Girls track: Allen on cruise control for CdM

Richard Dunn

MISSION VIEJO - Corona del Mar High junior Julie Allen, a headliner

in the girls 1,600 meters heading into the 10th annual Trabuco Hills

Track and Field Invitational, came as advertised.

Allen, a recent transfer from Fountain Valley, ran against her former

teammates, along with a stacked Orange County field, and won the event in

5:02.88 to lead Coach Bill Sumner’s squad Saturday.

“Right now, she’s top 10 in the United States in the two mile,” Sumner

said of his newest star, who did not run the 3,200 at the Trabuco Hills

Invitational, where more than 1,000 athletes from 72 schools convened.

Allen, instead, won the 1,600 by about 50 meters, pulling away from a

pack of seven girls after one lap.

“Julie has a tendency to get out really quick, and we’re retraining

her,” Sumner said.

Allen increased her lead by about 15 meters after each of the final

three laps, winning ahead of Woodbridge’s Jessica Kanin (5:09.34) and

former Fountain Valley teammate Bethany Nickless (5:14.36), who was third

overall. CdM’s Diana Hossfeld finished fourth in 5:14.39.

“We’re training with her now for the two mile at the prestigious

Arcadia Invitational (April 14),” Sumner said of Allen, whose 10:46 in

the 3,200 is among the best in the nation. “At Arcadia, we’ll try to run

a sub-10:40. Right now, we think she can do that.”

CdM’s showing was more than Allen at Trabuco Hills, as distance

standout Jenny Cummins placed second overall in the 800 in 2:18.17,

trailing only Murrieta Valley’s Lisa Pascuito (2:18.05).

“Jenny ran into a wall,” Sumner said. “She went out too hard and left

too much out there on the track. The 800 is the second-most difficult

race in track (first being the steeplechase) ... it’s like shopping for

furniture at the 750-meter mark. If you’re not carrying a piece of

furniture to the finish line, you didn’t run it right. (Finishing) is

like the world coming down on you.”

While Cummins had energy to spare at the end of the 800, she was

knocked down in the meet’s final event, the 1,600 relay. At the finish

line, Cummins collided with a Woodbridge runner and the two schools tied

for third in 4:13.1.

Becky Cummins, Katherine Morse and Jaycee Mahler also ran in the

relay.

CdM distance standouts Katie Quinlan was third in the 3,200

invitational and Season Meservey was fifth.

Mahler was second overall in the 300 intermediate hurdles with an

Orange County-best time of 47.08. Morse was ninth in the 400 in 1:01.64.

In the pole vault, CdM’s Krisserin Canary tied for second at 10 feet

with Notre Dame’s Claire Parker. Alta Loma’s Jen Clark won the event at

10-6.

For Estancia, Liz Huipe was second in the 3,200 (9:51), while teammate

Diane Rosete was seventh.

The Eagles’ 4 x 800 relay of freshman Marilyn Reich, sophomore Rosete,

sophomore Ludi Valdez and senior Huipe placed fourth in 10:23.16.

Estancia’s 1,600 relay won its heat and finished fifth overall in

4:18.5, six seconds better the team’s previous best time, with Reich,

Hanni Geider, Jasmine Geider and Valdez.

Jasmine Geider won her heat in the 100 with a personal-best 13.26 and

was 17th overall. Hanni Geider was 16th overall in 13.25, while CdM’s

Jackie Thayer clocked a 13.48 and made the top 25.