Malone’s Comeback Appears Complete

It’s official: Malinda Malone is back.

Any doubts about her ability to run a high-quality 400 meters were erased Saturday, when the Cal State Northridge freshman ran 53.88 to place second in a track and field meet against Nebraska and host UCLA.

Malone ran 55.44 to place second in the 400 in the 1998 City Section championships as a Cleveland High sophomore, but that remained her career best until Saturday. She moved to second on the all-time Northridge performer list.

“It’s very exciting for me,” Malone said. “I’m just glad I’m running well again.”

Malone won the City title in the 400 as a freshman and placed second to Jayda Bailey of Taft as a sophomore. But she didn’t run as a junior after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during the first basketball game of the season.

She ran last year, but her season best of 57.84 was well off her career best.

With her confidence at an all-time low and her fall workouts going poorly, she considered giving up track in October.

“She came into my office with this ‘I don’t know if I want to do this kind of thing anymore’ attitude,” Northridge assistant Jeff McAuley said. “I told her that if she didn’t want to do it, she shouldn’t. I told her there was a whole university here that could offer her all sorts of things to apply herself in.”

Malone decided to stick with track and it proved a wise decision.

She won the 55-meter dash in 7.09 and the 200 in 24.43 in the Big Sky Conference indoor championships in February and ran a hand-timed 52.9 on a leg of the 1,600 relay in the Northridge Invitational on March 24.

Then came Saturday’s meet in which she approached the Northridge record of 53.65 set by Annetta Wells in 1999.

“I’m so glad that [McAuley] had me run the short sprints indoors,” Malone said. “It’s given me so much confidence for the 400.”