Running Became His Racket

Josh Yelsey is a runner trapped in a tennis player’s body, with long, heavy limbs better suited for attacking overheads than the efficient demands of competitive distance running.

But that hasn’t stopped Yelsey from emerging as the county’s top 1,600-meter runner this season, his best work coming over the last three weeks. Yelsey, a senior at Corona del Mar High, has ridden a succession of impressive performances to reach tonight’s state track and field preliminaries at Sacramento City College.

Yelsey is expected to be among the nine who qualify for Saturday’s finals. In addition to Yelsey, 22 athletes and two relay teams from Orange County schools qualified for the prelims.

Corona del Mar’s Julie Allen and Newport Harbor’s Amber Steen are the only athletes already guaranteed a spot in the finals, since there are no prelims in the 3,200.

Yelsey produced the second-fastest qualifying time for tonight’s race while finishing second a week ago at the Southern Section Masters meet in 4 minutes 14.62 seconds. In that race, Yelsey used his long, powerful stride to outkick Newport Harbor’s Chris McMillen at Cerritos College.

He came in second to Big Bear’s Ryan Hall, who won the race in a section-record 4:04.24 and figures to run away with the state title, as he did in the 3,200 last season.

Two weeks ago at the Division III section finals, Yelsey finished three seconds behind Hall in 4:14.54, the state’s third-fastest time this season.

Yelsey’s accomplishments last month also included Pacific Coast League titles in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, and he chipped 16 seconds off his lifetime best in the 3,200 at the section preliminaries, running 9:25.32 at Trabuco Hills.

Performances like these make it difficult to picture Yelsey at one time hitting groundstrokes alongside his younger sister, Anne, a sophomore at Corona del Mar and one of the top age-group girls’ tennis players in Southern California.

Yelsey also played junior tennis for a while, but had trouble sustaining his focus during matches.

“I didn’t have the concentration level needed to keep on playing,” Yelsey said. “I would get very down on myself.”

Yelsey decided to try cross-country his freshman year and fell in love with the sport. He finished seventh the last two seasons at the Division IV section finals and qualified for state.

On the track, Yelsey, whose personal best in the 1,600 is 4:20.77, is setting his goals higher at Sacramento. “I’d like to get down to 4:10 before the weekend is over,” he said.

In addition to Yelsey and McMillen, the county will be well represented in other running events.

Matt Bruno of Trabuco Hills and Denny Casupanan of Tustin, both juniors, are entered in two of four heats in the 100, with the winner of each heat and the next five fastest times advancing. Bruno has the fastest qualifying time in his heat.

Darryl Poston of Edison and Mario Bassani of Irvine, both seniors, are entered in two of three heats in the 200, with the winners and next six fastest advancing.

Bassani has the fastest qualifying time among the three heats in the 400 and is expected to set up a Saturday showdown with Jason Lovell of L.A. Cleveland, who had the state’s leading time until Bassani lowered it at Masters.

Tustin senior Alonso Smith will run in one of four heats in the 800 and will need to either win or record one of the next five fastest times to advance.

Edison junior Denny Flanagan is entered in the same heat in the 110 hurdles as defending state champion Christopher Morgan of Woodland Hills Taft, which means he’ll probably need to produce one of the next six fastest times to qualify.

Also looking to qualify will be the Santa Margarita boys’ 1,600 relay team, Tustin’s Alex Marbley and San Clemente’s Hunter Orahood in the high jump, and Fountain Valley’s B.J. Vandrovec, Katella’s David Giang and Edison’s Aaron Corbett in the pole vault.

The girls’ competition will also feature a number of county athletes, especially in the field events.

Woodbridge sophomore Michelle Sanford and Mission Viejo senior Dana Bethel are two of the leading qualifiers in the long jump. Sanford will also try to advance in the triple jump and Bethel in the 100 hurdles.

Steen will also attempt to double. She ran the nation’s fastest time in the 1,600 at Masters and has the third-fastest qualifying time for Saturday’s final in the 3,200.

Esperanza senior Maribeth Buch is entered in the 800 and teammate Julie Handy in the 300 hurdles, and both will also run a leg on the Aztecs’ 1,600 relay team.