Youth: Girls track and field: Girls fight the cold and run hot

Steve Virgen

NEWPORT BEACH - Local youngsters snuck in some running, jumping and

throwing before the rain came at the Newport Beach Youth Track and Field

Championships Friday at Newport Harbor High.

Fighting a harsh wind and stinging cold weather, girls, ages 7 through

14, competed at their best as some came away with record-breaking feats.

Despite a nagging pain in her right thigh, Karina Van Leuven, a

12-year-old at Newport Elementary, set a meet record in the 800-meter

race (2:40.0) for Division 89.

Before taking her mark, she was aware of the previous meet record,

2:41.0, and was intent on breaking it. She had plenty of confidence as

she ran a 2:32.0 in practice earlier in the year, she said. But, because

of the pain in her leg and the weather, Van Leuven received extra

challenges. She also earned a second-place finish in the 200 and long

jump.

In that same division, Nina Conrad, of Newport Elementary, broke meet

records in the 200 (29.9) and 400 (1:09.0). Kaiser Elementary’s Carly

Ruiz set a meet record in the high jump (4-foot-1) in Division 90 (age

11))to round out the record-breaking performances.

Because the track meet carried on into the night, Division 87 and 88,

scheduled for the meet’s finale, featured just one competitor, Courtney

Hanson of Division 87 (age 12).

Among 8-year-olds, Mikia Ny-Bron finished as a double winner when she

won first place in the 50 (8.99) and the long jump (9-0).

Jazmine Rhodes was also a double winner in Division 92 (age 9). She

triumphed in the 100 (16.17) and the 400 (1:19.6).

Katrina Gaar completed a hat-trick with three victories in Division 91

(age 10). She won the 100 (17.19), long jump (9-9) and the softball throw

(78-5).

Sarah Toberty earned two wins in the 400 (1:13.2) and the 800 (2:46.0)

in Division 90 (age 11).

In Division 88 (age 13), Michelle Allred came away with a trifecta,

scoring victories in the 100 (14.1), 200 (31.3) and softball throw

(142.0).

The girls races also featured some photo-finish-type action. Megan

Crosson, of St. John’s Elementary, finished just seven-tenths of a second

ahead of St. Margaret’s Alannah Boyd in Division 94 (age 7). Within the

same division, in the 100, Kyndol Craver edged Crosson by one-tenth of a

second.

Perhaps the tightest finish of the entire meet came in the 50-meter

race in Division 92 (age 9). The winner, Hannah Macleod, came in at 9.5

seconds, second-place Karoline Wang crossed the line at 9.6, and Crystal

Corrales finished third in 9.7. Also in that division, Jasmine Beech

(8-10) squeaked past Rhodes (8-9) in the long jump, leaping one inch

further.

Yet another close race came in Division 91 where Gaar clocked a 17.19

in the 100, while second-place Annie Markowitz finished in 17.3 and third

place went to Tina Theriot in 17.5.

Monique Ballardo (34.4) finished just three-tenths of a second ahead

of Kelly Duncan in the 200 in Division 90. And as if that wasn’t enough,

Kyleigh Harrison won the 100 (15.07), five-tenths of a second in front of

Paige Lynch in Division 89.

Allred closed out the close-shave madness with her victory in the 100

(14.1), six-tenths of a second before Devon Keyhea in Division 88.