Van Dyke measures up to competition at Div. 1 prelims
MISSION VIEJO - Entering the beginning of CIF competition, Marina senior Sara Van Dyke was well aware of the talented competition that awaited her in the 800.
After her stellar performance Saturday, her competitors now know that she too is a talented runner capable of strong performances when it matters most.
Van Dyke produced a seasonal best 2:11.32 to finish with the second best overall time of the meet at the CIF-SS Division 1 preliminaries at Trabuco Hills High.
"My goal was today was to go out hard,” Van Dyke said. “I’ve heard all the names of the girls that I raced against hundreds of times. I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself and just try to keep things positive, do my best, and have fun.”
El Toro senior Hanna Edwards (2:11.43) won her individual heat and had the third fastest overall time of the meet.
“I’m glad that I won and I know I have to step it up for next week,” Edwards said.
Tesoro senior Nicci Corbin produced a seasonal best 4:58.27 in the 1,600 to finish with the fourth fastest qualifying time of the day.
“I’ve been trying to break 5:00 and figured this (CIF) is the place to do it with all the competition,” Corbin said. “The adrenaline kicked in and it was exciting.”
Also advancing to next week’s finals was Trabuco Hills junior Cassandra Smith (5:01.37).
Trabuco Hills senior Brierra Winfrey produced a lifetime best of 56.00 to win her heat and finish with third best qualifying time of the meet.
“When I got to the last 100, I picked it up early than I usually do and just had to keep pushing,” Winfrey said.
Dana Hills senior Carissa Bricker (57.68) grabbed the last qualifying spot.
Dolphins senior and county 3200 leader Alaina Alvarez (10:40.96) finished with the second best time of the meet. Corbin (10:49.16) was fourth overall to advance to the finals.
Katella senior Pamela Makanesi had a seasonal best day in both throwing competitions. She was the top overall qualifier in the discus with of 138-8 and finished with the third best throw of the day in the shot put with a mark of 40-6½.
Trabuco Hills will have two triple jumpers in the finals, as Smith (37-4½) and junior Adrienne Liu (36-2¼) advanced. Dana Hills sophomore Brenna Barker (36-8) also qualified.
Capistrano Valley junior Gianna Lowery was the lone county qualifier in the 100, finishing with a time of 12.20.
The Cougars 400 relay team of Lowery, junior Holly Rieck, sophomore Katelyn Andress and junior Katy Hinman (47.83) advanced to the Divisional Finals by winning their heat of the competition in a county-leading time of 47.83, the fifth fastest of the meet.
Four county vaulters qualified for the finals. Los Alamitos senior Carissa Culver, Trabuco Hills senior Catalina Dunmeyer, and Dana Hills senior Kelly McCormick finished with clearances of 10-9 and were among a group of eight vaulters that tied for the top clearance of the day. El Toro junior Mikaela Morris cleared 10-3 to grab the final qualifying spot.
The Los Alamitos 1,600 relay team of seniors Alicia Keyworth, Cheyenne Perez, and juniors Lauren Yamada and Jamie Holcomb qualified for the finals by winning their heat in a time of 3:55.45, fifth best of the meet.
