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2007 California Girls Prep Track |
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2007 California Girls Prep Track 2007 California Female Performer of the Year Before the Outdoor Track and Field season gets too far away from us, with some competitions still to go in the summer National Youth and Junior levels, and the JO Age-Group title meets still to come, we thought it would be good to talk a bit about the stunning individual and relay groups who graced the Golden State this year. Top to bottom it had to be one of the outstanding seasons in state history, with each event seemingly filled with athletes who eventually ended far up the all-time record lists or with developing stars at a grade level that left one rubbing their hands together in anticipation of the future. Groups like Gatorade do a major sport Athlete of the Year for all fifty states at the end of seasons, with California this year in Track and Field seemingly going fifteen deep in stars that would easily take the award in most geographic areas, but most were denied locally. We have the most people, but also match it with unbelievable quality. Sometimes people debate a multi-division state meet, but if you were able to view in one of the major competitions this past spring or view through TV or in person the State Championship competition from Sacramento, in most meets they just came at you in waves, best against the best in amazing quality and depth. The overall quality in some areas, the Girls distance events for example, left athletes who would dominate publicity and championship honors in many, many years, struggling to find themselves a spot a ways down the awards platform in meets like the State Championships. So, who were the best, and do not think we had to feel bad about those we had to leave out, and we will direct you to a spot where you can help voice your opinion as to who you thought were the top “Performers of the Year” in our sport. If you do not struggle a bit with your choices we do not think you have a real appreciation for the year, we hope you treasured it as much as we did! As they say, alphabetical: (- = senior 2007 spring, * = junior 2007 spring, ** = soph 2007 spring)
-Tori Anthony (Castilleja, Palo Alto) - US Prepdom’s All-Time leading pole vaulter starts the show. 14-02.5 indoors and 14-01.25 outdoors the best ever by an American High-Schooler. Tori was an instant “Legend in her Time,” in 2007, with a magical season that ended against the big girls in Indianapolis in the Senior National Championships. In an activity of shifting winds, ebbs and flows of confidence as the pole does not always bend perfectly, and the issues of advancing through weights and lengths of poles, Anthony’s 2007 season long success and continued improvement is tough to match in California Prep History in any field event. All the big Invitationals, State, Golden West Invitational, and US Junior Champ, she was tied for ninth in the US Senior Championships–Wow!. Link to State Meet PV Video (Broadband needed for videos)
*Christine Babcock (Woodbridge, Irvine) - A carefully crafted season had Christine arrive at the State Meet prepared to make history as a solo pace-setter if necessary, and she came so very close there to racing an All-Time Prep Federation best in the 1600, ending with the second best ever under those circumstances at 4:38.85 with her win. Her converted 4:40.48 for a mile makes her the #8 US Prep in history (#3 AT Californian), and she added a super 10:15.54 3200 that followed a 4:48.67 1600 in section action. Link to State Meet 1600m Video
Corona del Mar Distance Relay Groups - Coach Bill Sumner’s Girls were magnificent this spring once again, traveling in packs all the way up through the Championship affairs, leading the school to another Divisional Track & Field team title in a very competitive Southern Section area. The Sea Kings team power shined in an 11:40.81 Distance Medley win at Arcadia that set a Meet Record, is the #7 US All-Time Team performance ever in the event, and is the fastest ever run outdoors by a US High School team through mid-April. In the 4x1 Mile the CdM group raced 20:23.43 to win the Nike Outdoor Nationals going away in an early morning event, making them the #5 US Prep team ever! - Link to Arcadia Distance Medley Video
*Jordan Hasay (Mission College Prep, San Luis Obispo) - Jordan raced away from all her long distance (3200) competition along the way when fresh, and had some fine 1500m/1600m/mile efforts along the way. She took her second consecutive State 3200 title and had a 10:04.07 and three other sub-10:07 clockings this outdoor season. She set a National Federation 1600 record of 4:39.13 in March, was second (4:43.85) to Alex Kosinski’s 4:38.15 1600 run at the Sacramento Meet of Champs, and raced to prep history’s #4 1500m clocking of 4:16.98 in taking the US Junior title in late June. She has the National Frosh and Soph 3200 records, with her 4:40.78 converted mile time among prep history’s top ten (and #4 Californian All-Time). Her season is not over, as she heads to the Czech Republic to race the World’s best under eighteen years of age over 3000 and possibly 1500 meters in the World Youth competition. - Link to USATF Jr Nationals 1500m Video
