Track and field: Richmond qualifies No. 1 with a foot to spare

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Tara Richmond didn’t stop at qualifying No. 1 in the high jump. The Long Beach Poly sophomore was more than a foot better than her nearest competition in the triple jump at the Southern Section-Toyota Division I preliminaries at Trabuco Hills.

Richmond jumped 39 feet 2 inches to outdistance her Poly teammate, Melia Cox, a freshman who jumped 38-0 3/4.

The two youngsters were the only ones to go beyond 37-6, showing that Poly could dominate this division the rest of this decade.

Richmond had gone 39-9 3/4 at Arcadia this season, which is sixth in the state. Only one Southern Section athlete has gone farther, Marlborough’s Amanda Hunter, who triple-jumped 39-11.

-- Martin Henderson