San Diego Prep Review : Strachan Leaps Into Forefront After Coming Back From Injury

Last April at Santana High, Nichelle Strachan was having the kind of track and field meet that many would envy.

Strachan, a senior from Mount Miguel, had broken the school record in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 4 inches, which still is a San Diego County best this season by six inches. She got a good start, as she usually does, in the 220 and had a sizable lead.

But as she entered the turn, she felt a pull in her right hamstring. Somehow, she managed to finish the race with a school record of 25.7 seconds.

“I felt the pull but I couldn’t stop,” Strachan said. “I was going for (the record). So I just kept running.”

Strachan didn’t compete in the long jump or the 220 or her other specialty, the 100 meters, until the Grossmont League preliminaries May 13. The only race she competed in before then was the 400-meter relay at the Arcadia Invitational April 12. Strachan took the baton for the anchor leg but could run only 10 yards.

“We told her not to,” teammate Jackie Anderson said. “But she had to go and run, and she got hurt again.”

Although she didn’t expect to be, Strachan was near her previous form Saturday at the CIF San Diego Section preliminaries at Mount Carmel. Strachan was the top qualifier for Thursday’s finals in her three specialties.

First, Strachan jumped 18-10 in the long jump, her best in what Strachan calls her “second season.” A few minutes later she ran 12.25 in the 100, the county’s second fastest behind teammate Ashley Rhodes, who is now ineligible. Finally, Strachan won the second heat of the 200 meters with a time of 25.24, tying her for the county lead with LaFrania West of Grossmont, who ran the same mark Saturday in the third heat.

Before the meet, Strachan thought that the only thing she had to look forward to Saturday was the prom that night.

“When I was in the blocks,” Strachan said, “I was thinking, ‘You’re not going to win, so don’t think about it and just go out and run.’ I just wanted to go all out and go for it and see what happens.

“My leg is still weak. It’s totally healed, but it’s not as strong as it was. It’s like starting over again. I’ve still got a ways to go to get back in shape, but it’s getting better.”

And if everything goes as it did Saturday, Strachan could wind up with three section titles and a trip to the state meet June 6-7 at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

That’s something any track athlete would envy.

Disappointing afternoon--Matt Farmer qualified for two events Saturday at the section preliminaries, the high jump and the long jump. He set the Monte Vista school record in the long jump with a leap of 22-9. But Farmer was very upset after the meet.

The reason: he did not qualify in his favorite event, the triple jump.

Farmer has been the county leader in the triple jump all season, after he leaped 46-6 at the Poway-Pepsi Invitational April 5. But Saturday, Farmer fouled on all three attempts.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “My mind wasn’t on it. I never thought about prelims as a major meet. I guess that was a mistake.”

Farmer said he missed the board on his first two jumps by more than eight or nine inches. On his third attempt, Farmer said he moved his approach distance back five feet to make sure he’d be on the right side of the board.

Still, he missed it by two inches.

Some speculated that Farmer should have taken it easy on his second attempt after fouling on the first to make sure that he qualified. Farmer said it wasn’t that easy.

“I knew I had to jump 44-5 to qualify,” he said. “With me it’s all or nothing. It’s not easy for me to jump 44-5. I have to either jump hard or not at all.”

Farmer had been in a slump after jumping 46-6. But he had been improving during the last few weeks, and jumped 45-11 to win the Grossmont League title last week. That added to his disappointment Saturday.

“I thought I was in shape to jump 47 feet (Saturday),” Farmer said. “Things had really been coming together the last few weeks. I had cramps in both calves . . . and that hurt my approach. It was a mess. But I have no excuses. I didn’t come through when the pressure was on.

“It kinda hurt to see your whole season go down the drain like that. Everything I worked for all season down the drain. It hurts.”

Farmer found little solace Saturday, but Sunday he at least could take heart that he’ll have another chance to compete next year.

“I’m glad it happened this year and not during my senior year,” he said. “At least I can come back and prove myself next year.”

Disappointing week--One swing of the bat may keep Point Loma from reaching the 3-A finals and having a chance to win the section title.

The Pointers emerged as the leader in the competitive City Eastern League in midseason and are currently ranked fifth in the county. All Point Loma had to do was beat No. 10 Mira Mesa on Wednesday to wrap up the league title and the seeded berth in the playoffs that goes with it.

Mira Mesa had beaten Point Loma 1-0 in a pre-league tournament and 5-4 the first time they met in league play. But host Point Loma jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings Wednesday.

Then, with Mira Mesa trailing, 4-1, Mark Robert (pronounced roe-BEAR) hit a double with two men on in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 4-2 and scored the tying run on a triple by Mike Eicher.

In the top of the eighth, Robert delivered his fatal blow. Robert hit Chris Redding’s first pitch of the inning over the right-center field wall to put Mira Mesa ahead for good.

With the two runs batted in Wednesday, Robert finished the regular season with 36, the 10th-highest RBI total in section history. But the final one was the most important to the Pointers.

Because Mira Mesa twice defeated Point Loma in league, it was awarded the league’s No. 1 berth. Point Loma got the No. 2 berth.