1974: Exploring CA's Rich History of Girls at the State Meet

Events Contested Since 1974, the First State Meet Involving Girls

100 yards/100 meters

Event progression: Janice Wiser of La Jolla (pictured) kicked off the action with her hand-timed, 10.8, State Meet victory in 1974!

Always one of the marquee events on any Track & Field schedule, they officially converted over to the 100 meters in 1980 (equating out to a tad over 28 feet longer).  

Berkeley's Sharon Ware established the new meet record, for the 100 meters, at 11.42 in 1980. 

That record stood for the entire decade until the great Marion Jones stepped onto the track!  Attending Rio Mesa (later at Thousand Oaks) as a freshmen, Jones rolled to an 11.28 effort at State prelims to establish a new record. 

The next day though, she set the national record at 11.17 at the 1991 State Meet. In 1992, Jones would not be denied and rolled to yet, another national record with her 11.14 victory!  

Angela Williams of Chino would pose the greatest threat to that record. With arguably the quickest first 10 meters any of us have seen on the California prep scene, she roared to an 11.10 state title in 1998, but unfortunately for record keeping, with a helpful +3.0 meters-per-second wind to her back (1.0 over the allowable for record purposes).  (Williams holds the all-time California record with an 11.11 effort.) 

One of the those most competitive State Meet Finals came in 1995.  Although assisted by a +2.4 aiding wind, the top five finishers all crossed under 11.60!  Long Beach Wilson's Lakesha Backus led the way with her 11.39 victory while four others were all within .19!

Girls sub-11.60 at the State Meet (wind legal)
1980-1989 = 3
1990-1999 = 8
2000-2009 = 12
2010-2019 = 18

220 yards / 200 meters

Event progression: The first double-champion was La Jolla's Janice Wiser, who, in 1974, followed up her 100y victory with a title in the 220-yard dash.

That initial record was broken several more times before the end of the 1970's, with Gwen Loud of Westchester (LA) owning the record with her 23.54 meet record effort in 1979.  

The following year, after converting the event to the 200 meters, Sherri Howard had just witnessed her sister, Denean breaking her 1979 record in the 400 meters an hour earlier.  Not to be outdone, Sherri brought home the state title for the 200m in a time of 23.33.  But, actually, her 23.19 mark from the prelims would stand as the State Meet record for 12 seasons!

Marion Jones (pictured) of Rio Mesa establish the new record of 22.71 in her preliminary heat in 1992.  She would go to earn the state title the next day with a 22.87 effort.  

Stepping into the blocks in 2003, LA Baptist' senior Allyson Felix had already three state titles in the 100 meters and was shooting for her second title in the 200.  Weeks earlier, she had set a new national prep record of 22.11 (at elevation) in an international race in Mexico City, so expectations were high to say the least.  She did not disappoint as her 22.52 established a State Meet record that is still the sixth-fastest prep effort in history. Her 22.11 continues to stay unchallenged to this day.  

Girls sub-23.60 at the State Meet (wind legal)
1980-1989 = 5
1990-1999 = 14
2000-2009 = 16
2010-2019 = 11

440 yards / 400 meters

Of considerable interest to those purists of the sport, one of those champions was Valerie Brisco and her State Meet title and meet record in 1977 of 55.14 (440 yards). Known as Valerie Brisco-Hooks, she went on to claim THREE gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in the 200m, 400m and 1600-meter relay!  

Rolling back here, as the decade ended, San Gorgonio's Sherri Howard established the State Meet record at 53.65 in 1979, cementing the beginning of the Howard legacy her family would leave on the Southern California prep scene.   

Major changes came to the 1980 State Meet, including moving the 440 yards to the 400 meters.  As the Howard family (there were four sisters altogether) moved to the San Fernando Valley and into the LA City Section, they were to represent Kennedy (Granada Hills) in 1980.

Coming together to also set a new national record in the 1600-meter relay, it was Denean Howard's turn to claim the State Meet record with her 53.35 victory!   She would break her own record in 1982 and graduate with a 52.70 best!  

In a moment that left the sold out crowd at Cerritos College in awe, Morse's Monique Henderson redefined the 400 meters on the national prep scene!  Stepping at the line as the favorite at the 2000 State Finals, little did we know that she would be back in 50.74 seconds to establish a new national record that continues to stand in 2020! 

Henderson remains the only girl to break 52-seconds at the State Meet. She defended her title a year later in 51.34. Gahr's Angel Perkins followed her with a 52.18 runner-up performance that places her as the next best in State Meet history.  

