CIF-SAN DIEGO SECTION DIVISION PRELIMS
Scripps Ranch senior Aaliyah McCormick ran PRs in both hurdles at D-2 Prelims. (James Huenink photo)
SAN DIEGO -- There is a song called, "They Call the Wind Mariah" from the musical Paint Your Wagon.
Scripps Ranch hurdler Aaliyah McCormick and a few other San Diego Section athletes might have a stronger word than Mariah.
A gusty breeze that hit 3.5 meters-per-second during her 100-meter hurdle race at the section Division 2 prelims at University City High cost the Falcons senior another section record at 13.46 seconds but she just shrugged it off.
"That's the best race I've ever run," said McCormick who leads the state with a wind-legal San Diego Section record of 13.61. "I didn't feel the wind and when I saw my time at the finish line, I was ecstatic."
Then the wind reading was announced. Anything over 2.0 meters-per-second is too strong for record purposes.
"So, I'll just say I got two PRs (personal records) and keep putting in the work," said the Oregon-bound senior.
McCormick's second PR came when she won the 100-meter qualifying at 11.71 seconds and this time Mariah was a tease. The wind on that race was a barely over the allowable 2.1 mps.
She also won her heat of the 300-meter hurdles at 44.49 but overall that was second-fastest time in the division behind state-leader Kapiolani Coleman of Cathedral Catholic (pictured) who breezed in at 44.04.
They'll get to square off again in both hurdle races at the San Diego Section Championships next Saturday at Mt. Carmel High.
That 100-meter hurdles field will include San Diego HS senior Charlize James (PR of 13.92) who won the Division 1 title on Saturday running 14.18 at Canyon Crest HS.
This year's prelims were held Saturday in three divisions at three different locations but warm weather and wind affected each site.
And being prelims, not everyone was anxious to play all their cards as runners like Sage Creek's Bryce Gilmore (pictured below), an 8:53.23 3200-meter runner, cruised to a 9:24.49 posting the fastest Division 2 time.
It wasn't the fastest time of the day, though, as Francis Parker's Kenan Pala, the state Division V cross country champ and EastBay National runner-up, doubled in the Division 3 prelims at Mount Miguel High in Spring Valley, running 9:23.76 and 4:13.72.
That same meet saw Maranatha Christian sophomore Matthew Priest roar to a wind-legal 10.56 in the 100, the second-fastest time of the season in the section. Lincoln's Jalil Tucker leads the way and his wind-aided 10.51 was the fastest of the three divisions.
But the majority of quality marks came out of the large enrollment Division 1 prelims at Canyon Crest High and Division 2 at UC.
Division 1 saw the Poway trio of Mackenzie Rogers, Alyssa Bean, and Nathan Richards make some waves.
Rogers improved her season-best to 4:52.97 in the 1600 before doubling back to win the 3200 in 10:55.96.
Bean added Titan victories in the 200 at 24.94, the 400 at 56.42, and she ran a leg on the 4x400 relay team that went 3:54.65 -- just off their SDS best 3:54.47 a week earlier in the Palomar League championships.
As for the unsung Richards, he improved five inches in the pole vault to go from 14-6 to 14-11 heading into the championships.
Another big improvement was shown by El Camino's Jenniece Pingley who triple jumped 38-4.75 with a scant 0.1 mps wind behind her, a huge improvement over her 37-foot PR.
State shot put leader Kennedy Clarke (47-5), competing in just her second week in almost a month, easily qualified in that event at 39-7. The Cathedral Catholic senior came back to add nearly a foot to her best of 146-10 in the discus when she hit 147-9.
"It just shows the hard work for nine years has paid off," said the senior who is still deciding where to take her 4.19 GPA in the fall. "I gave up volleyball this year to focus on track. I miss playing volleyball because it shows how well people can play together and they were very good (section champions, SoCal runners-up).
"I wasn't looking for a PR or anything but I wanted to get close to that 146 (at the Mt. Carmel field-distance meet in March). Yes, I'm excited about going back there for the section championships."
Two other field event performances equaled the section 2022 leader list as Scripps Ranch high jumper Lizzie Tarczy high jumped 5-7 and Sage Creek long jumper Elizabeth Hatton matched her own best of 18-feet, 8.50.
Steve Brand is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to MileSplit with a focus on the San Diego Section.
Photos by James Huenink.