Sweep sensation

Rick Devereux

Even with Anne St. Geme and the rest of the Corona del Mar High girls

track and field team focusing on the Orange County championships this

weekend, the Sea Kings beat University, 98-29, in a Pacific Coast

League dual meet Thursday.

“I was holding back a little today to focus on technique and get

ready for this weekend,” St. Geme said after taking first in the

1,600 (5 minutes, 5.9 seconds) and 800 (2:20.5).

St. Geme admitted that she was feeling a little sick before the

meet, another reason for the sophomore to relax a bit and not try to

break her own Orange County records in the 800 and 1,600. “I’m a

sensitive eater and need to watch what I eat before a meet, but I’ll

be fine for Saturday,” she said.

Freshman Hilary May also continued her torrid pace, finishing

second to St. Geme in both the 1,600 and 800. May has posted the

fastest finish by any freshman in the state and is third overall in

Orange County in the 1,600. Coach Bill Sumner knew exactly who he

expected to shine for CdM (8-0, 4-0 in the PCL) at the Orange County

championships.

“Anne is one and Hilary is another,” Sumner said. “We’re not

really looking to dominate as a team on Saturday, but I do think our

individuals will do very well.”

Part of the strategy in preparing the team for the stronger

competition Saturday was to not push them as hard on Thursday.

“It was a little lighter today,” Sumner said. “If you look at the

match on paper, then you think it might be an easy win, but

University ran very well today and gave us all we could handle.

University took first place in the 200, 400, long jump and triple

jump, but the Sea Kings were tops in the other 11 events, including a

sweep of the top three spots in the 800, 1,600, 3,200, 300 hurdles

and shot put.

Lindsay Ensign showed her versatility by taking first in the shot

put (30 feet, 9 inches) and high jump (5-0) for Corona del Mar. The

fact that Ensign and St. Geme were the only multiple winners on the

day for the Sea Kings proved why CdM is a highly regarded team.

“We’ve got a lot of depth “ Sumner said. “The girls are strong.

They are ranked sixth in Southern California [by The Times]. We’re in

the top ten in the state.”

The rankings are helped by St. Geme being the No. 2 miler in the

nation and May being the fastest freshman in California. But Corona

del Mar could have slipped in the standings with a loss to University

in a home meet.

“We backed off a notch to save ourselves for Saturday, but I’ll

tell you what, if we backed off any further [University] could have

done some real damage,” Sumner said.

But the Sea Kings prevailed with the victory and stayed rested for

the Orange County championships.