Girls sub-53.50 at the State Meet
1974-1989 = 9
1990-1999 = 5
2000-2009 = 13
2010-2019 = 15 

880 yards / 800 meters

Event progression: Capturing that first State title was Pleasant Hill's Kathy Costello (pictured) with her 2:10.4 hand-timed performance.  In 1975, she defended her title and lowered the State Meet record to 2:09.2.  

Out of Camden High (SJ), Ann Regan captured her own back-to-back titles with victories in 1977 (2:08.0) and 1978 (2:07.93).  As they converted over to the 800 meters in 1980, Regan's record converted to a 2:07.19.  

In 1981, Donna Curtis of Culver City took that meet record and lowered it to a 2:06.08.  Continuing to see more depth in the event, three others would break 2:07 over the next two seasons, falling just short of Curtis' record.

But, in 1984, Trena Hull of Compton shattered the meet record with her 2:04.91, holding off Millikan's Kerri Zaleski and her 2:05.87 performance (still the fifth fastest mark in SM history).  Hull's record stood for an incredible 27 seasons and seemed untouchable for decades.  

Well, what seemed untouchable was no match to Harvard Westlake's Amy Weissenbach in 2011!  In one of the greatest improvements of any event in any one State Meet, Weissenbach obliterated the previous mark by almost three seconds with a jaw-dropping 2:02.04.  In what was a personal best for her by over four seconds, she came back to win the title in 2012 again with a 2:05.70 performance.  

That 2:02.04 herculean record has not been challenged as Del Oro's Cathilyn McIntosh raced to a 2:05.22 state title in 2018 as the only girl to break 2:06 since.  

Girls sub-2:09 at the State Meet
1977-1989 = 14
1990-1999 = 7
2000-2009 = 9
2010-2019 = 30

Noteworthy - Leading that surge, the 2015 State Meet gave us nine girls that went under 2:09 in either Friday's prelims or Saturday's final.  If you recall, this was the same year where the defending state champ was disqualified for impeding other runners while another race favorite false started.  

Mile / 1600 meters

Event progression: Westminster's Jill Caldwell was our 1974 Champion, crossing for the victory in a 5:02.2 hand-time effort.  In reflecting to just how far California has improved, that winning time would hardly ever qualify into the Southern Section Division 1 Finals these days!  

Her time would be improved on three more times in the 1970's, with Livermore's Cheri Williams running away for the title in 1979 in a stellar 4:44.95.   

In came the 1980's and out went the 'Mile' to the disappointment to the purists of the sport.   Replaced with the 1600 meters, Polly Plumer immediately became the California Queen for this event.  Hailing from Irvine's University High, she set a meet record with her 4:44.08 victory in 1981 while improving upon her own national record mark of 4:41.56 in her 1982 performance.   Her State Meet record would stand for 25 seasons!   

Taking the event to another level (also coming from the city of Irvine) Woodbridge's Christine Babcock (pictured) smashed the record in her 4:38.85, 2007 State title performance.  Setting another national record, Babcock exploded for a 4:33.82 romp to defend her state title a year later as her performance stood as the national record until 2017.  Babcock's three state title performances rank among the top seven in State Meet history, including the top two.  

In the last decade, we witnessed a new age of distance girls as most coaches echoed what Saugus head coach Rene Paragas once revealed that 'we can train the girls as much as we do the boys,... actually, they're even tougher!"   

Girls sub-4:50 at the State Meet
1974-1979 = 2
1980-1989 = 29
1990-1999 = 12
2000-2009 = 21
2010-2019 = 39

Noteworthy - In 2015, Tesoro's Amanda Gehrich (4:39.33) held off Palisades' Marissa Williams (4:39.88) and Great Oak's Destiny Collins (4:41.30) in the most competitive race in State Meet history.  

Babcock's 2006 State title (4:41.29) is right up there as well. Oak Ridge's Alex Kosinki (4:42.31), Saugus' Shannon Murakami (4:43.04) and Corona del Mar's Annie St. Geme (4:43.22) gave chase with St. Geme's effort being the fastest fourth-place finish in meet history.   

80 yard hurdles / 100 Meter Hurdles

Based on coaches from this time period, when you attended invitationals, there was a variety of distances (and distances between hurdles) in this event in the early years. With that, the event transitioned to the 110-yard low hurdles for several years, equating to a distance more similar to what we see today.  

For the 1981 State Meet, the event was aligned as we see it today for girls: 100-meter distance, 8.5 meters in between each barrier after a 13-meter run-up out of the blocks.  Berkeley's Sherifa Sanders lowered the standard to 13.71 at the State Meet prelims.

State Meet legends, Gail Devers (Sweetwater) and Janeene Vickers (Pomona) continued the crusade on the national record.  Devers pushed the meet record down to 13.41 with her prelims effort in 1981.  She would go onto capture the state title the following day.  Meanwhile, Vickers and her 1987 victory moved it down a notch to 13.34. 