-Alex Kosinski (Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills) - Did not finish her season due to injury, but leaves the prep ranks in the Federation Record holder over 1600 meters off her 4:38.15, with that Sacramento Meet of Champs showdown win over Jordan Hasay followed with an impressive sameday 2:07.84 800m win over Fairfield’s State Champ Dominique Jackson. Alex had a 4:40-2:07 relay double at Stanford and courageous start to a 4:43.34 solo mile win at Arcadia through mid-season. We shudder to think what the Kosinski-Babcock showdown at State would have been like had both been healthy and at the top of their game. Her 4:39.78 converted mile time makes her #7 on the All-Time US Prep history lists in the combined 1600-mile events (#2 AT Californian behind National Mile Record Holder Polly Plumer 4:35.24). - Link to Sacramento Meet of Champs 1600m National Federation Record Video
-Ke’Nyia Richardson (Holy Names, Oakland) - Super senior had a great year, the second best US prep ever in the Triple Jump wind legal and aided at 44-04 and 45-04.25w, she was usually out a couple of feet ahead of the competition. She waded into the senior age ranks, with her fine 44-04 yearly best earning her a sixth place finish at the late June Indianapolis National Champs, with a next-day 44-02.5 National Junior (under age-20) win. If healthy she will be instant NCAA scorer for UCLA Bruins, with her 44-04 from the US Senior Meet good for fifth at this year’s NCAA Division I championship affair in Sacramento. She is super in other events also, with 20-10.25 Long Jump State Meet win (top 20 All-Time US and #4 Californian ever), and 13.32 for third in the State 100 Meter Hurdles (among US History’s top fifteen All-Time and equal Number three All-time Californian). - Link to USATF Championship Triple Jump Action Video
-Jeneba Tarmoh (Mt. Pleasant, San Jose) - With an abbreviated spring due to injury, Tarmoh roared back and was ready to go come State Meet time, with frosh Amber Purvis (St. Elizabeth, Oakland), among US History’s top ever first year prep sprinters, ready to test the senior veteran. The University of Tennessee bound Tarmoh blasted an 11.27 100 meter State final win which was not quite as fast as her 11.24 2006 best, with both clockings marking her as among prep history’s top ten ever in the short dash. Jeneba blasted a 23.34 heat win and 23.24 wind-aided final in holding off Purvis in her second win to help boost her team to the title. The Mt. Pleasant star’s 23.14 from last year is among prep history’s top twenty-five ever, and she leaves as one of the Golden State’s All-Time greats in the dash events. - Link to State Meet 100m Video - Link to State Meet 200m Video
*Vashti Thomas (Mt. Pleasant, San Jose) - If you want a peak at State, Vashti and Coach Steve Nelson put it together, with one of the most impressive short dash/hurdle performances in US History in racing to the 13.03 State Meet National Federation Record 100 Meter Hurdles win. That All-Time State best and #2 US Prep All-time performance has her join National All-Time Prep Record Holder Candy Young (Pennsylvania 12.95 from open level competition in 1979) way out ahead of the rest of the pack, with Nichole Denby (North, Riverside) #3 All-Time among US preps at 13.20. Vashti does not stop at the hurdles, with a great 42-03.25w Triple Jump at State for second, and third place finish with her 20-01.5w Long Jump there to help take her team to the title. Her wind-legal jump bests were 41-06.5 and 20-02, both among the top half-dozen nationally this past spring! - Link to State Meet 100m Hurdles Video
-Jamesha Youngblood (Hercules) - The talented North Coast Section senior is another who had a spectacular spring season in a variety of events. Historically she is among US Prep History’s top fifteen All-Time with her 41.08 State Meet 300 Meter Hurdles win (#7 All-Time Californian), with a mark among the top thirty All-Time for US preps with a 58.66 while dabbling at the US Juniors in the 400 Meter barrier contest. As a jumper she was 20-08.5, equal tenth All-Time as a Californian and inside the top thirty among US Preps Nationally, with a wind aided best of 20-11.75. In the Triple Jump she was third in State at 42-01.75w, with her wind-legal best of 41-08.5 placing her #10 All-Time in the State. - Link to State Meet 300m Hurdles Video Yes, we know, we had to leave out a ton of spectacular athletes and relay groups! Essentially the above rather large group is among the top ten All-Time among preps across the US in their event of specialty or has a breadth of success and quality of marks that had us include them. When we looked at the seasons of athletes such as Ashton Purvis (St. Elizabeth), Jasmine Joseph (LB Poly, Dominique Jackson (Fairfield), Julian Purvis (St. Elizabeth), Allison Stokke (Newport Harbor), Rosario Sanchez (Selma), and others, or some of the other relay groups it was tough to leave them out. In the linked poll we are going to ask you to branch out a tad and vote for who you think are the three top performers of the season past, with our poll mechanism not having the the ability to weight those, but that number of choices probably forces you to branch out a bit from your favorite event area if you have a bias, and let’s see how the votes come out take the poll - this link takes you to your chance to vote Again, what a year!---------------- |
