Shanklin, Nuanes Are Key to Santa Margarita’s Narrow Victory

MISSION VIEJO — The Santa Margarita girls’ track and field team wrote themselves into elite company Saturday at the Orange County Championships.

The Eagles became one of only five teams to win the team title in the 15-year-old meet with a half-point victory over top-ranked Woodbridge.

Sophomore Amanda Shanklin and senior Katie Nuanes combined for 67 1/4 of the Eagles’ 78 points, as Santa Margarita turned back the Warriors, who edged them in a Sea View League dual meet two weeks ago.

“Those two girls were amazing,” Coach Dave Zeitler said. “But it was an entire team effort that got us to this point. We had a lot of girls come through down the stretch to hold them off.”

Hold off the Warriors the Eagles did, as Santa Margarita entered the meet’s final event, the 1,600-meter relay.

“It always comes down to the relay,” said Nuanes, who won the 800 (2:17.79), 1,600 (5:08.79) and 3,200 (11:10.32) before anchoring the Eagles to a fourth-place finish in the 1,600 relay (4:02.44). “I’m too tired to show it right now, but I’m really happy.”

Shanklin, the field event athlete of the meet, also was pleased, as she won the triple jump in a county-best 37 feet 2 1/2 inches.

Shanklin also won the 300 intermediate hurdles (46.10) and took second in the long jump (16-10 3/4) and 100 low hurdles (14.3 wind-aided).

“I’m very happy,” Shanklin said. “I was really excited about the triple jump because I’ve never broken 37 feet before.”

Woodbridge managed to stay close because of sprinters Jackie Dix, Meryl Stone and Alejandra Torres.

Dix won the 100 (12.04 wind-aided) and 200 (24.96 wind-aided), while Stone finished second (12.27) and third (25.12) in the same races. Torres posted a personal best in the 400 (57.39).

Notes

Mission Viejo junior Ashley Bethel helped the Diablos to a fourth-place team finish (51 points) behind Newport Harbor (55 1/2). . . . Bethel won the long jump (17-11) and 100-meter low hurdles (14.1 wind-aided) and finished second in the 200 (25.11) and high jump (5-2). . . . Sarah Higham of Mission Viejo won the pole vault with a 10-6 clearance, and Carrie Axton won the discus for Los Amigos (134-5). . . . M.E. Clayton of Newport Harbor finished second in the triple jump (36-11) and third in the long jump (16-9) and 100 low hurdles (15.3 wind-aided). . . . Suzanne Linn of Trabuco Hills won the shotput with a county-best effort of 40-11 1/4.