In Pursuit of Four

Jordan went out at in a 74 and then cruised the race for a comfortable win that was over twenty seconds faster than 2nd place. Her 10:30 was her slowest valley 3200 in the past three seasons. For many laps there was a pack of five running behind her.

She went through the 1600 in 5:11 with the pack about 12 seconds behind. The pack was lead by the Buchanan girls. By the end of the fifth lap the chase pack was down to four due to the pressure put on Janzen. At the end of lap six, Marvin had taken the lead with the two Buchanan girls trailing her and this group stayed together till the last lap where the Buchanan girls gapped Marvin by seven seconds and had to weave through lapped runners to the finish line.

The first Kern athlete was another CSUB athlete, Whittenberg of Shafter. She was follwed by Barton of Liberty who beat both the Guzman and Lynch for the first time I believe.

Women 3200 Meter Run

#	Name	Year	School	Finals
1	Hasay,'Jordon		Miss..Coll..Prep	10:30.04
2	Bricks,'Macy		Buchanan	10:53.27
3	Janzen,'Chelsea		Buchanan	10:53.97
4	Marvin, Megan		Clovis	11:00.02
5	Etherton,,Lyndsie		Bullard	11:04.14
6	Barsarian,;Saylah		Clovis	11:04.17
7	Allen,.Chloe		Clovis,West	11:19.98
8	Aghazeynali, Sarah		Clovis,North	11:23.03
9	Whittenberg,.Elizabeth		Shafter	11:39.02
10	Mendoza, Corina		Madera	11:55.58
11	Lynch,.Tijerra		Ridgeview	12:10.79
12	Vargas, Celina	9	Tulare'Union	12:15.68
13	Zamora, Gabby	12	Mt.;Whitney	12:22.32
14	Barton,:Ashley		Liberty	12:23.51
15	Guzman,.Monica		Garces	12:28.62
16	Osten,.Megan	9	Sanger	12:40.21
17	Aguilera, Ellie	11	Lemoore	12:44.04
18	Haney, Carolin		Stockdale	12:44.89

Heat Cruelty

The 800 is the the perfect mix of speed and endurance. How it is run is often not so perfect. Most of the year, it has a waterfall start with numerous competitors but then the championships come and the field is stagger at the start.

For some meets they double up the lanes but in most it is a field of nine who stay in lanes till the beginning of the backstretch. This is how valley and state are run and where things do not go so smoothly.

At valley, they seed the heats by time at the area meets. Which is not very fair. If an athlete is in a slow area, she may have to run against the clock and hope she gets a top nine time or she is doomed to the slow heat. So she is once again going to have to race against the clock and hope to beat the third place finisher in the fast heat. This is almost an insurmountable task.

To be fair, the top girl from each area (there are four) should get a spot in the fast heat and the other 5 lanes should go to the next the next five fastest. But I doubt it will ever changed, so ladies remember to run like the wind and not the win at area.

One who does both is the valley champ Jordan Hasay. At beginning of the backstetch, where they break in for the curb, Jordan was gone and ran an excellent time. In fact, the top three times were real quick.

If Jordan drops the 800 for state, the heat issue does come into play because Bakersfield' Sarah Baker won the slow heat rather easily and ended up 6th overall. She is known as a fierce competitor and if given the chance to be in the fast heat she might of taken fourth and moved on if Jordon dropped the event for state.

Women 800 Meter Run

#	Name	Year	School	Finals
1	Hasay,.Jordon		Miss.,Coll.,Prep	2:09.64
2	Fry, Katie		Exeter	2:13.51
3	Brown,,Alish		Madera:South	2:15.13
4	Pahkamaa,`Molly		El.Diamente	2:18.27
5	Carrasco,`Vanessa	10	Tulare Union	2:20.36
6	Baker,`Sarah		Bakersfield	2:21.35
7	Armstrong, Jessica		Buchanan	2:21.67
8	Delarosa,`Alyson	FR	ontier	2:22.27
9	Mejia, Alyssa		Clovis	2:22.56
10	Nakamura,.Jennifer		Clovis'North	2:23.86
11	Tildahl,'Danielle		Tehachapi	2:24.08
12	Larson,;Jeanette	12	Mt. Whitney	2:24.42
13	Kurushima,.Kacy		Clovis`East	2:24.53
14	Taylor, Katie	10	Mt.`Whitney	2:27.34
15	Mooney,.Annie		Miss.;Coll.;Prep	2:29.11
16	Mcatee,,Sarah		Liberty	2:29.91
17	Thompson, Megan		Taft	2:30.77
18	Lopez,`Cecila		North	2:31.10

Qualify or Let One Fly

The past two valley championships Hasay has run in the 10:20 range and qualified easily for the state meet. This year she is scheduled to run the 800 earlier in the meet, which is something she has not done before.

The race for the top three state berths should be fierce. The At-Large standard is a quick 10:47. Hopefully, the Bakersfield girls
will improve on their Area times.

