Girls track and field: Sailors cage Hawks

Tony Altobelli

LAGUNA HILLS - After competing in the lap of luxury, the Newport

Harbor High girls track team battled Sea View League foe Laguna Hills and

its powder-like track surface, taking care of both of them, 81-54,

Thursday.

“We’ve been a little spoiled the past couple of weeks competing on the

rubber-surfaced tracks,” Coach Eric Tweit said. “It shouldn’t have been

that big a deal, because we have a dirt track at Newport. Without the

rain, the dirt gets dry and it’s tough to keep in great shape.”

Once accustomed to the elements, the Sailors (3-0, 2-0 in league) took

care of business in nearly all facets of the meet.

Seniors April Ross and Krista Dill dominated the competition in the field

events, with Ross taking first in the long jump (5-0), triple jump (35-4

3/4) and high jump (5-0) and Dill the shot put (40-6 1/4) and discus

throw (a personal-best 133-4).

“They just continue to go out there and get the job done,” Tweit said.

Tweit was also pleased with the effort of sophomore Breonna Tiffany,

whose mark of 33-0 1/2 in the triple jump was her PR by a foot and a

half. She also neared her top time in the 100-meter low hurdles at 18.8.

“She just keeps getting better and better with each meet,” Tweit said.

Junior Amber Steen showed some of her tenacity in the 1,600. With a

Laguna Hills runner hot on her heels after three laps, Steen turned on

the jets and won the event by nearly four seconds (5:34.6).

That was all as far as drama goes in her races for the afternoon. She

breezed through the 800, winning by just under six seconds (2:23.2)

before anchoring the victorious 1,600 relay team (4:16.1).

Also showing some extra grit was freshman Amy Burlingham. After being

nipped at the wire in the 100 (12.5 to 12.7), she stormed the 200. Her

26.1 was nearly a full second better than the rest of the pack.

“She really learning with each meet how to compete at this level,” Tweit

said. “She’s really figuring out what it takes to win.”

Another freshman phenom, Valerie Day, was a double-winner in the hurdles

events. She neared her PR time in the 100 low hurdles (17.4) before

besting her top time in the 300 lows (51.3).

“Here’s another kid that’s really improving day by day,” Tweit said. “She

had a couple of great times for us in the hurdles.”

In the 3,200, junior Sonya Mechkor led for most of the race and took the

top spot with a 12:12.0.

Lisa Gerlach’s mark of 99-1 in the discus was good enough for second

place and was also a near personal-best throw for the senior.

“Overall, I was really pleased with our effort out there,” Tweit said. “I

think we set out what we wanted to accomplish and we’re ready to go for

next week.”

The importance of next week is the Sailors’ opponents, Woodbridge. The

Warriors have one of the best girls’ squads in the area and Tweit is

looking forward to the challenge.

“We’re gonna have to be at the top of our game in each event just to be

able to compete with him,” Tweit said. “They have one of the deeper

squads from top to bottom. It’s gonna be a fun challenge for us. I think

we’re ready for them.”