Foley, Hayes do not disappoint

The hard training Meghan Foley put in this past year paid off Saturday.

The Edison High junior worked her way into the finals of the girls’ 800-meter race at the 90th annual CIF State Track and Field Championships at Cerritos College and came away with a third-place finish.

Foley was one of three Edison athletes — Hillary Hayes in the girls’ 1,600 and Ryan Simioni in the boys’ pole vault were the others — to advance to Saturday’s finals in their respective events.

Marina’s Leon Roach also qualified for the state meet in the boys’ pole vault, but his effort of 14 feet in the prelims tied him for 14th, which wasn’t good enough to advance.

Foley was one of the top three runners at the halfway point of the girls’ 800 race, and she maintained her position for most of the final 400 meters and was one of the top contenders heading down the stretch run. She charged one final time and crossed the finish line in 2 minutes 10.82 seconds.

Anniya Lewis (2:10.29), a senior from Culver City, and Palo Alto senior Mia Lattanzi (2:10.32) took the top two spots, respectively.

Foley, the first to congratulate Lewis after the race, earned a spot in Saturday’s final by going 2:10.71 to place third in the third of three prelim heats Friday.

Her time was the seventh best among 26 athletes who performed at the prelims. Nine runners advanced to Saturday’s finals.

“I was extremely happy with my race,” Foley said of Saturday’s final. “I stayed within my game plan, which was to stay around second, third or fourth in the group and let someone else do the work early.

“When it came down to the final 200 meters, there were six people running straight across. It came down to the final kick, and I kicked hard and came up with a good finish.”

Last year, Foley placed seventh at state finals.

“I just missed medaling, so it felt really good to get up on the podium this time,” she said.

Hillary Hayes went 4:54.68 in the girls’ 1,600 during Friday’s prelims, good for an overall finish of eighth. On Saturday, Hayes, a junior, finished in eighth place by bettering her prelims time with time of 4:53.78.

Woodbridge senior Christine Babcock capped an incredible prep career by running away with her third-straight state title, doing so by setting a state record time at 4:33.82.

Simioni, who won the CIF Masters Meet title in the boys’ pole vault last week, came in sixth place in the prelims Friday by clearing 15 feet. At the finals, the senior also finished in sixth place at 15 feet.

Nico Weiler of Los Gatos (CIF Central Section) captured the state title for the second consecutive year. Weiler’s effort of 17-3 broke the state mark of 17-2 he set last year.