Event 17 Women 3200 Meter Run
Saturday 5/23/2009 - 7:40 PM
Lane Name Yr School Seed Time

Section 1 of 1 Finals
1 Allen, Chloe Clovis West 11:15.63 ______
2 Janzen, Chelsea Buchanan 11:23.64 ______
3 Barsarian, Saylah Clovis 11:26.55 ______
4 Bricks, MACY Buchanan 11:28.32 ______
5 Hasay, Jordon Miss. Coll. Prep 11:32.65 ______
6 Aghazeynali, Sarah Clovis North 11:44.61 ______
7 Whittenberg, Elizabeth Shafter 11:47.06 ______
8 Marvin, Megan Clovis 11:47.61 ______
9 Etherton, Lyndsie Bullard 11:48.94 ______
10 Mendoza, Corina Madera 11:49.69 ______
11 Vargas, Celina 9 Tulare Union 12:07.49 ______
12 Aguilera, Ellie 11 Lemoore 12:17.10 ______
13 Osten, Megan 9 Sanger 12:20.09 ______
14 Lynch, Tijerra Ridgeview 12:24.61 ______
15 Guzman, Monica Garces 12:31.13 ______
16 Barton, Ashley Liberty 12:38.37 ______
17 Haney, Carolin Stockdale 12:41.15 ______
18 Zamora, Gabby 12 Mt. Whitney 12:41.20 ______

Will She Double Down?

Before she heads off to Oregon for college, the central valley will get to see Jordan run two more times (valley and state). The photo on the left was taken at last year's valley meet at Liberty and is most viewed photo on my flickr account.

Every time I am at a meet that she is running, I never seemed to get good shots. The main reason is at valley cross country, her division runs real early and I seem to get there as she is finishing. Then at track meets, she usually only runs the 3200 and by then the lighting is bad and my cameras do not work well in low light.

But this year's valley, maybe different because she is expected to run the 800 and the light will be better. The 800/3200 double seems to be an odd one since they are fairly close together, the 800 will be at 6:40pm and the 3200 is scheduled to be run at 7:40pm. Usually distance runners do the 1600/3200 double.

Though Jordan has the best time in the 800, Katie Fry (10) is not that far behind and has been improving throughout the season. I first saw her this season at the Buchanan Distance Classic where she won the 800in 2:22. Now she is ten seconds faster.

The battle for the third and last ticket to state should be interesting because there were a lot of girls in the 2:19 to 2:21 range at the area meets. 3rd was 2:19.20 and 9th was 2:21.24 and these nine athletes will be in the fast heat. the tenth through 14th marks range from 2:21.29 to 2:22.37 and will be in the slow heat which is unfortunate for the two Bakersfield athletes who are seeded number 13 and 14.

Sarah Baker (Bakersfield 10) has been under 2:20 in previous races and is such a competitor, that she would have an outside shot at vying for the final state berth if she was in the fast heat. Plus I think that the fourth would qualify for state because I can not see Hasay running the 800 at state especially with the prelims on Friday and the final before the 3200 on Saturday. I think she would drop the 800 and focus on setting the national record in the 3200, like German did last year.

A Kern athlete who did run fast enough at her area meet, is Taft's Megan Thompson who is a good 1600 runner and can hold her own in the open 400. In the end, it will be a race between Fry and Hasay and d it would be nice to see both go under 2:10 and the race for third will be a wild one.

The At-Large standard is: 800m 2:12.33. Which I doubt the fourth fastest girl at the meet will go under.

Event 11 Women 800 Meter Run
Saturday 5/23/2009 - 6:40 PM
Lane Name Yr School Seed Time

Section 1 of 2 Finals
1 Lopez, Cecila North 2:31.71 ______
2 Taylor, Katie 10 Mt. Whitney 2:24.88 ______
3 Delarosa, Alyson Frontier 2:22.37 ______
4 Mejia, Alyssa Clovis 2:21.98 ______
5 Barsarian, Saylah Clovis 2:21.39 ______
6 Bricks, MACY Buchanan 2:21.54 ______
7 Baker, Sarah Bakersfield 2:22.29 ______
8 Armstrong, Jessica Buchanan 2:22.88 ______
9 McATEE, Sarah Liberty 2:31.62 ______

Section 2 of 2 Finals
1 Carrasco, Vanessa 10 Tulare Union 2:21.24 ______
2 Mooney, Annie Miss. Coll. Prep 2:20.27 ______
3 Brown, Alish Madera South 2:19.50 ______
4 Thompson, Megan Taft 2:19.32 ______
5 Hasay, Jordon Miss. Coll. Prep 2:10.42 ______
6 Fry, Katie Exeter 2:12.56 ______
7 Pahkamaa, Molly EL Diamente 2:19.32 ______
8 Nakamura, Jennifer Clovis North 2:20.18 ______
9 Larson, Jeanette 12 Mt. Whitney 2:20.45 ______

