200, the whole pack went around me and boxed me in,” Gidabuday said. “I couldn’t make a move, so I decided to just stay on pace and make the qualifying standard.”
In addition to qualifying for the 1,600 next weekend, Gidabuday also qualified for the 3,200 meters. The son of well-known distance runner Wilhelm Gidabuday, he finished third in Friday’s 3,200 with a time of 09:06.24.
“This is the first time I’ve made CIF,” Gidabuday said. “If it ended right now, I would be happy.”
Luckily for Sydney Gidabuday, his story is still far from over.
