Another podium Day

Steve Virgen

There was something different about Sharon Day’s victory in the high

jump.

It seems she has a flair for the dramatic. She proved such at the

CIF Southern Section track and field finals at Cerritos College

Saturday, when Corona del Mar High freshman Anne St. Geme also found

success.

Day, the Costa Mesa senior star, won the high jump title with a

clearance of 6 feet in CIF Division III, for her fourth straight

division championship.

And, she did it with style. She broke the Division III record,

which was 5-10, set by Yleana Carrasco in 1985.

Day cleared 5-10 1/2 on her first attempt to break the record.

She cleared 6-0, also on her first attempt.

“It feels good to win [a fourth straight CIF division title],” Day

said. “It feels even better by breaking the record.”

On Day’s second attempt at 6-2, she seemed rushed. After her

second attempt, she immediately changed shoes and took her place as

anchor in the 1,600 relay. During her first attempt at 6-0, the 1,600

relay had already started.

“I barely made it to the [1,600 relay],” Day said.

Day also achieved a personal best in the 200, coming across the

finish line in 25.37. She finished sixth and received a medal, but

did not advance to the Masters Meet.

The top nine, regardless of division, advanced to the Masters Meet

Friday at Cerritos College, where Day and St. Geme will try to move

on to the state finals.

“I was a little more calm,” Day said of her approach for the CIF

finals. “I was more comfortable and I knew what to expect.”

Mesa freshman Jasmin Day, Sharon’s younger sister, placed third in

the high jump at 5-2, and is a third alternate for the Masters Meet.

Sharon Day attempted to tie the national record, which is 6-3 set

by Amy Acuff of Corpus Christi in 1992. But she only had one attempt

at it since she faulted twice at 6-2. Right after her failed attempt

at 6-3, Sharon Day walked quickly off the field because she had to be

at the Costa Mesa High prom, which was in Yorba Linda.

“Everybody was a little iffy about running in the 1,600 [relay],”

Sharon Day said of Rhondi Naff, Stacy Krikorian and Toshia Bryant of

the relay team. “But we knew it would be the last time that we would

be able to run together.”

Each of the girls had to go to the prom. In fact, Bryant did not

compete because she was too afraid she would miss the prom. Rachel

Ronquillo took her place in the 1,600 relay.

CdM’s quartet of Sara Claster, Lindsey Manning, Kelly Morgan and

Melissa Swigert placed fifth in the 1,600 relay, finishing in

3:58.20, while the Mustangs finished eighth in 4:02.84.

St. Geme provided the Sea Kings’ highlight of the day after she

earned second place in the 1,600 with a personal-record 5:00.10. Her

previous personal best was 5:07.

The CdM freshman ran a smart race, refining the strategy she has

been working on for the past four weeks. She actually became more in

tune with her race plan, created by CdM Coach Bill Sumner, just

Monday.

Sumner put St. Geme through a race simulation that included 1,200

meters last week. She was supposed to finish in 3:25, but she failed

to do so.

However, that motivated St. Geme and she came back the next week

(Monday) and conquered the challenge.

“You always have to work hard,” Sumner said. “But in these races,

you also have to have a little luck. I have a saying that goes, the

harder I work, the luckier I get. So you have to work hard.”

Sumner was thoroughly impressed with St. Geme’s intelligence and

her attention to detail that she has displayed in the past four

months. Sumner said St. Geme came to him with plenty of athletic

ability, yet it was only a matter of refining it.

“Talent is like a lot of money,” Sumner said. “If you don’t know

how to use it, you’ll end up broke.”

St. Geme was the only freshman to advance to the Masters Meet in

the 1,600 and now she hopes to move on to the state meet. She

continued to gather motivation since she nearly won the CIF Division

III title.

She finished less than a second behind Jenna Kingma of San Luis

Obispo.

Kingma, a junior, ended the race with a better lean across the

finish line.

“It felt like everything was in slow motion,” St. Geme said of the

final 50 meters. “I felt like I left it all out on the track. I felt

I did my best. Of course there are always improvements to make, but

that was a really fast race. Yet, it still felt a lot easier than

when I did a 5:12 or 5:15.”

St. Geme also competed in the 800, finishing seventh in 2:19.13.

In the 3,200, CdM senior Becky Cummins closed out her prep career

with a 11:43.98, finishing in seventh. Costa Mesa junior Christine

Bjelland collected a sixth-place medal after finishing 11:34.96,

which is quite remarkable because she has been recovering from an

injured hip that cut her cross country season short.

In CIF Division II, Newport Harbor senior Amy Burlingham broke a

school record in the 400. She placed fourth, finishing in 57.83,

which was 16th overall. Amy Johnson had the previous school record,

which was 57.94, set in 1981.

“That was exciting,” Burlingham said of breaking the school

record. “I wasn’t really sure what my time was after the race. I felt

that I didn’t go out hard enough. I sort of wish I had more time with

the 400 because I seemed to learn more about it each time I raced.”

Burlingham, who holds the school record in the 200, also helped

the Sailors achieve a school record in the 1,600 relay, which also

included senior Elda Hernandez, sophomore Kiley Hall and freshman Amy

Klippert. Burlingham anchored the 1,600 relay team that finished

third in 3:56.64. They are a second alternate for the Masters Meet.

The Newport Harbor quartet also competed in the 400 relay and

finished ninth in 50.32. Their time in the CIF prelims was 49.83.