The Story

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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