Vickers left her name imprinted permanently as they competed at the 30-inch height until the 1993 State Meet.  At that time, the 100 hurdles were moved up to the 33-inch height, thus creating a new set of State Meet record keeping for the event.  

Bisa Grant of Bishop O'Dowd captured the title in 1993, going into a -1.7 wind and crossing first with a 14.11 effort. That would be the only time a winner did not break 14 seconds.  

In 1995, the hurdling legacy of JW North in Riverside was first introduced.  Smashing through with her 13.45 effort, Joanna Hayes dropped the record significantly. Her teammate Nicole Hoxie would move the meet (and school) record down to 13.35 in 1997. Hoxie's victory was also a national record for the time.  

Moving into a new century, the Huskies of JW North continued to own the event as Nicole Denby won the state title also establishing a new national record at 13.20.  

In 2007, Vashti Thomas of Mt. Pleasant moved the State Meet record to its current level at 13.03.  That time still ranks Thomas as seventh on the all-time prep list.  

Girls sub-13.75 (wind legal) and under at the State Meet
1993-1999 = 7
2000-2009 = 15
2010-2019 = 23

Noteworthy - The 2015 California State Meet will go down as one of the greatest races in national history as Roosevelt's Jasmyne Graham out-leaned Dublin's Mecca McGlaston, 13.17-13.18 to capture the state title (Kirby Lee photo above).  Making contact with one another over that last meters, the camera had to decide that one!  Between the prelims and Saturday's final, six girls dipped below 13.80 for the event that weekend.  

In 1976, the event was adjusted to the 'Mile Relay' with a winning time that year of 3:55.9 from Coach White's girls of Berkeley.  (The long relay has been 4x400m since 1980.)

But by 1979, San Gorgonio out of San Bernardino took the event to another level by not only breaking 3:50, but racing to a 3:44.06 victory (converted to a 3:42.76 for the 1600 meter relay).

The Howard quartet of sisters moved over from San Gorgonio to Kennedy High of Granada Hills, where they would continue to redefine the event. Not only did the event officially become the 1600 meter (4x400) Relay in 1980, the sisters would drive down the national record for the combined four laps to 3:37.71 in 1981.

That State Meet record stood for an incredible 17 seasons until Long Beach Wilson crossed the line with a national record of 3:36.32.  Same uniform but a different group of four would break the school record, thus, setting a new national mark at 3:35.72 at the 2001 State Championships.

Reflecting on that 2001 affair, Poly was runner-up at an astounding 3:39.75 while JW North owns the fastest THIRD place finish in State Meet history with their 3:41.04.

This event truly defined the incredible rivalry between the Long Beach powerhouses, Wilson and Poly.  In the end, Poly continues to hold bragging rights in not only holding the overall State Meet record which continues to stand as the national all-time prep best.  

High Jump

State Meet Record: Latrese Johnson, Clovis (1985) 6-2

Event Progression: Jodi Anderson of Washington (LA) claimed that first title in 1974 with 19-7 performance.  Anderson went on to claim the next two title as California's first three-peat champion at the State Meet. 

El Toro's Lisa Gourdine extended that record out to 19-9 but in 1979, Gwen Loud of Westchester was our first state champion to measure out over 20-feet, hitting 20-4.5.  That record would only stand one season as multi-talented Marlene Harmon of Thousand Oaks tied the mark in the 1980 prelims (20-4.5) only to break it the following day with a stellar 20-8.75 performance.

Girls with 20-foot plus performances at the State Meet
1974-1989 = 6
1990-1999 = 4
2000-2009 = 7
2010-2019 = 12

In 1978, Kristi Pyle was the first to measure out beyond the 150 foot threshold with her 154-6 effort at the State Meet prelims.  A year later, Gridley's Leslie Deniz took over with her 167-1 State Meet win. Deniz would repeat in 1980 with her 172-11 record.

Chaniqua Ross of Elk Grove (SJ) came along to throw 177-1 in the prelims before capturing the 1997 State title the following day.

Whereas the old State Meet record stood for 17 seasons, Ross only held the honor for one year when Stephanie Brown of Arroyo Grande measured to an incredible 181-3 distance.

In 2009, Shafter's Anna Jelmini set the new and current mark at 186-9!  Only three marks are over 175-feet so it demonstrates just how impressive and why we believe that this mark will stand for quite sometime! Incredibly enough, Alex Collatz of Stockdale was the runner-up that season with one of the top marks ever in State Meet history at 177-0!

Jelmini and her personal best of 190-3 ranks her the second best in national prep history.  As a matter of fact, five of the top nine girls in national prep history hail from California! 

