In his final high school meet, on March 11 against visiting Petaluma, Napa High's Quentin Dervin won the discus with a season-best throw of 128 feet, 3 inches.
Napa High senior Quentin Dervin competes in the shot put against visiting Petaluma in his final high school meet on March 11, winning with a throw of 44 feet, 6 inches.
Napa High senior thrower Quentin Dervin celebrates losing 90 pounds since last year.
With the cancellation of the spring season for high school sports, the Napa Valley Register is recognizing senior athletes who have had their careers come to a premature end due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Today we focus on Napa High track and field’s top thrower Quentin Dervin. He competed under throws coach Troy Gittings, a member of head coach Kam Jones’ staff.
Sports:Track and field
Years on varsity:Three
Fun fact:I love carrots. Meaning that I love carrots.
Key stats:Finished third in the shot put at the Vine Valley Athletic League Championships and seventh at the North Coast Section Redwood Meet as a junior. Same year, finished second in the discus at the VVAL Championship Meet and sixth at the NCS Redwood Meet.
He set a personal record in the discus of 134 feet, 10.5 inches at last year’s Clash of the Titans meet at Skyline High in Oakland, and his shot put PR of 45 feet, 2.5 inches at this year’s season-opening Stocking Super Seven Invitational at Diablo Valley College on Feb. 29.
What was your reaction to the spring season being canceled?
I was very sad. It was starting out as a great season only for it to end before it had even truly began.
What had you hoped to accomplish in your sport this spring?
I hoped to accomplish more PRs in my events. More importantly, I was hoping to continue to improve the throwing technique that we had already put lots of work into.
How has coronavirus changed your life?
I have a lot less daily activity, being inside most of the time. I also interact with far fewer friends than I would otherwise.
Have you picked up any new hobbies during quarantine?
No, I have mostly relied on past sources of entertainment to occupy time – working out, teasing my sister, and going on more hikes.
Best memory from high school sports?
The way the team always cheered each time you reached a new PR.
What you miss most about sports?
I miss having something like sports as a motivation to work hard and get stronger physically. It was a way to see my progress in strength training physically. Technique aside, strength is a big factor in throwing farther.
Summer plans:
To hang out with friends in person as much as is recommended/allowed/safe, and pack up and prepare for college.
Fall plans:
I’ll be attending the University of Birmingham in England.
Coach Troy Gittings says
Quentin is the best possible athlete to coach. What’s the best about him is when you tell him what needs to be tweaked or what needs to be changed, he immediately transfers that into his throw. That’s a rare thing from an athlete, where they can transfer what you tell them right into the action. He’s probably the most intelligent athlete I’ve ever coached, too.
I think he was on his way to – I don’t know if he was going to break the record, but – pushing the record at Napa High of 165 feet for the discus. He was reaching that potential. And then in shot put, because we switched his form a bit last year, the last week before we had to cut out, it finally clicked and he was throwing phenomenal throws. He easily would have been in the 50s this year and probably had an opportunity to compete for a chance at getting to state this year.
He’s just one of those guys that’s a phenomenal athlete as far as being able to tell himself what he needs to do. I didn’t have to do a whole lot of personal coaching, having to go out there and show him how to do it. I could just tell him and by telling him he could visualize really well what he should do and he would do it.
He’s also an awesome kid all-around. Great personality, fun to be around, laughs a lot. When he needs to be serious, he can be serious with a flip of a switch. He’s the kind of guy you want as a coach, and he sets a good example for the other kids about how to have fun but also how to be serious when you need to be.
Senior Spotlight: A celebration of Napa County student athletes
With the cancellation of the spring season for high school sports, the Napa Valley Register is recognizing senior athletes who have had their careers come to a premature end due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With the 2019-20 school year mercifully in the books, The Register wants to give one last shout out to the athletes of the Class of 2020. We wrap up our Senior Day series today with boys tennis and coed badminton.
