Guam High boys win ninth straight island track title

Guam High’s Hayden Buck sprints to victory in the 400 in 2025. She also won the long jump and defended both of those titles on Thursday. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)

UPPER TUMON, Guam – Call him Guam High’s Man of Steele.

Caleb Steele, a Panthers senior distance star, won the 800, 1,500, 3,000 and anchored the Panthers 1,600-meter relay team to first place in Thursday’s All-Island meet at John F. Kennedy’s Ramsey Field.

The meet’s top performer led the Panthers to their ninth straight All-Island boys team title. On the girls side, senior Hayden Buck took the 400 and long jump and came in second in two other events as defending champion Guam High’s girls came in runner-up for the second time in three seasons, finishing behind John F. Kennedy.

Steele accomplished all that despite an injury.

“He ran four events with a hip injury. Unbelievable,” said longtime Panthers coach Joe Taitano, 74, a 1970 JFK graduate who’s been coaching on island since the mid-70s, mostly for his alma mater.

“I thought he (Steele) was going to scratch all his events, but he insisted. Nothing short of amazing.”

Steele and Buck for past few seasons have been “the heartbeat of our track and field program,” Taitano said.

“Their work ethic, their leadership and consistency elevate the entire team, on and off the track. Our program is stronger because of who they are and how they show up for practice every day,” he said.

Steele won the 800 in 2:03.72, about 1½ seconds ahead of teammate Wesley Augustine. In the 1,500, Steele edged Simon Sanchez’s Rynier Di Ramos 4:25.11-4:25.89, and in the 3,000, Steele beat out teammate Eldon Egbert 9:25.76-9:26.45.

Guam High’s distance relay team ran the 1,600 in 3:37.94, better than JFK’s 3:38.72.

Other Panthers boys winners included Braden Flinn in the 100, Bradyn Rutland in the 110 hurdles, Christian Polite in the 300 hurdles, Rai Johnson in the 400 and the 400 relay team.

Buck took the 400 in 1:01.20 and the long jump in 4.88 meters. Naomi Spuler captured the 3,000 and Guam High won the 400 relay.

“It was a total team effort tonight,” Taitano said. “All the boys and girls performed exceptionally well.”