Allen Dazzles; Sea Kings Win Another Crown

Corona del Mar junior Julie Allen won two events and finished second in another Saturday, helping the Sea Kings defend their Southern Section Division III team title at Cerritos College.

Corona del Mar exchanged leads throughout the day with Pasadena Muir, moving ahead for good, 52-51, when Allison Brawner finished fourth in the high jump and Muir’s Glenda Anderson finished fifth. Both cleared 5 feet 4, but Brawner had the advantage because Anderson needed a third attempt to clear 5-0.

With just the pole vault remaining, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame had the only chance of catching Corona del Mar, but its vaulter, senior Claire Parker, left early to attend her prom. Notre Dame finished third with 46 points.

“My hair is still falling out,” Corona del Mar Coach Bill Sumner said. “We kept going back and forth with Muir, so I finally gave my score sheet to my assistant and said, ‘You figure it out.’ ”

Allen won the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes 58.30 seconds and the 3,200 in 10:43.28, both personal bests, and finished second in the 800 in 2:18.12. Corona del Mar senior Diana Hossfeld took second in the 1,600 in 5:00.27 and teammate Jenny Cummins was third in the 800 in 2:18.38. Jaycee Mahler also took third for the Sea Kings in the 300 hurdles in 46.13.

Top individual honors belonged to Woodbridge sophomore Michelle Sanford and Newport Harbor senior Amber Steen.

Sanford defended her Division II long jump title with a leap of 19-6 3/4 and later won the triple jump with a mark of 40-4 1/4. Sanford also finished fourth in the 100 in 12.28 and anchored the Warriors to a fourth-place finish in the 400 relay (48.86). Woodbridge finished third in the team standings, one point ahead of Mater Dei.

Steen won the 1,600 in Division II in 4:47.72 and the 3,200 in 10:33.07, giving her five section titles in the last two years in cross-country and track.

“Both races were kind of cruising speed,” Steen said. “I could have gone faster in the mile, but why?”

Mater Dei freshman Elizabeth Woepse also won a section title, clearing 11-6 in the Division II pole vault.

Mission Viejo senior Dana Bethel defended her Division I long jump title with leap of 19-3, then came back to finish second in the 100 hurdles in 14.08.

St. Margaret’s junior Jocelyn Parkinson won the Division IV 300 hurdles in 45.15, giving the Tartans their second Southern Section title in school history. Chris Ostoich won the first about an hour earlier in the boys’ pole vault. Parkinson, who was fast enough to advance to the Southern Section Masters meet Friday, also finished third in the 100 hurdles in 15.61.

San Clemente’s Marquita Taylor finished seventh in the 100 and 200, nearly breaking county records in both races, but not running quite fast enough to qualify for Masters.

Her time of 11.93 in the 100 would have been fast enough to break the record of 11.99 set by Jackie Dix of Woodbridge in 1997, but a 4.4 meter-per-second wind reading was well beyond the legal limit. Taylor’s time still equals the fourth-fastest wind-aided time in county history.

Taylor’s time of 24.37 in the 200 would have equaled the county record in the 200, but the wind was calculated at 2.1 meters per second, 0.1 more than the legal allowance. Her time was third-fastest on the all-time county list for wind-aided times.

Esperanza senior Maribeth Buche finished second in the 800 in Division I, taking the lead from Long Beach Wilson’s Ashley Freeman in the final backstretch, but than losing it in the homestretch. Buche finished in 2.12.80, just .09 behind Freeman.

Erin Streater of Villa Park finished second in the Division II shotput at 38-2. Katella’s Cortney Stafford, who defeated Sanford in the triple jump at this meet last season, was third (38-0.25).

Mater Dei freshman Kristen Kovacich finished second in the 800 in 2:14.18, just behind another freshman, Alysia Johnson of Canyon Country Canyon (2:12.98).

Edison’s Rachael Ziemann finished second in the high jump after missing her first try at 5-8 and Agoura’s Carolyn Sommer made hers.