With the 2019-20 school year mercifully in the books, The Register wants to give one last shout out to the athletes of the Class of 2020. We continue our Senior Day series today with track and field.Â
With the 2019-20 school year mercifully in the books, The Register wants to give one last shout out to the athletes of the Class of 2020. We continue our Senior Day series today with boys golf, and girls and boys lacrosse.Â
With the 2019-20 school year mercifully in the books, The Register wants to give one last shout out to the athletes of the Class of 2020. We continue our Senior Day series today with swim and dive.Â
With the 2019-20 school year mercifully in the books, The Register wants to give one last shout out to the athletes of the Class of 2020. We start our new Senior Day series today with baseball and softball.Â
Vintage's Andres Solorio wraps up our series on seniors who didn't get to finish their spring sports due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
Napa High thrower Quentin Dervin, today's Senior Spotlight subject, got off to a strong start with a personal record in the shot put.
St. Helena's Gabi Vega-Zepeda, today's Senior Spotlight focus, tells younger athletes to cherish their time playing sports.
Claire Sullivan, today's Senior Spotlight subject, excelled in several events during her time with Justin-Siena track and field.
American Canyon's Jude Cummings, today's Senior Spotlight subject, has been a top sprinter and long jumper the past three seasons.
A Senior Spotlight on St. Helena swimmer Ben Gardner, who had hoped to lead his team to a fourth straight conference title this spring.
Karolina "Karlie" Wells, today's Senior Spotlight subject, has been a staple of the Justin-Siena girls lacrosse program since she was a freshman. The three-sport athlete was voted the Braves' team captain this spring.Â
The South Dakota State signee Emily Dusky is the focus of today's Senior Spotlight. The New Tech student who swims for Napa High was looking to qualify for the CIF State Meet for the third time this spring.
Vintage baseball head coach Rich Anderson felt that pitcher Jake Whipple, the focus of today' Senior Spotlight, was in line to have his best season yet this spring.Â
A three-year varsity starter for Napa High baseball and today's Senior Spotlight subject, Trent Maher was in line to lead the Grizzlies back from a down 2019 campaign.Â
Greta Fast, a four-year varsity soccer and softball player for American Canyon, is the focus of today's Senior Spotlight.Â
St. Helena High baseball star Caleb Jeske, today's Senior Spotlight athlete, was on track to cement himself as one of the best players in school history. Now, with his season canceled, he's finding the silver lining to the COVID-19 shutdown.
Grace Guzman's storied softball career ended prematurely this spring. But the Napa High star and UCLA signee is far from finished in the sport.
A year after helping Justin-Siena's 4x100-meter relay team set a new school record, Blake Hoban had hoped to break more track records.Â
Calistoga's Laila Elkeshen won a volleyball section title and basketball league crown but had her last two softball seasons cut short.
Sarah Husted, the focus of today's Senior Spotlight, was a defensive specialist at shortstop for the Vintage softball team.Â
American Canyon baseball standout James Larson had his lengthy varsity career cut short this spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said he'll continue his playing career at Solano Community College next year.
St. Helena sprinter Ryan Searl, the school record holder in the 100-meter dash and focus of today's Senior Spotlight, had his sights set on competing at the state track and field meet this spring.Â
During his prep career, Calistoga's Jesus Rojas-Mendoza never came across a sport he couldn't master. The multi-time all-league and all-county athlete is the focus of the most recent Senior Spotlight.Â
Today's Senior Spotlight is on Justin-Siena baseball standout Nolan Dunkle, who felt the Braves could have won a title this spring.
Another installment of our Senior Spotlight, featuring seniors whose spring sports were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Napa High track and field standout Kyle Jezycki, the next focus of the Register's Senior Spotlight project, had aspirations of going to the state meet or breaking a school record.Â
The Napa Valley Register begins recognizing senior spring athletes in the first installment of the Senior Spotlight project.
Contact Gus via phone at 707-304-9372 or email at gmorris@napanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustGusMorris.
In this Series
Senior Spotlight: A celebration of Napa County student athletes
Gus Morris
Sports Reporter
Gus Morris covers St. Helena and Calistoga sports for the Napa Valley Register. Before joining the Register in 2018, he covered collegiate sports for the student publication at the University of Oregon.
