Track and field: Yelsey qualifies for finals in 1,600

Tony Altobelli

Corona del Mar High senior Josh Yelsey had his high school career

extended 24 hours following his performance in the 1,600-meter run at

Friday night’s CIF state preliminaries at Sacramento City College.

After 1,100 yards of pushing and maneuvering, Yelsey managed to squirm

ahead of most of the runners and placed third in his heat with a time of

4:14.32.

“That was harder than I thought it was going to be,” Yelsey said right

after the race by telephone. “Some of the runners went out fast on

adrenaline, but I tried to remain patient. With 500 meters to go, Coach

(Bill) Sumner told me to go for it and I did. I’m thrilled to be in the

finals and I’m looking forward to an even better time.”

CdM Coach Bill Sumner was pleased with Yelsey’s performance, despite

some tough running conditions. “There was about a 30 mph head wind down

the back stretch, so that wasn’t easy to deal with,” Sumner said. “Josh

did what he had to do to qualify for the finals.”

Joining Yelsey in the 1,600 finals is Newport Harbor senior Chris

McMillen, who also finished third in his heat in 4:17.99.

“Nobody wanted to jump out in the first two laps and it almost became

a walk out there,” McMillen said. “The last lap, I made my move and was

able to qualify. It’s a major relief and I’m very excited to be a part of

it.”

Coach Bim Barry agreed with the less-than spectacular first 800

meters. “It became very pedestrian out there,” Barry said. “Finally in

the third lap it started to open up a little bit. We expected Chris to

qualify for the finals and he was able to do so.”

Costa Mesa sophomore Sharon Day qualified fourth with a mark of 5-6 to

advance to her second state finals in a row. She was fifth last year with

a jump of 5-feet-8.

“I was still a little nervous out there, even though I made the finals

last year,” Day said. “To win the finals, I think it will take a jump of

5-10 or 5-11. I think I have that in me. I just have to work on my

approach and to make sure I’m smooth in my turn to the bar.”

CdM senior Diana Hossfeld, making her first appearance in the state

prelims, finished eighth in her heat with a 5:13.00 in the 1,600 and did

not qualify for the finals. “She had a wonderful season, to say the

least,” Sumner said. “In this race, she got stuck in the middle of the

pack and she simply ran out of juice. It was great to have her make it

this far.”