MAYBE A SUB-4:40?
La Costa Canyon's McKenna Brown set a SD Section 3200m record at Escondido. (Clark Kranz photo)
Running just the 3,200 in the cool of the evening at Escondido, La Costa Canyon senior McKenna Brown was stunning as she put lap after lap of sizzling times before setting the section record at 10:15.97 three weeks ago. For this section, just plain eye-opening.
The trouble here is she'll have a fast 1,600 to run before the 3,200 which could be buffered by the late afternoon winds that sometimes plague Mt. Carmel High.
So, maybe her best chance is in the 1,600 where her best of 4:45.46 is less than four seconds behind the 4:41.71 run by Torrey Pines' Alli Billmeyer at the 2011 State Meet. Seriously, is there anyone who has seen Brown run who doubts she could run that fast if she put her mind to it?
"I still think the 1,600 is my best distance, despite setting the 3,200 record," said Brown last week.
UP, UP AND AWAY
Some of the girls' records might be considered pretty soft and the high jump is one of them.
La Costa Canyon's Whitney Sisler scaled 5-11 in 2007 and the section is way overdue for a 6-footer. This just might be the best spot for Coronado's Alysah Hickey.
Normally the Islanders junior has to juggle the long jump, 4x100 relay, high jump and 100, meaning none of them get her full attention.
Saturday, the long jumps kicks off the meet at 10 a.m. and if she does like she did in the prelims, get a monster effort early (wind-legal 19-02.50), Hickey could wander over to the high jump knowing the relay and 100 will still be more than two hours from starting with a morale-boosting State berth already secured.
Being able to focus on the event like she did at Arcadia (5-9) and Mt. SAC (5-10) could easily produce that 6-footer. The talent is there.
Hickey doesn't really seem to need competition to produce good marks. No, all she needs is to focus and this might be her best chance.
SOME OTHER FUN EVENTS
Although Brown and Hickey have the best chance at records, Eastlake horizontal jumper Jalyn Jackson has to be considered the best possibility for a State championship after finishing second a year ago in the triple jump.
He started the season at 48-8 and when thrust into major competition at Arcadia, responded with a 49-10.50. His 24-05.50 long jump is three months old but Mt. Carmel has been known to produce some very good marks and Jackson is ready.
The loss of LCC's Karson Lippert to a hamstring injury still has track fans bummed but both the 100 and 200 are expected to be sizzling even if the weather isn't.
Madison junior Kenan Christon and Mt. Carmel senior Quoi Ellis have battled step-for-step the entire season and the friends could very well produce super-fast times in both events. Just compare entry times:
- Christon 10.58 and 21.42
- Ellis' 10.69 and 21.44
Good sprint races are always crowd-pleasing.
The return of Valley Center's Jeremy Clay (14.59) in the 110-high hurdles means El Centro Southwest's Tyler Saikhon (14.43) is going to have to work. This will be their first showdown all year since Clay missed six weeks of the season, taking him out of the 300-intermediates.
And then there's the pole vault.
With Rancho Bernardo's Jacob Rice (16-3) and San Dieguito's Kevin Ward (16-1) both over 16-feet, it reminds longtime track fans of 2005 when El Camino's Derek Scott (16-8), La Jolla's Jeff Coover (16-6) and Granite Hills' Scott Finley (16-6) pushed each other higher and higher.
Rice had a decent attempt at 16-7 with maybe 20 fans left watching in the cold last Saturday and with a week of work, no telling what the two veterans can accomplish.
You'll have to go out your way to see El Camino's Nu'u Tuilefano put the shot and toss the discus. Her 44-5 in the shot is No. 8 all-time and her 151-2 in the discus is No. 6. Neither event is viewer-friendly, however.
Enjoy the meet for what it is.
RELATED
- SDS Trials Coverage
- Results
- Prelims Story
- Prelims Photos