Starting Quickly Pays Off for Neipp

It wasn’t the competitive masterpiece that Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks High and Li Jin of China put together in 1996.

And Andrea Neipp’s winning time of 9:28.25 for 3,000 meters didn’t rival the 9:15.89 that Mortensen and Li both clocked in tying for first last year.

But if you crave fast, runaway distance races, you would have loved Neipp’s performance Saturday in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays.

The Highland High senior surged to a 20-meter lead after the first lap and was never challenged in recording the fastest time in the nation this year.

She moved to fifth on the all-time state list and to third on the all-time region list.

“I went out way too fast,” said Neipp, who wanted to run the first lap in 72 seconds, but clocked 69.3. “When I came through in [69], I was like, ‘Andrea, what have you done?’ ”

The fast first lap led to a 4:58.4 split at 1,600 meters, well ahead of the 5:05 split she was shooting for.

“When I heard 4:58, I said, ‘Oh great,’ ” Neipp laughed.

Although her next three laps got progressively slower--76.3, 77.2 and 78.4--Neipp picked up the pace in the final 200 to finish in a time that has been bettered only by Mortensen and Vickie Cook of Alemany among area runners.

“I just got all excited,” said Neipp, explaining her quick early pace. “I felt great for the first [1,600]. But after that I started to feel it.”

The Brigham Young-bound Neipp was one of five individual winners from the region who combined to win six invitational events.

The others were Alemany sprinter Miguel Fletcher, Hoover pole vaulter Bridget Pearson, Chaminade high jumper Liz Giltner and Quartz Hill hurdler Michelle Perry.

Fletcher came from behind to defeat fellow junior Justin Fargas of Notre Dame in the 100, finishing in 10.68 compared to 10.84 for Fargas. Fletcher led every step of the 200 to win in a wind-aided 21.70.

“I don’t care about my time,” Fletcher said after winning his second consecutive Mt. SAC title in the 200. “I just wanted to work on my quickness. The straightaway will take care of itself, so I just wanted to work the turn.”

Pearson, a sophomore who placed second in the girls’ pole vault in the state championships last year, cleared 11-6 to win the event after finishing second with a disappointing 10-6 in the Arcadia Invitational on April 12.

“I wanted to vault well,” Pearson said. “I wanted people to see me vault high instead of hearing about it.”

Pearson cleared a region-record of 11-9 3/4 during the open portion of a college meet at UCLA on the day of the Arcadia Invitational, but she was too fatigued to approach that height that night.

Giltner, the defending state champion in the high jump, cleared 5-7 to win the event.

Mireya Corrals of Mexico cleared the same height, but she finished second because she cleared it on her second attempt and Arizona-bound Giltner made it on her first.

Perry, who upset defending state champion Nicole Hoxie of Riverside North to win the 100 high hurdles at Arcadia, won the event in a wind-aided 14.54 and won the seeded long jump with a leap of 18-5 1/2.

Perry didn’t run in the 300 hurdles because meet officials said she wasn’t fast enough, Quartz Hill Coach Sharon Deshane said.

Perry’s absence denied spectators of a race between Perry and defending City Section champion Frances Santin of Taft.

The UCLA-bound Perry had edged Santin in an invitational heat last year, but the Toreador junior easily won her heat Saturday.