Junior High Track and Field: So many wins, so many stories
Steve Virgen
CORONA DEL MAR - Six years ago, they swam for the same club and
developed a friendship. But then Blair Zeiser and Ahlia Kattan went their
separate ways. Zeiser went to Ensign Intermediate and Kattan left for
Corona del Mar.
Their paths crossed again Thursday, at the Newport-Mesa Junior High
District Track and Field Championships at Corona del Mar High. And even
though they competed against each other in the eighth-grade division’s
1,600-meter race, they renewed their friendship.
Before their race, they agreed to attempt to finish in a tie and
during the run they rooted for one another.
Zeiser won by a leg, literally, after the two ran side-by-side, almost
as if they were holding hands. After the race, they shared a hug.
“I love you,” Kattan whispered into Zeiser’s ear, while officials
appeared puzzled, confused as to who won.
At the finish line, Kattan leaned forward, but Zeiser extended her leg
on her last stride. Zeiser finished in 6:00.7, her personal best, and
Kattan followed with her personal best, 6:00.8.
“It didn’t matter who won,” Kattan said. “Just as long as we both did
well.”
Said Zeiser, “We just wanted to push each other.”
The 1,600 race was just one of many story lines at the district
championships. In the seventh-grade high jump Costa Mesa High sophomore
Sharon Day’s “little” sister, Jazzy, came up big with a personal best,
5-0 clearance.
“I was just a little surprised,” Jazzy Day said. “I knew I could make
it.”
Afterward, her mother, Yolanda, gave the elder sister a playful
warning.
“I told Sharon, ‘you better look out you’re going to have some
competition,’ ” Yolanda Day said. “(Sharon) just rolled her eyes and
said, ‘Oooh 5-feet. Wow.’ ”
In the eighth-grade division, Harbor Day’s Melissa Swigert made a name
for herself, as the only triple-winner of the day. She won the 100
(13.19), 200 (28.35) and broke a 10-year-old record in the long jump
(15-0). The previous best was 14-8 1/2. She led Harbor Day to the
eighth-grade championship, yet Huntington Beach Dwyer won the overall
team title with 190.5 points. TeWinkle came in second with 164 and CdM
finished third at 161.5.
The only other record-breaking performance came in the eighth-grade
400 relay. CdM twins Alexa and Alycia McCarthy along with Vanessa Fallon
and Tanisha Senartne completed the relay in 54.51, besting the 54.97 set
in 1999 by CdM.
In the C Division, which is 5-foot-4 and under, Ensign’s Krystal
Wright tied the district record in the 1,600 (5:52.6).
In the seventh-grade division, TeWinkle’s Amanda Loera collected two
titles with victories in the 100 (12.44) and 200 (28.49).
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