SOUTHERN SECTION TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS : Pugmire’s Double Helps Carry Esperanza Girls to Title

There was no denying Courtney Pugmire at the Southern Section Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Veterans Stadium.

She wasn’t exactly sure it would happen. Her coaches were positive it would. Most importantly, she did everything and more in leading Esperanza to the Division II girls’ team title.

The junior opened the afternoon by winning the 1,600 meters, pulling away from Santa Barbara’s Mary Cobb to reach the line in 5 minutes 6.62 seconds.

Battling the heat and a fierce finishing kick by Santa Margarita freshman Katie Nuanes, Pugmire then turned in a superb encore in the 800, winning in 2:16.64, barely ahead of Nuanes (2:16.76).

“I didn’t think that I could do this today,” Pugmire said of her double victory. “I hoped for it and knew I could if I really worked hard today.”

Said Esperanza Coach Al Britt: “Her attitude is that ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes, because I want to win.’

“She is a real person on a mission this year.”

Pugmire, who last season narrowly missed advancing to the State meet by one spot in the 800, scored 20 individual points, and combined with 16 chipped in by teammate Kristy Kierulff, it was enough to propel the Aztecs to the team title they lost a year ago to Newport Harbor.

“I don’t think anything ever goes according to plan,” Britt said. “But without Pugmire and Kierulff, we would really be in trouble.”

Kierulff won the high jump (5 feet 8) and finished third in the long jump (18-3 1/4). She and Pugmire ran legs on the third-place 1,600 relay team that secured the victory for the Aztecs, who scored 50 points to edge Moreno Valley Canyon Springs (45).

The top nine overall times or marks from the four divisions advanced to Friday’s Masters meet at Cerritos College. The top five finishers there advance to the State meet.

Seniors Jaime Martinez of Orange and Carrie Garritson of Buena Park easily qualified in their 3,200 races.

Martinez pulled away from the Division II field in the last mile to post the second-fastest time of the day, a personal season-best 9:13.77. Palmdale junior Antonio Arce ran 9:13.30 to win the Division I title.

“I had a pretty good double today,” said Martinez, who also finished third in the 1,600 with a county-leading 4:14.01.

Garritson ran 11:00.12 to win the Division II girls’ race, running 5:33 for the opening mile and racing home in 5:27.

“I felt really good,” she said. “I wanted to try and run a little faster, though.”

Nowhere was Orange County’s talent depth more apparent than in the girls’ 800 Saturday. In addition to the Division II race between Pugmire and Nuanes, divisions I and III featured some of the county’s finest.

In Division I, Edison senior Julie Koudelka ran a blistering opening lap of 1:02 and held on to win in a county-leading 2:16.19.

“I don’t know why I went out so fast,” said Koudelka, the county champion. “I guess I was a little excited.”

Division III featured a duel between Laguna Hills’ Tiffany Boykin and Trabuco Hills’ Peggy Hall. The two juniors ran neck-and-neck through the 500 mark, but Boykin’s speed and strength allowed her to outrun Hall, 2:16.35 to 2:19.38.

Newport Harbor senior thrower Gina Heads advanced in the Division II shotput (a winning 42-9 3/4) and discus (second in 136-1).

Saddleback twin brothers Mel and Matt Lete kept their seasons alive, Mel finishing second in the Division II 300 intermediate hurdles (38.72), and Matt racing to a third-place spot in the 400 (48.83).

“I hit the first hurdle, and my steps were off at every hurdle the rest of the race,” Mel said.

The Foothill boys, led by senior pole vaulter John Bain, kept most of their team intact for another week. Bain outlasted the Division II field, winning with a season-best tying 14-6.

The Knights’ 1,600 relay, with Don Oliver running injured, still won in 3:20.80. Oliver, hampered by a hamstring injury since finishing second in the county 400 final in late April, ran a 48.2 split to give Ethan Taub a 20-meter lead heading into the anchor leg. Taub brought Foothill home in 49.3.

Taub’s individual effort for a return to the State meet was not as successful. After running boxed in behind several runners in the 800, Taub finally broke wide, but his kick fell short, and his 1:56.04 failed to advance him to the Masters.

Other highlights:

--Tustin junior Reggie Curry won the Division II triple jump title with a leap of 46-6.

--Woodbridge sprinter Gary Young finished second in the 100, running 10.70 into a slight head wind, then returned to finish second again in the 200 with a personal best 21.39, also into the wind. Bryan Howard of Canyon Springs won both, in 10.50 and 20.76, a Division II record.

--Corona del Mar’s Jason Boyce advanced in the Division II long jump (second in 22-9 1/4) and 100 (fourth in 11.04).

--Laguna Hills’ Jesse McDonald threw 164-7 to win the Division III discus and advance to the Masters.