by John Dye
SACRAMENTO, 6/2/01 -- The California State Finals played out tonight
as theatrical drama. There was triumphant redemption for Sara Bei, Alejandra
Barrientos, Lashinda Demus, and Ryan Hall, there was a new star born in
Shayla Rose Balentine, and there were two new national records. And none
of the above included Olympian Monique Henderson, who won the 400 for
the fourth straight year.
Sara Bei played opposite roles in two of the mini dramas. In the girls
1600, she led for nine tenths of the race and was run down by Alejandra
Barrientos, who charged to the lead on the far turn and won decisively.
PLACE ATHLETE NAME YR SCHOOL TIME PTS
===== ========================= == ========================= ======= ===
1 Alejandra Barrientos 12 San Lorenzo Vl/cc CC 4:43.24 10
2 Sara Bei 12 Montgomery /nc NC 4:47.96 8
3 Amber Steen 12 Newport Harbor/ss SS 4:51.64 6
4 Bridget Duffy 11 St. Mary's /nc NC 4:56.98 4
5 Lynn Dixon 10 Mira Costa /ss SS 5:00.94 2
Two hours later, Bei switched to the role of chaser behind front running
Anita Siraki. Sara got on top in the nick of time, winning by only 0.68
second after a thrilling dual down the home stretch in advance of a large
group of elite runners.
PLACE ATHLETE NAME YR SCHOOL TIME PTS
===== ========================= == ========================= ======== ===
1 Sara Bei 12 Montgomery /nc NC 10:11.11 10
2 Anita Siraki 12 Hoover /ss SS 10:11.79 8
3 Julie Allen 11 Corona Del Mar/ss SS 10:39.52 6
4 Desiree Davila 12 Hilltop /sd SD 10:41.55 4
5 Laura Jakowsky 12 Agoura /ss SS 10:42.15 2
6 Ruth Graham 10 Gunn /cc CC 10:44.62 1
7 Loretta Kilmer 12 Ramona /sd SD 10:47.26
8 Emily Vince 11 Peninsula /ss SS 10:48.31
9 Natalie Stein 12 N Hollywood/ la LA 10:55.29
10 Laura Melendez 12 Granada /nc NC 10:56.28
11 Laura Muller 11 Woodland /sj SJ 10:57.03
12 Clara Horowitz 11 Head Royce /nc NC 11:00.27
AB = All the way Back
The two races culminated comebacks by both winners.
Three years ago, Bei accomplished the rare feat of winning both of these
races, and she did it as a freshman. Then came two years of up and down
accomplishments, with one downward cycle starting at the Foot Locker Cross
Country West Regional when she limped home 10th as the favorite, failing
to qualify for the national finals. Bei erased that problem last December
when she battled Anita Siraki down the stretch at Disney World and won
the closest Foot Locker cross country finals in history. Bei followed
with a come from behind victory over Erin Donohue of New Jersey in the
Millrose Games mile in New York in February and she was undefeated for
2001 going in to the state finals here.
The diminutive Bei abandoned her usual come from behind style and went
to the lead after the first turn. She led through each split of (72, 71
and 2:23, 72 and 3:35) as the serious opposition dwindled to Barrientos
and Amber Steen, and finally, as the bell sounded the last lap, it was
down to two. Barrientos had retained contact throughout the race and edged
closer down the backstretch. With 200 meters to go, Ale put the hammer
down, gained the lead quickly, and won going away by nearly 5 seconds.
The killer kick was reminiscent of Ale's own coming of age victory at
the Arcadia Invitational 2 years ago, showing that "AB" now
stands for All the way Back.
That Arcadia win in April 1999 started a brilliant 13 months for Barrientos
marked by victories in the California State Finals 1600 and the Junior
Nationals 1500, and second in the Pan American Games 1500. Her junior
year was just as successful through May of 2000, when she led the nation
in races from 800 to 3200 meters. The dream turned to nightmare at the
California State Finals exactly a year ago. Barrientos felt pain in her
leg during the week, and could not finish the 1600 trials on Friday evening.
She watched the finals from a wheelchair just past the finish line at
Cerritos College. Two days later, a trip to a specialist in San Francisco
brought the grim news of a stress fracture.
It took a long time for Ale to come back. She didn't race again for 4
months and her return at the Great American Cross Country Festival was
less than triumphant. She wilted in the hot sun of Charlotte NC and finished
back in the pack. There were few victories in the months ahead, but there
were signs of improvement. A sub-5 minute mile at the Stanford Invitational
March 31, followed by a strong showing at the Arcadia Invitational April
14. At Arcadia, Ale couldn't duplicate her sensational sophomore win,
but she was a strong third in 4:47.88 behind 2000 national champion Alicia
Craig and Steen.
