2007 CIF State Track & Field finals:Foley runs to 7th-place finish at State

Meghan Foley and Hilary Hayes didn’t know that they’d be involved in jostling matches Friday.

The Edison High sophomores both endured physical races at the 2007 CIF State Track & Field finals at Sacramento City College to earn high marks and valuable experience in their first trip to the event.

A third local athlete, Huntington Beach High’s Chrissy Van Doornum, also competed Friday and came up with a personal best in the girls’ pole vault.

Foley emerged with a second-place finish in the girls’ 800-meters race Friday to secure a berth in Saturday’s finals. She went on to an overall finish of seventh-place with a time Saturday of 2:12.38.

Foley had qualified for the State meet after setting a school record time (2:11) in the girls’ 800-meters at the CIF-Southern Section Maters meet on May 26.

She broke a school record that had been set in 1992 by Shelly Taylor.

Hayes, meanwhile, qualified for the State meet in the 1,600 but didn’t advance out of Friday’s prelims.

“Both Megan and Hilary endured very aggressive, competitive races,” Edison girls’ coach Chris Shield said. “They were jostled around but I was really proud of the way both stood their ground. Neither of them had been involved in a race that physical before.”

Van Doornum, a senior, placed 11th, overall, in the girls’ pole vault. The Sea View League champion and CIF-SS Division II runner-up in the vault, she cleared her third attempt at 11-feet-9 which was a personal best.

“I was excited to clear 11-9 but wanted to make finals and get a shot at 12-3,” said Van Doornum, who was making her first trip to the State meet. “It was fun to watch everybody else compete and it was a great experience.”

Van Doornum will compete in track and field next year at the University of Hawaii.

“I am so proud of her and I wish her the best years at Hawaii,” Huntington girls’ coach Kim Clarke said. “I am very stoked that she has chosen to stick with track and field, even though she is so talented in two other sports.”