Day places fourth in finals

An hour before she turned 22, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo high jumper Sharon Day said she wasn’t too thrilled about Friday’s performance at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento.

After sitting out a year due to breaking her left foot, the former Costa Mesa High star cleared 6 feet, coming up four inches short of her personal-best of 6-4 set two years ago as a sophomore in winning the national crown.

Day finished in fourth place in her return in the high jump final at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium. A 6-4 mark would’ve challenged sophomore Destinee Hooker of Texas for the title as Hooker leaped 6-3 1/2 to win the title for the second straight year.

For a moment Day said she thought about how it could’ve been her winning a consecutive title instead of Hooker if it weren’t for the injury she suffered after her sophomore year in December 2005.

“I try not to dwell on it,” said Day in a phone interview. “I just wanted to jump higher. My personal best this year was 6 feet, ¾ inches, and I couldn’t make that.”

Hooker edged out senior Miruna Mataoanu of Alabama, who made the same mark, but Hooker had zero misses against Mataoanu’s two.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo junior Sharon Day, a former Costa Mesa High star, finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento Friday.

UC Irvine sophomore Lauren Collins finished 14th in the heptathlon that concluded Friday. She totaled 5,505 points in the 25-athlete competition.

Collins’ marks Friday were 18 feet, 1 1/2 inches in the long jump, 115-10 in the javelin throw and 2 minutes, 17.99 seconds in the 800 meters.

Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson defended her heptathlon title with 5,984 points.

UC Irvine junior Julian Eison competed in the men’s high jump finals for the first time Friday but did not clear the opening height of 6-10 3/4 and was eliminated. Scott Sellers from Kansas State won the event at 7-7 1/4 .

— From staff reports