HUNTINGTON BEACH – Competition came in abundance at Huntington Beach on Saturday. Some county track and field athletes’ competitive juices were operating at their peak.
Mission Viejo sophomores Kennedy Gillian and Taylor Arco each had their own standout moments at the Beach Cities Invitational hosted by Marina.
Gillian had a banner day as she finished first in the 100 meters, running a wind-aided 12.24 seconds, which she followed with a wind-aided 25.08 in the 200.
She barely held off Los Alamitos’ Ashley Willingham, who ran a 25.11, in the 200. Willingham bested Gillian in the 400 earlier, so Gillian welcomed another chance at running against her and the other girls.
“It feels good. I was just thinking of it as they’re (the other girls) just pushing me, making my times go down, too,” Gillian said.
Willingham ran a 56.69 in the 400, which was a meet record and the best mark in the county this season.
“It was pretty intense, I was really so scared,” Willingham said. “Like, ‘OK. I have to do this.’ It’s pretty awesome, I was so happy when I crossed the finish line.”
Arco finished sixth behind Willingham in that race, but responded with an exceptional performance in the 800.
She ran a 2:15.54 to take the crown in the race and give herself the second-best county mark in the event this season.
“I didn’t really expect it,” Arco said. “I just kind of did it because I was really happy with my time in the 400 … right when I hit 200 (meters) my body told me to go for it.”
Dana Hills’ Michaela King dominated the hurdles with times of 15.06 in the 100 and 44.81 in the 300.
On the boys side, Edison’s AJ Beynon proved his versatility by winning the high jump with a clearance of 6 feet, 6 inches. He also ran a 39.21 to win the 300-meter hurdles.
Contact the writer: amorales@ocregister.com
