A Gem for Sea Kings

Steve Virgen

When Anne St. Geme competed in the CIF Southern Section track and

field divisional finals last year, she was wide-eyed and used a

nothing-to-lose attitude to finish second in the 1,600 meters.

Now, the Corona del Mar High sophomore has more confidence,

strength and intelligence. She had the look of a champion, which is

infectious for her team.

St. Geme won CIF Division III titles in the 800 and 1,600, and

also contributed to the 1,600 relay team that finished second,

helping lead Corona del Mar to a third-place finish at the CIF finals

Saturday at Cerritos College.

The Sea Kings, led by St. Geme and freshman Hilary May, finished

with 46 points, just two behind second-place Diamond Ranch. Muir won

Division III with 52 points. Corona del Mar, which last won a CIF

Division III girls championship in 2001, was hoping for a fifth-place

finish.

St. Geme, May (1,600) and the 1,600 relay team, which also

included Sara Claster, Melissa Swigert and Kelly Morgan, advanced to

the CIF Masters Meet on Friday at Cerritos College.

“I’m a lot smarter this year when it comes to racing,” said St.

Geme, the Pacific Coast League champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

“I know what to expect. Last year I didn’t believe I was strong

enough. Now I definitely feel a lot stronger.”

St. Geme’s strength was quite evident in the 1,600. She overcame

Harvard-Westlake’s Lindsay Flacks, who was bold in taking her race

out fast. Flacks held a sizable lead over the first 400 meters, until

St. Geme and Anna Farias-Eisner, also of Harvard-Westlake, took over.

However, with about 400 meters left, St. Geme left everyone

behind, winning the race in 4:53.65, four seconds faster than

Farias-Eisner, who finished in second. May passed San Luis Obispo’s

Jenna Kingma just before the finish line to take third with a

personal-best 4:59.16. Kingma finished in 4:59.17. May’s previous

best was 5:03.66.

St. Geme maintained a steady pace and won the 800 in 2:15.61, one

second ahead of second-place Farias-Eisner.

“That was phenomenal,” Corona del Mar Coach Bill Sumner said of

St. Geme winning two titles. “Now people are saying she is one of

[the elite]. She has now established herself as one of, if not the

greatest runner ever at Corona del Mar. She is definitely right up

there with Liz Morse and Julie Allen.”

St. Geme has also been instrumental in May’s progress this season.

The two have been pushing each other, while St. Geme has also

provided advice. May, the fastest freshman in the state, was excited

to come in under five minutes.

Last year, St. Geme’s best in the 1,600 was 5:00.10.

“I’m so incredibly tired,” May said after the 1,600. “I’ve been

working to get under five. I beat [Kingma] last week and she beat

Annie last year, so I knew she would be coming hard in this race. I

just barely finished in front of her at the end of the race.”

May also finished with a personal record in the 800 in 2:17.47,

more than a second faster than her previous best, to grab third place

for the Sea Kings.

Morgan, who also starred for the Corona del Mar girls soccer team

this year, contributed to the Sea Kings’ third-place finish by taking

fourth in the 400. She finished in 57.90 and collected four points.

The CdM 400 relay team of Kinzie Kramer, Swigert, Whitney Weidner

and Alex Tobiessen finished fifth in 48.86, earning two points.

Freshman Tiffany Liu finished eighth in the long jump (16 feet, 5

3/4 inches).

Swigert led off the 1,600 relay, Claster followed, St. Geme ran

the third leg and Morgan anchored to finish in a season-best 3:57.33.

That was ninth overall. The top nine performances, regardless of

division, advanced to the Masters Meet.

Sumner was ecstatic with the 1,600 relay team’s performance, as

well as the Sea Kings’ third-place finish.

“That’s pretty surprising to me,” he said. “My money would have

been on Bishop Amat and Santa Margarita to finish ahead of us. I was

very pleased.”