Track and field: Allen sparkles

Steve Virgen

ARCADIA - Off the track, Julie Allen and Megan Kaltenbach are close

friends. On the track, there’s hardly a difference.

Allen, a Corona del Mar High senior, and Kaltenbach, a junior at Smoky

Hills High in Colorado, added fuel to their friendly rivalry in the

3,200-meter race at the Arcadia Invitational Saturday.

Allen, who was Kaltenbach’s roommate at the Foot Locker Nationals in

Florida in December, finished fourth with a personal-best 10:35.97 in the

3,200, which Kaltenbach won in 10:21.01.

“I don’t think of (the competition) as my enemy,” said Allen, who

finished 11th at the Foot Locker Nationals ahead of Kaltenbach. “It’s a

whole bunch of runners coming together and it’s one of the neatest

things. You get to know these people. You race, and it’s fun. With

(Kaltenbach), you just want to go faster.”

“We stayed in the same room together,” Kaltenbach said of the Florida

trip. “We both used to play soccer, so we share that in common. It’s so

much fun seeing her. We have some inside jokes that we share. She’s so

awesome. To race against her is a great experience.”

Kaltenbach pulled away from Allen after 1,600 meters, and because

Allen stayed with her through that distance the CdM senior was spent in

the last 400.

Kaltenbach continued her quick pace to finish well ahead of Allen and

the pack.

With 200 meters remaining, Red Bank Regional’s Amanda Trotter passed

Allen and, with less than 15 yards left, Mountain Point’s Sally Meyerhoss

overcame Allen and finished 0.59 seconds ahead of her.

“You gotta be aggressive,” Allen said. “It’s the only way you have a

chance to be in the hunt. I’m happy with my time. It’s just a great

opportunity to be here. But I’m not stopping here.”

CdM track and field coach Bill Sumner, who also coaches cross country,

said he had planned for Allen to make her move right after the 1,600

mark, but Kaltenbach beat her to it.

“She might have gotten second,” Sumner said. “But I feel good about

her going after it. She had to be aggressive. You can’t win by waiting.

“She’s at her PR and it’s only April 15. She’s got plenty of running

left.”

Allen’s teammates Melissa Swigert, Becky Cummins and Kevin Artz fared

well at the Arcadia Invitational’s Open portion in the afternoon. Swigert

finished third in her heat in the 400 (58.80), while Cummins was 10th in

her heat in the 1,600 (5:17.76) and Artz was 13th in his heat 800 heat,

going 2:02.05.

Allen and Kaltenbach will race against each other again June 8 at the

Golden West Invitational.