With every varsity girl athlete on the Los Alamitos High School Girl’s Track & Field Team, who competed scoring at least one point to help the team win, they stepped out from the shadows of four-time champions Mater Dei and a strong Mission Viejo team to recently win their first Orange County Championship.
“This track season has been absolutely historic,” Coach Nathan Howard said. “We have set more school records and top 10 marks than ever before.”
The 4x100m relay team set the tone for the day with junior Ashley Willingham and seniors Anijah Green, Kenna Limp and Sara Limp delivering the baton flawlessly and dropping their school record time by nearly one second to secure victory and the third fastest time in meet history.
In the 1600m, senior Katie Izzo lowered her school record by five seconds at 4:55.27 on the way to a second place finish. Willingham returned to the track for a solid performance in the 400m where she lowered her school record to 55.74, and produced the second fastest time in meet history.
Defending 100m OC Champion Sara Limp had her work cut out in the short sprints. In the 100m she placed second, however as the rain began to fall, she found her speed and surged to victory in the final 20 meters with only 0.08 separating the top three places. With Limp and Willingham finishing first and second in the 200m, the team scored vital points.
The team then received a boost in the field events with sophomore Kallie Given placing second in the high jump with a clearance of 5-5 and junior Alison Parsons taking sixth in the long jump.
As the weather conditions deteriorated, Izzo stepped into the 3200m and ran the distance for only the second time. Running solo in a gap between the leader and main chase pack for three quarters of the race, she lowered her week old school record by two seconds to 10:42.67 and, in placing second, which positioned the girl’s team for victory.
In the final event, seniors Sarah Pisani and Brianna Taylor joined Limp and Willingham in victory as they lowered their 4x400m time by nearly seven seconds to secure the Orange County Championship. For her efforts, Willingham was name “Sprinter/Hurdler Athlete of the Meet.”
For the boy’s track team, senior Andrew Carty charged into second place in the 400m. Junior Thomas Heib again demonstrated his finishing speed to finish second in the 800m as he out-sprinted a chase pack that had second thru fifth place all within one second.
In the final event of the day, with Dana Hills and Woodbridge in a close race for the Boy’s Team title, the Los Al Boys 4x400m relay of Manuel Gomez, Bryce Sullivan, Heib and Carty became the spoilers as Carty passed the Dana Hills team to place third in the relay and secure third overall for the Griffins while pushing Dana Hills into second place in the team standings.
Other Los Al top finishers at the Orange County Championships included:
· Boys Frosh/Soph 300m Hurdles: Jose Rubio – 1st Place
· Girls Frosh/Soph Shot Put: Faimalie Sale – 2nd Place
· Girls Frosh/Soph High Jump: Reilly McMahan – 2nd Place
The teams’ next meet will be the Sunset League Prelims at Huntington Beach High School on Friday, May 1 where the girls are looking to defend their title and the boys face a tight battle.
About The Los Alamitos High School Track Team
Additional information about the Los Alamitos High School Track and Field program including 2015 Schedule,
News and School Performance Lists can be found at www.losaltrack.com.
