Track and field: Best in state?

Joseph Boo

NORWALK - Ever since the 2000 high school track season started,

Corona del Mar High senior Liz Morse has yet to find a challenge she

couldn’t overcome in the girls 800-meter run.

Morse, the CIF Southern Section Division III champion in the event, has

yet to lose an 800 this year. This includes the Arcadia Invitational back

in April, where she beat some of California’s best with a then-national

best of 2:09.40. She posted the nation’s fifth-best time with a 2:10.71

at the Southern Section Masters Meet.

Morse is considered the favorite to win state, but her national mark has

since been surpassed by two runners and she will face one of them at the

CIF State meet in Cerritos College. The preliminaries start Friday, with

the finals on Saturday.

While the 800 is a tough field, a couple of note worthies are missing.

San Lorenzo Valley’s Alejandra Barrientos, who owns the nation’s best

mark with a 2:09.35, opted for the 1,600 and 3,200. Los Gatos’ Heather

Hennessey, who had the nation’s fourth-best time with a 2:10.53 at

Arcadia, is not competing at state.

Nevertheless, Morse will have to deal with Vallejo senior Spring Dawson,

who posted the nation’s second-fastest time with a 2:09.36 at the

Sac-Joaquin Section Masters.

A freshman, Costa Mesa’s Sharon Day is a real challenger for the girls

high jump title in her first state meet. In the Masters, Day, the

Division III champion, tied the state’s second-best and the nation’s

fourth-best mark with a 5-9, good for second place. She just missed

clearing the 5-10 mark, knocking the bar down with her calf.

At state, she will be pushed again by Edison’s Rachel and Bianca Ziemann.

Rachel tied the state-best jump with a 5-10 to win the Masters. St.

Ignatius junior Jenna Grimaldi is the only one in the field to clear 5-10

more than once this year.