Livingston's got company:
Magill screams 2:06.34
Also: Kaltenbach 10:21.01, Harper 4:51.73, Esperanza
12:06.29 DMR
By Stephen (Steveu) Underwood
ARCADIA 4/13/02 -- With the exploits (both this year and last)
of Amber Trotter, Molly Huddle and others, many have thought the
3200/2Mile might be the most dynamic girls distance event this year.
But don't forget about the 800.
Heidi Magill had probably the most impressive distance performance
on the female side Saturday night at the Arcadia Invitational, sprinting
to an overwhelming 2:06.34 over two laps, joining only Stacey Livingston
(indoors) in the rarified sub-2:07 range.But the other longer events
were noteworthy, too. Megan Kaltenbach used a monster mid-race surge
to repeat in the 3200 (10:21.01), while Amber Harper gave Utah a
second win with a strong final lap in the 1600 (4:51.73). California's
own Esperanza HS closed out the distance festivities with a winning
DMR of 12:06.29.
800 meters: Magill goes wire-to-wire
From the gun, there was no doubt about the intentions of Heidi
Magill in the 800. The Mountain View (Utah) star sprinted ahead
on the first lap, stringing out the unwieldy field of 18 as Selena
Sappleton (A.P. Randolph HS, N.Y.) and Jenna Timinsky (San
Dieguito HS, Calif.) made the best attempts at following. Magill
hit an eye-popping 60.8 at 400, but instead of dying, she just kept
on going. Her 2:06.34 was 3.25 seconds better than Timinsky's 2:09.59,
while Heide Houle showed that Mountain View may have cornered
the future of prep girls 800 running by coming up for third in 2:10.10.
Magill is a sophomore; Houle just a freshman.
"It was a bit of a surprise, since I usually run the 400 (PR
of 54)," said Magill of her performance, revealing, however,
that while her previous open PR was 2:09, she has run a 2:07 relay.
"I've grown a few inches, gotten stronger and I've trained
all year since the summer (as opposed to her freshman year). Running
2:03 or 2:04 is definitely possible by the end of the year."
Timinsky was hardly disappointed, having trained just a few weeks
since recovering from an injury. "I took off a month, just
training in the pool and on the elliptical trainer," she said.
"So I'm really happy."
Things didn't go as well for Shannon Rowbury (Sacred Heart
HS, Calif.). One of the prerace faves, she took a nasty elbow in
the first 100 and struggled to make up ground with the torrid pace,
finally coming up for fifth (2:10.23) as seven broke 2:11. "It
was pretty packed in and they took it out really hard," she
said, a smile still on her face. "I just couldn't get to the
inside ... but that's track."
3200 meters: Not a PR, but "Evil Megan" is history
Megan Kaltenbach has joked about an evil twin having replaced
her last fall in CC and struggling to return to the form that saw
her clock a stupendous 10:11 here last year. Well, while her final
time in this year's 3200 was almost 10 seconds shy of that mark
(10:21.01), the Smoky Hills HS (Colo.) star is clearly herself again.
Uneven pacing and a lack of competition when she needed it made
her time suffer, but three mid-race laps at sub-5:00 pace confirmed
that she's in great shape.
After a 74 opener, the next two laps averaged 80 seconds. Then
Kaltenbach put the pedal to the metal with laps of 74.0, 73.8 and
75.0. The final two circuits were much slower, but the junior's
huge lead only evaporated to 11 seconds.
Julie Allen (Corona Del Mar HS, Calif.) was the lone runner
to really give chase when Kaltenbach picked it up. She paid a bit
for it, dropping to fourth (10:35.97) behind the well-paced efforts
of Amanda Trotter (Red Bank HS, N.J./10:32.53) and Sally
Meyerhoff (Mountain Pointe HS, Ariz./10:35.38).
"Last year was perfect," said Kaltenbach afterwards,
lamenting not having gone as fast as she knew herself to be capable
of. "I wish someone had been with me longer. I started out
too slow, then when I sped up, it felt like I was going the same
pace. But I'm feeling healthier now and used to my training."
1600 meters: No strategy the best strategy for Harper
Amber Harper may not have planned to win here, despite her
obvious talent, but don't say she's not opportunistic. With a final
lap just under 70 seconds, the Orem HS (Utah) standout easily had
the best finish to win the 1600 in 4:51.73, a national outdoor leader.
California stars Bridget Duffy (St. Mary's HS/70-2:24) and
Liza Pascuito (Murrieta Valley HS/3:40.2) had leads earlier
and Clara Horowitz (Head Royce HS) had been lurking ominously
behind, but it was Harper who led when it counted.
"I didn't have a strategy," said the modest junior, "and
I never have. First, the girl in second slowed down and I thought
I might as well pass her. Then Liza started getting closer and I
thought, 'I can win.' It was kind of weird." Pascuito, just
a soph, also finished well, in 4:53.12. "I've had a minor injury
that I've been running with, so I'm pleased with how I did."
DMR: Esperanza outduels St. Mary's
They fought back and forth more than once in the race, but it was
finally the finish of Esperanza (Calif.) anchor Alison
Costello that won the day. With a last lap around 75 seconds,
she completed a 12:06.29 DMR for her school, rendering St. Mary's
(Berkeley, Calif.) to the runner-up spot in 12:08.12.
Like the boys' DMR winners from El Toro, a school record was also
at the top of the priority list for the winners. "We really
wanted to break it," said Costello, whose 1600 leg was a 5:07.1.
"We all ran for each other," added 1200 runner (3:38.7)
Shalice Pugmire, indicating it was the last go-round for her and
fellow senior Annie Briggs (400/59.4). Costello and freshman Joy
Wilk (800/2:20.9) will remain to carry on the tradition, however.
Meanwhile, St. Mary's just missed its previous best time of 12:05.
Seniors Bridget Duffy (1200/3:39.8) and Parras Vega (2:21.8) combined
with freshmen Willa Porter (57.5) and Gabi Rios-Sotelo (5:09.6)
for the effort.
Arcadia Invitational Division
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