Hauser-Price Repeats as Champion

Patience might not seem like a virtue when competing in events where explosiveness and lightning-fast reactions are essential. But that quality has served sprinter Sierra Hauser-Price well during her four seasons at Notre Dame High.

Hauser-Price, who has signed with Michigan, usually takes her competitive lumps during the early part of the track season after finishing basketball in late February or early March.

She doesn’t let those losses get her down, however, always running her best times at the end of the season, when she rounds into shape.

That happened again in the Southern Section divisional championships at Cerritos College on Saturday when Hauser-Price won the Division III 100 and 200 meters for the third consecutive year.

“I feel great,” Hauser-Price said. “I came in here to defend my Division III titles and run season bests and I did that. I got a career best in the 100 and a season best in the 200, so I did exactly what I wanted to.”

Hauser-Price ran 11.73 in the 100 to lower her previous best of 11.81 in 1999 and move to seventh on the all-time region performer list.

Her 200 time of 24.11 lowered her season best of 24.48 and was only .12 seconds off her career best of 23.99 from 1998.

In addition, Hauser-Price ran on a 400 relay team that finished second in a season-best 48.04 and a 56.8 anchor leg on a 1,600 relay team that placed first in a season-best 3:54.87.

Notre Dame totaled 46 points to finish third in the team standings.

Corona del Mar had 52 points to win its second consecutive title and Muir was second with 51.

Senior Anita Siraki of Hoover, sophomore Allyson Felix of L.A. Baptist and senior Caroline Sommers of Agoura also defended individual titles.

A third-place time of 2:14.09 in the 800 derailed Siraki’s bid to become the first girl to win the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at the Division I level, but she ran 4:52.07 in the 1,600 and 10:27.15 in the 3,200 to win her third consecutive titles in those events.

Felix won her second consecutive titles in the Division IV 100 and 200 to lead L.A. Baptist to a second-place finish behind Pasadena Poly.

She ran a wind-aided 11.72 in the 100 and 24.06 in the 200. She also ran anchor legs on teams that won the 400 relay in a season-best 48.43 and the 1,600 relay in a season-best 3:59.01.

Sommers tied her career best of 5-8 in the high jump to win her second consecutive Division II title.

Senior Porchea Carroll of Rio Mesa led the Spartans to a second-place finish behind Gahr in the Division II meet.

She placed second in the 100 in 11.68, second in the long jump at 18-5 1/2 and third in the 200 in a wind-aided 24.44.