But Barrientos was still a long shot as the evening began, rating behind
Bei and the suddenly hot Amber Steen, who led the nation in both the 1500
(4:28.00 at the Mt. SAC Relays) and 1600 (4:43.75 in the Southern Section
finals a week ago). When Barrientos crossed the finish line, she ran straight
to the front row of the stands. Last year, it was Ale in a wheel chair
at that spot. This year, it was Ale embracing a large delegation of family
and friends including her parents, Sal and Vicki Barrientos, and coach,
Rob Collins. Tears of joy flowed freely.
Lashinda Demus wins the "wrong" hurdles
and keys two relay wins and a national record for Wilson
The Wilson Long Beach CA megastar broke the national record for 300 meter
hurdles twice this year, becoming the first girl to go under 40 seconds
in that challenging event. Then, a week ago, disaster struck in the Southern
Section finals when she was DQ'd from her specialty after stutter stepping
and going over a hurdle illegally. Her dad, Duaine, says Lashinda has
her speed up so high that she is getting to the hurdles too quickly. Demus
qualified for the state finals anyway in the 100 meter hurdles, as well
as the famed Wilson sprint relays, US#1 in DyeStat Elite top 100 USA rankings
in both the 4x100 and 4x400.
Wilson was great in the beginning, middle, and end of tonight's program.
In the first race of the evening, Demus helped Wilson win the 4x100 relay
(45.77) with her typical blazing second leg. In the middle of the program,
Wilson won the 100 meter hurdles in 13.39 +2.9, third fastest time in
the nation this year.
The closing event was the 4x400 meter relay, which Wilson arguably "owns".
They held the three fastest times ever at the start of the season, including
the record 3:36.32 in 1998, Demus' freshman year. Last week Wilson added
the fourth fastest time ever with their 3:37.48 win in the Southern Section
finals. They topped that tonight.
Demus is Wilson's fastest runner, but coach Terry Kennedy has put her
on the second or third leg all season, apparently to kill off the opposition
early. It worked perfectly tonight as Demus blazed a 50.5 split in third
position. What was expected to be a very competitive race among nationally
ranked teams looked like a dual meet walkover at the finish, when the
scoreboard flashed a new national record: 3:35.72
PLACE RELAY AFFILIATION TIME PTS
===== =================================== ======= ===
1 WILB Wilson/LB /ss SS 3:35.72 10
2 POLB L.B. Poly /ss SS 3:39.75 8
3 JWNO J.W. North /ss SS 3:41.04 6
4 JALO James Logan /nc NC 3:50.89 4
While Demus may not have gotten the gold medal she wanted most, the three
she did get ended her great high school career on a high note. Graduation
ceremonies will keep her out of the high school post-season meets in Sacramento
and Raleigh, but she may try to get a 400 meter hurdle qualifier for the
USATF national championships late in June. Next year, she will run for
the other USC (South Carolina).
Ryan Hall breaks Michael Stember's record
The tall, lean runner from the mountains of Big Bear Lake started this
season as part of a Big Three of high school distance running, along with
Alan Webb of Virginia and Dathan Ritzenhein of Michigan. His 3:45.12 last
year made him the eighth fastest 1500 meter runner in US prep history.
Hall lived up to that promise by breaking Jeff Nelson's cross country
course record at the legendary Mt. SAC course in Walnut CA last fall.
Hall watched from afar during the winer as Webb (first prep sub-4 miler
in 33 years) and Ritzenhein (third in the World Cross Country junior championships
in Belgium) affirmed that this is truly one of the greatest crops ever
in high school boys distance running. Webb came to California to race
Hall on his own turf at the Arcadia Invitational April 14. The two matched
stride for stride for 3.5 laps of a possible 4-minute mile. But then Webb
started his kick (which gobbled up world class runners last Sunday when
Webb broke Jim Ryun's high school mile record) and left Hall for dead
on the far turn. People said the Big Three was now the Big Two, shoving
Hall back to chase pack status.
Perhaps feeling left out, Hall was uncharacteristically bold this week
in pre-meet quotes, openly talking of going sub-4. He told the Sacramento
Bee, "I think something amazing is going to happen. I know I can
run fast. I don't just want to go under four. I want to go significantly
under four."
