Girls track: Young Sailors making mark

Richard Dunn

IRVINE - For a freshman, the first year in high school is often a

get-acquainted, and sometimes awkward, time.

But for some members of the Newport Harbor High girls track and field

team -- only a year out of intermediate school and preparing to compete

in the Sea View League finals -- there is no better time for

introductions than now.

In the Sea View preliminaries Monday at Irvine High, Newport Harbor

freshman Jennifer Ryder didn’t mind acting like a veteran in the

300-meter hurdles, in which she qualified No. 1 by winning the second

heat in 50.69.

Also in the 300 hurdles, Newport Harbor junior Valerie Day enjoyed a

personal-best clocking (51.35) to finish as runner-up to Ryder, while

freshman teammate Jackie Belida made it a three-ring affair for the

Sailors, qualifying eighth in 52.56.

The top eight finishers in all events qualified for Thursday’s finals,

also at Irvine. The finals begin at 2:30 p.m. with field events. The

running events begin at 4 p.m.

“It will be a fun race for us in the 300 hurdles and also the 400

(which also features three Newport Harbor runners),” Sailors Coach Eric

Tweit said. “We’ll see if we can score some points in those events on

Thursday ... with Jennifer Ryder and Jackie Belida, they’re only

freshmen, so they’re still trying to figure out what it’s all about.”

In the 100 hurdles, sophomore Elizabeth Clayton qualified first with a

personal-best 16.47, blowing away the field in the second heat (Aliso

Niguel’s Holly Miller, the No. 5 qualifier, finished behind Clayton in

the heat in 17.89).

Day also qualified fourth in the 100 hurdles with a personal-best

17.76, while Newport Harbor’s Breonna Tiffany qualified sixth in 18.14.

There were other young stars for Newport Harbor as freshman Kiley Hall

ran a personal-best 1:01.93 to qualify second in the 400 and lead a

Sailor contingent in the finals that includes junior Elda Hernandez (No.

4 qualifier in 1:02.06) and senior Lauren Hanson, the No. 5 qualifier

with a personal-best 1:02.90.

“Kiley Hall (who won the second heat) ran a very competitive race and

for her to qualify second was a very nice surprise,” said Tweit, who

believes Hall is ready to crack the one-minute barrier. “She’s a very

competitive young lady. Kiley, Elda Hernandez and Lauren Hanson should

give Woodbridge a run on Thursday.”

Woodbridge’s Roni Yadlin qualified first in the 400 in 1:01.15.

Newport Harbor sprinter Ashley Harrison, a sophomore, enjoyed a solid

day by qualifying fifth in both the 100 (13.79) and 200 (27.77).