Individually among the girls
Santa Barbara San Marcos senior Allie Jones, a heptathlete who was 2nd at the Arcadia Multis in early April, is the top qualifier with PRs in both the 100 hurdles (13.79/0.5; CA #4) and the long jump (18-6.00/-0.7) and helped both relay teams advance. (Jeffrey Parenti photo above)
Abbey Bryant (Saugus) hit PRs to qualify in both the 100 hurdles (2nd, 14.53/1.7) and the 300 hurdles (3rd, 44.74). Juda Smith (Colony) and Kendall Delavega (Hart) also qualified in both hurdles. Smith is the No. 2 qualifier in the 300s (44.36).
Emerald Bowens (Redlands East Valley), at CIF-State Meet finalist in the 100 meters last June, ran 11.98 (0.4), the No. 3 qualifying time. She won the D2 title in the 100 last year and is one of only two girls who will try to defend their titles next week at El Camino College. She is a three-time CIF-SS Masters Meet qualifier in the 100m. She said a strain during the indoor season disrupted her spring season, which didn't get started until last week's Citrus Belt League, where she ran 11.94 in the final.
Another defending D2 champion to move on is senior Gabriela Sanchez (Canyon Country Canyon) in the discus throw. She won the title last year with a best of 137-5. Her qualifying mark Saturday: 144-03. Senior Ana Tovi (San Bernardino San Gorgonio), 2nd in last year's final in both throws, qualified second in the shot (42-6) and third in the discus (137-4). West Ranch junior Natalie Ramirez had the top qualifying throw in the shot (45-00.25) and the No. 2 mark in the discus (144-01).
Capistrano Valley senior Haley Herberg, who won a state cross country title in the fall, is sticking with the long distance for the spring. She will not defend her D2 title in the 1600, opting to focus exclusively on the 3200. Herberg (Jeffrey Parenti photo above) had the top qualifying time Saturday (10:33.74) followed by Mariah Castillo (Saugus), who ran 10:41.41 in a separate heat, out-sprinting Sara Leonard (Anaheim Hills Canyon) who was third overall (10:49.59).
Earlier in the 1600, Castillo held back her lethal kick until the final 100 to post the top time (4:55.08). She has the best time in the US in the four-lap race of 4:43.69. While she said she intends to double as far as she can go, Castillo clarified that the 1600 is her primary focus. And, in the category of what a difference a year makes, consider that last year in the D2 final, Castillo placed 5th in the 1600 (5:03.36) and 9th in the 3200 (11:27.90).
Castillo (above right) and Leonard (above left, Jeffrey Parenti photo) are the only two qualifiers in both the 1600 and 3200.
Misty Diaz (Norwalk) is the only qualifier in both the 800 (2nd, 2:13.19) and 1600 (3rd, 5:04.40). She missed by 0.40 of qualifying in the 3200 but is the first alternate (10th, 11:11.59).
Citrus Valley's Kyrah Johnson was 2nd in the 400 last year and is the No. 2 qualifier (55.84) behind freshman teammate Cieanna Norman-Thomas (55.73).
Norman-Thomas, who also joined with Johnson to help the 4x400 relay team to the No. 2 qualifying time (3:54.06), and the aforementioned McDonald of Mater Dei, weren't the only ninth-grader girls making noise at Moorpark.
Other freshman girls qualifiers
- Rayann Booker (Righetti) qualified 5th in the 100(12.19/2.1)
- Yleana Lopez (Golden Valley) qualified 5th in the 200 (24.81/2.5)
- Alisha Wilson (Bonita) qualified 3rd in the long jump (18-00.75/-0.7), 6th in the 400 (56.33) and helped the 4x400 relay team to the top qualifying time (3:51.49)
- Rania Gomaa (South Torrance) ran the fastest time of the meet in the 800 (2:11.79/CA #5) (with Ashley Johnson in JeffreyParenti photo below)
- Megan Gonzalez (West Torrance) qualified 5th in the 800 (2:14.69)
- Angie Gushue (Claremont) was the 9th and final qualifier in the 1600 (5:08.24)
- Ayahna Bahati (Culver City) is the No. 8 qualifier in the 100 hurdles (15.78/1.7)
- Elise Craft (Thousand Oaks) is the No. 5 qualifier in the 300 hurdles (45.93)
- Quynh Gedney (Moorpark) is tied for the No. 5 qualifier in the high jump (5-01)
- Paige Sommers (Westlake) is a tri-No. 1 qualifier in the pole vault (11-02)
- Joelle Ricciardi (Hemet) is the No. 9 qualifier in the discus throw (123-01), making it by all of 1 foot, 5 inches.