It was an impossible goal - no rabbit and no one in the race anywhere
near Hall's class. But he gave it a great try. Breaking on top on the
first turn, Hall made all the pace for rock steady splits of 60.6, 60.4,
61 and 60. It wasn't sub-four, but it was a new California State Meet
record 4:02.62, shaving 1.4 seconds off Michael Stember's mark. In almost
any other year, Hall would be hailed as the best young miler in the country.
But this is the year of the Webbmaster.
PLACE ATHLETE NAME YR SCHOOL TIME PTS
===== ========================= == ========================= ======= ===
1 Ryan Hall 12 Big Bear /ss SS 4:02.62 10
2 Josh Yelsey 12 Corona Del Mar/ss SS 4:14.09 8
3 Ben Aragon 12 West Hills /sd SD 4:14.24 6
4 Brandon Collins 12 Jesuit /sj SJ 4:14.94 4
5 Jordan Kinley 11 Maria Carillo /nc NC 4:15.35 2
6 Sean Drake 11 University-SF /nc NC 4:16.14 1
7 Tony Ahr 12 Burroughs/Bur/ss SS 4:17.04
8 Stuart Eastman 12 Placer /sj SJ 4:17.15
Shayla Rose to the Occasion
Shayla Rose Balentine, raised by a single mom in Morro Bay, started pole
vaulting just a year ago, and now she holds the national record, as her
winning 13-8 vault tonight was four inches better than Stacie Manuel of
Minnesota last year.
"It all started when my coach (Greg Wilson) asked me to try it one
day," said Shayla. "And I got addicted." It helped that
lives only 30 minutes from Jan Johnson, who runs one of the leading camps
in the country for young pole vaulters.
Shayla's first caught attention outside Morro Bay when she finished 8th
at the Nike Indoor Classic in March with a jump of 11-0.25. Then she really
started rising: 11-6 for sixth at the Arcadia Invitational April 14; 12-4
for third at the Mt. SAC Relays April 21; and 13-0 for first in the Southern
Section finals last week. Her winning jump tonight was only 1.25 inches
below the winning jump at the NCAA championships being held this weekend.
Balentine bounced around the pole vault pit and infield excitedly after
each good jump and for a long time after. She took the performance sign
board showing 13-8 off its standard and held it high above her head through
the awards ceremony and stilled clutched it for 20 minutes before reluctantly
giving it up to an official.
"It's awesome, the best feeling in the world," said Shayla.
She is signed to attend San Diego State University, which scouted her
before she became so famous.
PLACE ATHLETE NAME YR SCHOOL MARK PTS
===== ======================= == =================== ========= ===
1 Shayla Balentine 12 Morro Bay /ss 13'08.00" 10
2 Rachael Viau 11 Arroyo Grande /ss 12'03.00" 7
2 Melissa Astete 12 Birmingham /la 12'03.00" 7
4 Jamie Kolar 12 L.B. Poly /ss 12'03.00" 4
Monique Henderson gets her four-peat
After setting the national record for 400 meters (50.74) and making the
US Olympic team last year, the lithe Monique came into this season with
two goals: win the California 400 meter championship for the fourth straight
year and go under 51 seconds again. She got the first part in a victory
over Angel Perkins that was almost a carbon copy of last year. Henderson
and Perkins make up all the staggers down the backstretch. They hit the
top of the stretch side by side, Henderson on the inside. Henderson glides
ahead at the finish as her smooth stride overcomes the strenuous exertions
of Perkins.
PLACE ATHLETE NAME YR SCHOOL TIME PTS
===== ========================= == ========================= ===== ===
1 Monique Henderson 12 Morse /sd SD 51.34 10
2 Angel Perkins 11 Gahr /ss SS 52.18 8
3 Bridgette Williams 10 J.W. North /ss SS 54.28 6
4 Angel Tate 12 Wilson/LB /ss SS 54.41 4
Henderson scratched from the 200 later in the program, leaving it open
for a big 22.85w US#1 victory by Perkins. There was no immediate word
on Henderson's reason for scratching.
PLACE ATHLETE NAME YR SCHOOL TIME PTS
===== ========================= == ========================= ========== ===
1 Angel Perkins 11 Gahr /ss SS 22.85 2.5 10
2 Alyson Felix 10 L.A. Baptist /ss SS 23.27 2.5 8
3 Shalonda Soloman 09 L.B. Poly /ss SS 23.43 2.5 6
4 Sierra Houser-Price 12 Notre Dame(SO)/ss SS 23.90 2.5 4
5 Jasmine Lee 09 L.B. Poly /ss SS 23.91 2.5 2
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