Locals begin quest

Chris Yemma

The quest for the CIF Southern Section track and field championships

begins today, with one Newport-Mesa team and several individual

athletes poised to win titles.

Topping the team list are the Corona del Mar High girls, who begin

competition in the Division III preliminaries today at Gahr High.

Joining CdM will be Costa Mesa and Estancia, both boasting individual

athletes capable of going deep into the postseason.

Sage Hill is competing in the Division IV prelims today at

Carpinteria High, and Newport Harbor is in the Division II prelims

today at Moorpark High.

Corona del Mar, which grabbed its last Division III title in 2001

and finished third last season, is considered the favorite, having

finished third at the Orange County championships earlier this year.

The top two finishers -- Aliso Niguel and Kennedy -- are in Division

I.

The Sea Kings are led by junior Annie St. Geme, the defending

Southern Section champion in the 800 and 1,600. Last year’s

sixth-best 1,600 runner in the state, St. Geme is coming off of

Pacific Coast League titles in both events, plus the 3,200.

Newport Harbor previously boasted one of the best pole vaulters in

the nation, but defending state champion Allison Stokke suffered a

season-ending injury Monday, ending her bid for four straight state

titles.

Newport’s top star status now lies with junior Whitney Blue,

Orange County’s best cross country and 3,200 runner. Bo Taylor,

Trevor Theriot and Kenny Rakestraw lead the Newport boys.

Costa Mesa is led by junior Jasmin Day, who recently wrapped up

her second straight Golden West League high jump title and her first

100 hurdles title. High jumping is something of a tradition in the

family, as Day’s sister, Sharon, is a former state champion in the

event. Father Eugene Day, Jasmin’s coach, also used to compete in the

high jump in college.

Bryce McKendry, Ernesto Castaneda and Ryan Whites are headlining

Estancia, which recently tied for the league title with Santa Ana.

McKendry, who finished second at the county championships, won league

titles in the high jump and long jump. Castaneda enters today’s

prelims with league crowns in the 1,600 and 3,200 and Whites

possesses titles in the 110 high hurdles and 300 hurdles.

Sage Hill will be represented by standouts Zach Chandy and Laura

Gordon. Chandy, the county’s best 400 sprinter, is fresh off league

titles in the 200, 400 and 800, while Gordon is also coming off of

three league titles.

Other Sage athletes competing today include Jimmy O’Hare, Chris

Lee, Mike Voge, Connor Rose, Tyler Ellis, Ian Lee, Chris Neal, Ian

Dull, Amy Werblin, Kelsey Rose, Amelia Fletcher, Rahel Blitzer,

Allison Ong, Erica Faris and Rachel Haber.