Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Sharon Day

Tony Altobelli

Costa Mesa High’s girls high jumper Sharon Day has now entered the

rarefied air of the CIF State Preliminaries. Not too shabby for a

14-year-old.

The Mustangs’ freshman with the endless spring in her step took second at

last week’s CIF Southern Section Masters Meet with a stellar mark of 5-9,

the second best mark in the state behind Masters Meet winner Rachel

Ziemann of Edison (5-10).

“I was so nervous heading up to that meet,” Day said. “But once I got

there and started to warm up, I saw all the other athletes and figured

they were probably nervous too, so that made it better.”

With that mark, Day also tied for the fourth highest mark in the entire

o7 countryf7 and she also broke her own school record of 5-6.

Did we mention that she was only 14?

Day cleared 5-6 and 5-7 on her first attempts and cleared 5-8 and 5-9 on

her second attempts.

“After I cleared the bar (at 5-9), I just thought, ‘Oh my God,’ ” Day,

the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week said after the Masters Meet on Friday

night. “I just got so excited.”

Day won both the Pacific Coast League and the Division III championships,

each with jumps of 5-6, but, according to her coach and father, Eugene

Day, Sharon still has a lot of height left in her jump.

“She has always had the hops,” the elder Day said. “That’s a God-given

talent to have that kind of ability, but now she’s improving on the

technique. She’s trusting herself more now and that’s made a big

difference.”

Sharon agrees that her technique has gotten much better this year.

“There’s a lot of things to work on in this event,” Sharon said. “It’s

all timing. When to rotate, springing off one leg, tilting your head to

have the proper arc in your body. The key is to have all that stuff

become automatic and to just clear your mind and go for it.”

Thanks to some friendly competition from Ziemann, Day was able to go

higher than ever before.

“It was like, bang, bang, bang, bang,” Eugene Day said. “One would clear,

then the other, then the other, going higher and higher, pushing each

other farther and farther. As a former competitor, it was great to see

that friendly rivalry push each athlete to the maximum.”

With both parents and an older brother having experience competitively in

the high jump, Day has been involved in the sport since a youngster.

“She was jumping as early as two,” her Dad said. “Then she got into

running and in the seventh grade, she got back into it again. Obviously,

she had the ability to learn from her mother, brother and myself because

we’ve been there. It’s been a fun roller coaster so far.”

Now with the biggest high school meet right around the corner, what goals

has Day set for herself?

“Basically, I want to qualify for the finals, then in the finals, set a

new PR,” Day said. “I’m sure I’m going to be extremely nervous before the

meet, but I’m sure I’ll settle down in time.”

Her father sees even higher peaks for Sharon. “Right now, the state title

is up for grabs,” Eugene Day said. “Sharon, Rachel and another girl up

north are all right next to each other. If Sharon nails her technique,

she’ll be hard to beat.”

The secret to Day’s success? South Coast Plaza. “I love to shop,” Sharon

Day said with a laugh. “Maybe that’s what keeps my legs so strong.”