The results for our track & field athletes in their first round of CIF competition in yesterday’s Prelims at Moorpark are now posted in the Meet Results section to the right. For the full meet results posted on DyestatCal, click here http://www.dyestatcal.com//?pg=dyestatcal-2010-TrackField-Road-To-State-Southern-Section-Prelims-Division-2. For a listing of the top marks combined from all 4 CIF Southern Section meets, also posted on DyestatCal, click here http://www.dyestatcal.com//?pg=dyestatcal-2010-TrackField-Results-May-16-SS-Prelims-Leaders.
Included in the results are both the Heat Place & the Meet Place (all heats combined), plus the time/height/distance scored as well as the Seed mark. Results that qualified for next week’s CIF Finals, and those that represent PRs (personal records) are noted as such. The sprints and horizontal jumps that are impacted by wind include wind speed data, and all multi-lap races include splits.
Once again, this elite group of Redondo athletes represented their school and team well. 18 Sea Hawks advanced to these Prelims in individual events with 3 more advancing as members of relay teams, for a 21 person contingent. They competed in 20 events, including all 4 relays. Their impressive strength and stamina were demonstrated as the majority had qualified for multiple events in this meet. 6 competed in 3 events, and 5 more competed in 2 events.
When you consider that just qualifying for these CIF Prelims is something most track & field athletes never accomplish, also consider the true context of competing in this meet. Most of the people you are competing against are League Champions. Many took second in their league, and a few third, but with marks in the top ranks of California high school competition. The rest qualified based on standards designed to eliminate all but those at the extreme high end of their event. There are no slackers here.
Despite the nature of the caliber of competition in Moorpark on Saturday, our fine young athletes gave their best and came away with some impressive accomplishments. They scored 4 heat wins and clocked 2 top event times. They qualified to advance to CIF Finals in 7 events. 3 more missed qualifying by one place and are listed in my posted results as 1st Alternate. There were 5 new PRs.
Even though some have now ended their 2010 season, this relatively young team (only 7 Seniors at the Prelims) has gained valuable experience in high-level competition. The 6 Juniors, 6 Sophomores, and 2 Freshmen (2 FRESHMEN!), that qualified for this meet will be all the more competitive and dialed into this post-league competition next year.
On a more individual note, there were many outstanding efforts. In particular, Haley Miller, after running a leg in the 4X100 Relay, set PRs in both the Long Jump and Triple Jump, while jumping against the wind (see the negative wind speed data), and in doing so, qualified for CIF Finals in the Triple Jump.
The Boy’s 4X400 Relay team faced tremendous odds against qualifying for CIF Finals in an event with 6 heats (54 teams, 216 runners). Only the 6 heat winners and the next 3 fastest times move up. But by going straight to the front, and staying there through the next 3 legs, they dominated their race for a heat win and an automatic qualification. Their time, a new seasonal best of 3:23.68 (school record ???), ranked fifth over all.
Chloe Curtis and Lyndesy Mull won their heats in the 800 & 1600, with Chloe putting up the fastest times of the meet in both. They then came back at the end of the day to contribute to the Girl’s 4X400 Relay’s second place heat finish, in one of the most exciting races of the day. Our girls put everything they had into it, with the first 3 legs clocking their fastest relay splits of the season, but were still well behind going into the last lap. As Chloe powered down the back stretch, the crowd around me in the stands began to stir, and as she came off the last turn they were cheering for her. She charged down the final straight-away and passed the second place runner, to anchor her team to a new school record by over 5 seconds in 4:01.78. But when the announcer declared her 400 split as 57.4, there was grumbling all around me. It seems as though everyone had timed her, and no one had a split that slow. A coach from Esperanza told me he got a 56.6, and someone else clocked 56.55. For the official split posted on the Booster Club site, I went with my own time of 56.69. Well, whatever it was, it looked strong and fast.
As has been said many times before, this Redondo Union team has come a long way since the arrival of Coach Leetch, and these Prelim results serve as one more validation. But these are just the Prelims. There are still the Finals, the Masters Meet and the State Championships to come over the next 3 weekends.
See you all next week.