Girls track and field: Distance Divas dominate

Barry Faulkner

MISSION VIEJO - The Newport-Mesa District Distance Divas delivered

another dominating performance Friday night at the CIF Southern Section

Division III girls track and field preliminaries at Trabuco Hills High.

Led by their newest member, Corona del Mar High junior Julie Allen,

the collection of Estancia senior Liz Huipe and CdM seniors Diana

Hossfeld and Jenny Cummins, positioned themselves for top honors at the

May 19 Division III Finals at Cerritos College.

Allen, a Fountain Valley High transfer, posted the top qualifying

times in the 3,200 meters (11:05.09) and the 1,600 (5:05.95) and also

qualified sixth in the 800 (2:19.97).

Huipe missed a school record by less than a second by qualifying

second in the 3,200 (11:14.04), while Hossfeld qualified second in the

1,600 (5:11.67) and third in the 800 (2:21.12).

Cummins qualified eighth in the 800 (2:23.31).

The top nine qualified in each event, earning a spot in the Division

III Finals. CdM, the defending CIF Division III team champion, did

sustain some disappointment, when a handful of girls did not qualify.

But Sea Kings Coach Bill Sumner said he believed his team still had a

shot to defend its crown.

Costa Mesa sophomore Sharon Day qualified fourth in the 400 and her

attempt to qualify in the high jump, in which she won the Division III

crown last season, was still ongoing as the meet wound down into the

evening.

CdM senior Jaycee Mahler overcame an inconvenient delay in the 100

hurdles (her heat was recalled after she was six hurdles in and rerun

after a 26-minute delay, after which she failed to qualify) to qualify

sixth in the 300 hurdles (46.83).

Costa Mesa sophomore Beverly Aina qualified eighth in the shot put

(34-4 1/2) to round out those local qualifiers know at press time.

The Corona del Mar 1,600 relay quartet of Becky Cummins, Katherine

Morse, Mahler and Jenny Cummins, also attempted to qualify in the last

running event of the night.

Allen’s effort was expected, but Hossfeld’s rise to prominence in the

800 has been a surprise this year, she said.

“I never thought I had that type of speed,” said Hossfeld, who was

coaxed into running the event by Sumner, only as a tool to improve her

performance in her featured event, the 1,600.

“She had never run the 800 and she got mad at me the first time I told

her I wanted her to,” Sumner said. “But she’s gotten pretty good at it

and it has made her stronger.”

Hossfeld won her heat in the 800 and 1,600 Friday, but said she ran

out of gas trying to also qualify in the 3,200. Her 3,200 time of 2:12.71

was 19th best in the field.

CdM junior Season Meservey also missed qualifying in the 3,200, an

event she finished fourth at Division III Finals last spring. Her time of

11:38.97 was 11th best, two seconds behind the the final qualifier.

Other locals who competed and did not qualify in individual events

completed by press time, included Estancia juniors Hanni and Jasmine

Geider (100 and 200), CdM junior Jaclyn Thayer (100 and long jump), CdM

freshman Kinzie Kramer (200), CdM junior Krisserin Canary (pole vault),

Morse, a junior (400) and Mesa sophomore Ashley Schaefer (400).