Burlingham shines at prelims

IRVINE -- There should be a nickname reserved for Newport Harbor

High’s Amy Burlingham, Elda Hernandez, Kiley Hall and Amy Klippert

after what they did in the 400 meters in the Sea View League track

and field preliminaries at Irvine High Tuesday. Call them the

Fantastic Four.

The Newport quartet all qualified in the top seven in the 400, to

move on to the Sea View League finals Friday. The relays and field

events, which feature juniors Elizabeth Clayton (jumps) and Julianne

Whitfield (throws), will also be Friday.

Led by Burlingham, a senior bound for the University of Texas on a

soccer scholarship, the Sailors showed their depth in the 400.

Burlingham qualified first, finishing in 1:00.52, while Hernandez,

also a senior, qualified fourth (1:01.59). The sophomore Hall

qualified fifth (1:01.62) and Klippert, a freshman also of soccer

notoriety, qualified seventh (1:02.62).

The four girls will compete in the 400 and 1,600 relays Friday.

Burlingham also qualified first in the 200, while Jennifer Ryder

qualified eighth in the 300 hurdles (50.8).

On the boys side, Matt Tracy (200 and 400) and Alec Urtusuastegui

(800 and 1,600) also qualified in two events. Nick Miller qualified

third in the 1,600 and Joel Walker qualified eighth in the 100

(11.97).

“It was really cool to see the four of us qualify,” Burlingham

said. “That just shows how hard people have been working. It’s going

to be a really fun event for us on Friday.”

Coach Eric Tweit said this is the first time the Sailors have

qualified four in one sprint event on the girls side. Newport might

have actually had five runners in the Sea View League finals, as

Tweit chose to have sophomore Megan Randall compete on the frosh-soph

level.

Randall runs just as fast as Hall and Klippert in the 400, Tweit

said.

“The 400 is a really good event for us,” Tweit said. “There are

six places for scoring in the finals and that’s our goal for Friday,

to have all four girls finish in the top six. It’s interesting for us

because we have two seniors in the event, but then we have a

sophomore and a freshman, so we’re OK.”

Burlingham was smiling and feeling OK Tuesday. She said she

arrived in Newport two days ago after training for a week in Chula

Vista with the under-19 national soccer team. She also maintains a

busy schedule because she competes with the So Cal Blues, a club

soccer team based in San Juan Capistrano.

Next year, Hernandez said she plans to compete at Orange Coast

College, where track and field coach John Knox is assembling an

impressive list of Newport-Mesa athletes, including Estancia’s

Humberto Rojas. Urtusuastegui said he might compete for OCC or La

Verne University.

Urtusuastegui has been one of the few bright spots for the Newport

boys squad, which has endured a season of injuries. The Sailors are

also adapting because of youth, first-year coach Nowell Kay said.

Urtusuastegui has also battled through injuries. He has had to

overcome back and hip pain, which have led him to concentrate on the

middle-distance events, rather than his usual 3,200.

He won the Sea View League title in the 3,200 last year, but he

has only competed in the event once this season, winning in a dual

meet at Foothill Thursday.

“He has been really strong in the [800],” Kay said. “We’ve been

happy with that event for him. Obviously, [Woodbridge standout

Michael Haddan] is a strong runner. If he can get close to [Haddan],

he could get a good time to qualify for CIF.”

Kay has also been pleased with the efforts of Nick Miller and Matt

Tracy. Tracy qualified third in the 400 (52.76). Miller will also

compete in the 3,200 Friday.