DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:Baby sister continues Clayton tradition

Laura Clayton is anxious to take that last leap and never come back.

“Time to go, huh?” Clayton said.

More like time to cope. But she understands that it will mark the final time she’ll play in the sand again for Newport Harbor High.

A hop, step and jump, and it’s all over.

For her, and the end of the Clayton sisters’ legacy with the Newport Harbor girls’ track and field program.

Laura will be the last of four successful triple-jumping sisters to compete. All guided by Coach Nowell Kay.

“End of a 15-year dynasty,” said Kay, who has coached at Newport Harbor since 1985. “It’s been a unique situation. It’s been very enjoyable. Her dad has delivered a lot of babies that have been track and field people.”

Dr. Weatherford Clayton is an obstetrician/gynecologist after all.

The youngest, Laura, is looking to make dad and mother, Lisa, and sisters, Mandy, M.E. and Elizabeth, proud.

Laura did last week, when she claimed her first triple jump league title while placing third in the 100-meter hurdles.

She won the triple jump with a mark of 36 feet, 11 1/2 inches and placed third in the 100 hurdles at 17.15 seconds at the Sunset League championships, qualifying her for two events at the CIF Southern Section Division II preliminaries Saturday at Moorpark High.

With two of the sisters out of the state, guess who’s the person responsible for immediately relaying Laura’s results?

The team mom.

“Now it’s all done by text messaging,” said Lisa, who used have to wait until the end of the meet to call from home. “Isn’t technology great?”

The faster the better. Lisa said she’s delivered the news to family members since Mandy started competing in track and field in the 1991-92 season, her freshman year at Newport.

As soon as Laura turned 4, Lisa said Laura was scampering around track and field stadiums, while her sisters competed. She basically grew up at Davidson Field. So, how did Lisa keep Laura entertained?

“With athletes running here, others throwing things, and some jumping around, and then you hear a gun go off all the time, how can you not be excited?” Lisa said. “I would always take books to keep her and myself busy.”

But the two never finished reading a book during meets. Watching Mandy, a 1995 graduate, M.E. (1997) and Elizabeth (2004) in action was in itself entertaining.

Motivating for Laura. The Newport Harbor school records her sisters set, then held until another Clayton broke one, stuck with Laura.

“How can I get one of those?” Laura remembers saying.

Laura’s learned it’s not as easy as just asking. She doesn’t own any school records. Not yet that is before she goes off to Brigham Young University, where Elizabeth is studying communications.

By the time Laura enrolls at BYU, she wants Elizabeth’s record.

Elizabeth holds the triple jump mark of 38-4 1/2 , and Laura’s going after it. Laura’s personal best is 37-9 1/4 , accomplished at a league meet at Fountain Valley on April 19.

Laura hasn’t had to exert herself in league, where she went undefeated in the triple jump. But if she plans to break Elizabeth’s mark, like Elizabeth did to Mandy, now is the time for setting new marks.

At the CIF Southern Section Division II prelims, she has three jumps to record a top-nine mark and advance to the finals at Cerritos College.

If she does, it will mark the first time she’s moved on, joining her sisters.

“Quite a legacy that’s ending. It’s going to be very emotional when it ends,” Laura said. “Coach Kay has been there through everything. I will be really sad when I don’t come back next year. I guess it will be my turn to make that next jump in my life.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].