160-foot Performances at the State Meet
1980-1989 = 5
1990-1999 = 7
2000-2009 = 12
2010-2019 = 18

Noteworthy - One of the most exciting competitions came in 2001 as Rachel Varner of Bakersfield won the state title with a 162-9 effort.  But the runner-up mark was 162-5 while in third place, 161-5!  Only 16 inches separated the top three.

Two Mile / 3200 meters

In 1980, the event shifted to 3200 meters, shortening the race just a tad (61.32 feet). Vickie Cook of Alemany improved upon Williams' converted mark from 1978 in her 1981 State title with a 10:12.31 victory.  

Del Mar's Cory Schubert took it down a notch with her 10:08.14 meet record effort in 1983.  Several girls flirted with it, but Schubert's record would stand for 13 seasons!

In 1996, fresh off smashing the national record a week earlier at the Southern Section Masters Meet, Kim Mortenson of Thousand Oaks dominated the landscape in the 1990's. That 9:48.59 performance continues to stand as one of the all-time prep high school efforts ever.  At the 1996 State Meet, she dominated with a 9:52.80 trip that improved the State Meet record by over 15 seconds!   That would stand for 12 seasons. 

Epic to say to the least and one of the greatest moments in State Meet history, the 2008 final saw three girls cross the halfway point at 5:03.  The entire stadium was on their feet minutes later when they realized that the defending champion, Jordan Hasay (pictured) of Mission Prep was being matched step for step by Davis' Laurynne Chetelat  despite picking up the pace!  Pressured all throughout, Hasay held on for the victory for the third of her four state titles in the event. Chetelat would push Hasay to the 9:52.13 victory, crossing just behind in an astounding 9:52.51, capping off the fastest race in national prep history at that point.  Both were under Mortenson's previous meet record and still stand as the two fastest marks at the California State Meet.  

Check out the incredible progression of State Meet performances over this past decade!  

Girls sub-10:25 at the State Meet
1980-1989 = 12
1990-1999 = 4
2000-2009 = 10
2010-2019 = 43

300 Hurdles

Girls sub-42.00 at the State Meet:
1980-1989= 6
1990-1999 = 11
2000-2009 = 18
2010-2019 = 22

Triple Jump

Early on, Wendy Brown of Woodside owned the event on her way to winning it three consecutive years from 1982-1984!   With that came considerable improvement. She opened the 1982 State Meet with a 39-8.75 victory only to improve her State Meet record to 42-10.5 before she graduated in 1984.  

Brown's efforts would go unchallenged until Walnut's Juliana Yendork burst through with a wind-legal 44-0.5 performance. Yendork's mark stood as the national prep record in 2001, and to this day, is still the second-best high school effort in national history.  

In 2007, KeNyia Richardson of Holy Names captured the State title with a 45-4.25 performance but was assisted by a +3.0 wind. A year earlier, Richardson captured her first state title with a 43-3.25 mark.  

The great Brittany Daniels of Merrill West (SJ) challenged the meet record with her 44-0 performance at the 2005 prelims.  Agoura's Tara Davis measured out to a 43-4 effort the day before in the prelims to pose another threat.  But Yendork's State Meet standard turns 30 years old next season!  

Wind-legal performances over 41-feet at the State Meet
1980-1989 = 2
1990-1999 = 1
2000-2009 = 15
2010-2019 = 16

Pole Vault

Event progression: The 16th and final event on today's schedule was added in 1995.  Melissa Price of Kingsburg set the standard for the event with a new NFHS record of 12-6.The event continues to see dramatic improvement and overwhelming depth as it was contested in the Summer Olympics for the first time in 2000.  

Morro Bay's Shayla Ballentine took the event to new heights with her 13-8 national record effort at the 2001 State Meet. But that did not stand for long as Castilleja's Tori Anthony established her own national record, clearing 14-1 at the 2007 State Meet.

With eight girls all clearing the 13-0 bar, in 2016, Rachel Baxter of Anaheim Canyon (pictured) not only eclipsed the State Meet record but also set a new national record with her 14-2 performance.

That is where the State Meet record currently stands. A challenge in 2021 should be coming from the likes of 2019 champion Ashley Callahan of Rancho Bernardo and newly-minted CA record-holder Paige Sommers of Westlake, who cleared 14-6 before the 2020 season was lost to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Girls eclipsing the 12-9 bar at the State Meet:
1996-2000 = 0
2001-2009 = 14
2010-2019 = 28

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Archive color images by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport. Other archive images courtesy of Janice Wiser, Hank Lawson and Ralph Serna.

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Mark Gardner is a teacher, longtime coach, in-demand announcer, and high school track and cross country historian who serves as MileSplitCA's Southern Section Editor. 

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