Newport-Mesa quartet advances

Steve Virgen

The athletes of the Newport-Mesa District went 4 for 4 at the CIF

Southern Section Masters Meet Friday night at Cerritos College. Costa

Mesa High senior Sharon Day, who won the high jump (5 feet, 10

inches), and Estancia senior Humberto Rojas, who broke his own school

record and finished third in the 1,600 meters (4:12.73), as well as

Corona del Mar freshman Anne St. Geme, fifth in the 1,600, and

Estancia senior Zack Novak, fifth in the high jump, advanced to the

CIF State preliminaries June 6 at Cerritos College.

Rojas, St. Geme and Novak produced interesting story lines, while

Day went about her business and flirted with the national high school

record.

Rojas celebrated his 19th birthday with a rather brilliant race in

the 1,600. He maintained the ninth position out of nine runners

throughout the first 800 meters, but then made his move. He passed

four runners before the final 400 and moved to the front of the pack

early in the last lap. That’s when he started his kick.

He was in first place for about 150 meters, then shifted to second

and eventually third, where he finished.

“That was a fun race,” Rojas said with a smile afterward. “I came

in wanting to have fun and I did. It’s my birthday, so I should have

fun.”

Estancia distance coach Charlie Appell also celebrated his

birthday. The 56-year-old coach was excited, yet concerned with

Rojas’ race. In addition, Appell, like Rojas, was impressed with the

nine runners in the 1,600. Eight of them met qualifying standards and

advanced to the CIF State prelims.

“I thought it was a little premature for him to start [the final

400 meters] so quickly,” Appell said. “But that was to his advantage

because it caught the other runners off guard. My question is, how

much gas did he lose? He says he still feels strong, so we’ll see

what happens.”

Rojas’ previous best was 4:14.28, set last week in winning the CIF

Southern Section Division III title.

In the girls 1,600, St. Geme, pronounced “gem,” as in the jewel,

passed two runners in the final 200 meters to grab the fifth and

final qualifying spot. She was in eighth throughout most of the final

lap, but she found extra incentive to pick up speed.

“After the third lap, I felt really tired,” St. Geme said. “I

didn’t think I was going to [qualify]. I know you’re not supposed to

think like that. But, on that last curve, my entire family was there.

I could hear my mom [Ceci] and my dad [Ed] and that motivated me.”

St. Geme finished in 5:00.44. Her personal record is 5:00.10,

which she posted last weekend. Though her times were nearly

identical, CdM Coach Bill Sumner thought St. Geme ran a different

race.

“She got real nervous on lap three,” Sumner said. “But she woke

up. She realized what we talked about during the drive [to Cerritos

College]. All she had to do was finish in the top five. But this race

was different from all the others she has seen. It was harder.”

St. Geme seemed to be inspired by being the only freshman in the

race. She said she thrives on the challenge of meeting expectations.

“I set my standards high,” St. Geme said. “I’ve just been doing my

best and I’m going to keep doing my best. But I’m still getting used

to [the 1,600].”

Novak, the Estancia senior who won the Southern Section Division

III title in the high jump last week, has also been gathering more

experience in his event. He said he learns something new every week.

Novak learned more about consistency Friday.

He finished fifth to grab the final qualifying spot, clearing 6-3

on his first attempt. Two other jumpers also cleared 6-3, but they

missed on their first attempt. Novak nearly cleared 6-5 on his final

attempt, but he will have to wait until next week to try to better

his personal record of 6-6.

In the girls high jump, Day, a four-time Southern Section division

champion, won the Masters Meet title by clearing 5-10 on her first

attempt. Then, she didn’t waste any time and asked that the bar be

raised to 6-3, which would have tied the national record. She seemed

to come closer to clearing the bar with each try, as her third

attempt prompted the more audible gasps from the crowd.

Day started jumping at 5-7 and hit the bar on her first attempt,

but she cleared it on her second try. After clearing 5-10, she waited

for advice from her coach and father, Eugene.

“I just looked up at my dad and he said to go for the 6-3,” said

Day, who owns the nation’s best mark at 6-2 this season.

Day, the defending state champion, said she will focus on reaching

the state finals Friday, then concentrate on the national record

Saturday.