Alternates
1 Tildahl, Danielle Tehachapi 2:23.73
2 Van Hofwegen, Kacie Cent. Valley Chr 2:24.07
3 Kurushima, Kacy Clovis East 2:27.70

top marks '09
ss-1 2:10.42a jordan hasay,mission prep-slo  5-13 seq-sie
ss-2 2:12.56a ++katie fry,exeter             5-13 seq-sie
n-1 2:16.38a +alisha brown,madera south      5-1  reedley invit
n-3 2:16.46a ++macy bricks,buchanan-clo      4-17 lemoore
ss-3 2:19.20a +megan thompson,taft           5-13 seq-sie
c-1 2:19.32a +molly pahkamaa,el diamante-vis 5-13 cen area
ss-4 2:20.18a ++jennifer nakamura,clo north  5-13 seq-sie
ss-5 2:20.27a ++annie mooney,mission prep    5-13 seq-sie
c-2 2:20.45a jeanette larsen,mt whitney-vis  5-13 cen area
n-5 2:20.75a +jessica armstrong,buchanan-cl  4-17 lemoore
s-1 2:21.06a ++sarah baker,bakersfield       5-1  reedley
c-3 2:21.24a ++vanessa carrasco,tulare u     5-13 cen area
n-4 2:21.98a ++alyssa mejia,clovis           5-13 no area
s-2 2:22.37a alyson delarosa,frontier-bk     5-13 so area
2:23.73a ++danielle tildahl,tehachapi    5-13 seq-sie-6
2:24.07a ++kacie van hofwegen,CVC-vis    5-13 seq-sie-7
c-4 2:24.88a ++katie taylor,mt whitney-vis 5-13 cen area
2:25.15a ss holly snarr,woodlake         3-27 exeter
s-3 2:25.45a tijerra lynch,ridgeview-bk    4-17 mt sac

The Tortoise and the Hare Redux

I hope one day the hare takes off and runs a great time for a win someday but so far it has not happen. Guzman has run some good times but the tortoise usually catches her in the end.

Of course Lynch (10) and Baker (Bakersfield 10') are not tortoises but they both used the same strategy recently to beat Guzman. Baker reeled her in at the SEYL meet and Lynch did the same thing at the Area meet.

The four who qualified for valley will get to run against Jordan Hasay on May 23rd at Buchanan High School.

3,200--1. Lynch, Ridge, 12:24.61; 2. Guzman, Gar, 12:31.13; 3. Barton, Lib, 12:38.74; 4. Haney, Stock, 12:41.15.

South Area Musings on the 400 Relays and the 1600

The meet started of the with the Drillers winning both 4oo relays. The girls was an expected occurrence but the boys was not. The Lady Drillers have one of the top three times in the valley and are looking to make state in both relays.

400 relay--1. Bakersfield (Harriston, Torres, Wandick, Brown), 48.37; 2. Golden Valley (Shaw, Epps, Hildalgo, Olison), 50.12; 3. Liberty (Affentranger, Wilcox, J. Fitch, M. Fitch), 50.79; 4. Centennial (Alexander, Chudy, Dayanghirang, Humecky), 51.83.

It took the boys the entire season to recover from the loss of two seniors from the squad way back in March but they looked good in winning the South Area title. Their winning time was their season best and moves them into the top four in the valley just behind Ridgeview.

400 relay--1. Bakersfield (Hunt, Norwood, Anderson, Gant), 42.99; 2. Ridgeview (Purvis, Robertson, Wiley,Hobbs), 43.36; 3. Centennial (Diller, Grimes, Moore, Turkington), 43.39

In the 1600, Sarah Baker (Bakersfield 10) defended her 2008 title, last year she ran away from future CSUBer Candace Carlson (North 12), but had a much closer race this year. Baker is not expected to run the 1600 at valley despite being ranked in the top ten in the event.

She will focus on the 800, where she has a better chance to make it to state. Of course, the team title competition at valley might make the double a consideration. But her chances of a top six scoring placement is unlikely in the 1600.

In the 800, Baker might have to compete with Jordan Hasay who ran 2:10 at her qualifying meet as well as winning the 3200. In the past Jordan has only contested the 3200 at valley and the 800/3200 double would seem unlikely at valley and/or state. The 800 at state has qualifying rounds on Friday and the two events are fairly close to each other in the event schedule which goes 800, 300h, 200 and 3200.

I believe the 800 was run in preparation for the 1500 at the adidas track classic on Saturday May 16th, especially since she cruised the 3200 in a time of 11:32. Jordan is a four-time California State Champion in cross country and three-time California State Champion in the 3200m.

The local season started with a photo finish between Baker and Tijerra Lynch at the EB Invite (4x800) and the same finish happen at the South Area meet. Sarah has won everyone of these photo finishes that I have seen so far. Also making it to the valley meet were Monica Guzman (Garces 11) and Gabby Lerma (Bakersfield 10) who ran a season best for the last ticket to valley.

1,600--1. Baker, Bak, 5:24.23; 2. Lynch, Ridge, 5:24.92; 3. Guzman, Gar, 5:33.33; 4. Lerma,Bak, 5:34.70.

The boys 1600 was won by none other than Chris Schwartz (Foothill 12) who has won three South Area crowns. He also has the fastests 1600 (4:14) in the valley. He didn't have to run near that time for the win and clocked just under 4:30. He was followed by Colin Lewis (Highland 11) and Robby Baker and Brian Solis of Ridgeview. All four will be at the valley meet on Saturday May 23rd at Buchanan.