Prep Track and Field : Rio Mesa’s Burnham Stars at Mt. SAC With 3 Victories

Sprinter Angela Burnham of Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard won three events in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays Saturday at Walnut.

Burnham, who was last season’s national girls’ high school track athlete of the year, recorded national bests in the 100 meters (11.57 seconds) and the 400 meters (54.09). She also ran a leg on Rio Mesa’s winning 800-meter relay team.

So far, it has been an eventful month for Burnham.

On April 8, she ran four events at the Arcadia Invitational. Four days later, she announced her intention to attend UCLA. And in between, she has competed in Rio Mesa’s weekly dual meets.

“I am so glad that I get to take a rest now,” said Burnham, who also anchored Rio Mesa’s third-place finish in the 400-meter relay team. Burnham opened Saturday’s meet with a 10-meter victory in the 100 meters.

“I did not feel all together for that race, but I usually run faster when I feel like that,” said Burnham, whose career best is 11.28, set last season.

An hour and a half later, Burnham set a career-best in the 400 meters, her most impressive race of the meet.

Burnham had to come from behind to defeat Cheryl Allen of Edmonton, Canada by five meters, despite running in an outside lane.

“I felt a lot better in the 400,” Burnham said. “I just ran and tried to hold onto everyone and not tense up.

Burnham finished her day with the 800-meter relay. She opened a 15-meter lead in the second leg, and her teammates, Shannon Wiebelhaus and Danielle Tanner, held on to win.

Prep Track Notes

Hawthorne High School’s boys relay teams also had an outstanding meet, winning the 400, 800 and the 1,600-meter relays, along with the shuttle hurdle relay. USC-bound Curtis Conway anchored the three sprint relays.

Angela Rolfe of L.A. Dorsey, the defending 400-meter state champion, won an unseeded 400-meter race in a time of 54.39, the nation’s second-fastest time this season.

William Henry of Arroyo Grande was a double winner, in winning the 110-meter high hurdles and 300-meter low hurdles.

Sophomore Julianna Yendork of Walnut was named girls’ field athlete of the meet for winning the triple jump with a wind-aided leap of 41-1 1/4 Friday. Angela Burnham was named the girls’ track athlete of the meet.

The boys’ field athlete of the meet was Brent Noon of Fallbrook, who won the shotput with a put of 66-3 1/2. David Walshe of Sacramento Jesuit was named track athlete of the meet, for setting a meet record in the 3,000 Friday with a time of 8:23.11.