Piedmont girls 1,600 relay team eyes state meet

By Glenn Reeves [email protected] Posted: 05/29/2012 05:31:00 PM PDT Updated: 05/29/2012 09:37:03 PM PDT The Piedmont Hills girls 1,600-meter relay team set a meet record at the Central Coast Section finals while ensuring the school's first team title. Now the Pirates get to test themselves against the best teams from Southern California at the state meet. Trials begin Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis. Piedmont Hills ran 3 minutes, 48.98 seconds at the CCS finals. That time is fifth-fastest among state meet entrants behind four teams from the Southern Section -- Serra of Gardena (3:46.83), Harvard-Westlake (3:47.19), Long Beach Poly (3:48.76) and St. Mary's Academy (3:48.93). "The advantage they have is to consistently get a competitive atmosphere to run in,'' Piedmont Hills coach Chioke Robinson said. "I'm real excited to see what it pulls out of us. We haven't been pushed.'' Ellisa Bryant, who runs the anchor leg on both Piedmont Hills relay teams, qualified in the 200 and the 400, placing second in both at the CCS meet. She will run only the 400 at the state meet. Bryant's best time in the 400 this season is 55.08, which puts her fifth in the state. Palo Alto sprinter E.J. Floreal is among the top boys sprinters in the state. His best in the 100 is 10.52. Khalfani Muhammad from Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks and San Clemente's Herbert Gamboa have run 10.51, the state's fastest wind-legal time. Floreal has run 21.16 in the 200. Muhammad has the top mark in the state at 21.10. Palo Alto's 400 relay team also placed itself Advertisement in the conversation by running 41.56 at the CCS finals, the fifth-best time in the state. "You've got to run your best race Friday night to get to the finals (Saturday),'' Palo Alto coach Jason Fung said. "At 6-4 E.J., is not the greatest starter. But