RECAP San Diego Section League Championship Weekend

Cathedral Catholic senior Bryce Brock is healthy and looking to make an impact in the post-season. (Clark Kranz file photo)

* * *

You got the idea league track championship weekend in San Diego might have lots of eye-opening marks when unsung sophomore Matthew Priest of tiny Maranatha Christian ripped off wind-legal times of 10.57 and 21.83 at the Coastal League championships on Thursday night.

Not that Priest is unknown, it was just that he hadn't done much this season and that 10.57 was the San Diego Section leader.

Before the weekend was over, however, Lincoln's Jalil Tucker responded by taking back the section lead at 10.54 in the City League finals. The University of Oregon-bound senior is nothing if not competitive.

But wait, the sprints also got a boost when last year's standout, Bryce Brock of Cathedral Catholic, showed he's back from injuries by winning the Western League 100m in 10.83 (he ran 10.56 last year) and the 200m in 21.78 (he ran 21.49 at Arcadia a year ago).

But even those marks paled in comparison to some of the performances elsewhere.

The Scripps Ranch duo of Aaliyah McCormick and Lexi Evans put the Western League directly in the spotlight as McCormick set the section 100-meter hurdle record for the third time this season at 13.61 and Evans regained the state lead in the pole vault at 13-10.

McCormick (file photo) was everywhere, winning that 100-meter hurdle race over Cathedral Catholic junior Kapiolani Coleman (14.21) before handing Coleman her first loss of the season against state competition in the 300-meter hurdles, clocking a PR 43.31.

Rounding out the day, McCormick used a 2.2 meter-per-second aiding wind to capture the 100m in 11.74.

Evans showed her spunk by leaping over Oak Ridge (SJ) senior Alison Sahaida, who two weeks ago soared 13-9 in a dual meet -- a nine-inch PR.

Coleman, by the way, competed in the long jump for only the second time all season, winning the event at 17-7.50, which could have affected her 300-hurdle performance where she's the state leader at 42.19.

Her teammate, weight event specialist Kennedy Clarke, did what many of the state's top athletes did-she used the league meet simply as a qualifier for the division prelims by sweeping the events with marks - 42-10.50 in the shot and 137-9 in the discus-that were well off her season bests of state-leading 47-5 and CA No. 3 discus throw of 146-10.

Elsewhere, Steele Canyon's Leon Gillis showed once again that if the State Meet high jump comes down to consistency, he'll be tough to beat.  The co-state leader at 6-9 won the Grossmont Conference championship at 6-7. It was his 11th meet clearing 6-5 or better.

His major competition in San Diego, Eastlake's Justin Cardoza, who is third in the state at 6-8, easily won the Metro Mesa League at 6-6.

Poway senior Alyssa Bean had another impressive meet as she won the Palomar League 200m in 24.33 and 400m in 55.09 and was a member of the winning 4x100 relay (48.98) and 4x400 (3:54.47). Teammate Mackenzie Rogers picked the 1600m and 3200m double, cruising to a 10:34.82 in the longer race.

Similarly, Sage Creek senior Bryce Gilmore dropped the 800m, where he had run 1:52.93 at the Azusa Pacific Distance Meet of Champions.

That should make the two distance races very competitive since Francis Parker's Kenan Pala certainly didn't cruise like Gilmore, winning the Coastal League 1600m in 4:13.94 and the 3200m in 9:17.81.

Another previous state leader, Adren Parker of Helix, showed he's ready to roll, winning the Grossmont Conference 400m in 48.03 and the 200m in 21.78.

But another early-season sensation, Helix's Laraigh Allen (12.02 and 24.73), was unable to return from a mid-season injury.  The good news is she is just a sophomore.