Newport Harbor’s Natalie McCarty sets county record in 300-meter hurdles
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Newport Harbor’s Natalie McCarty had a storybook ending to a standout high school track and field career, the senior staking claim to the Orange County record in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles in her final race as a Sailor.
McCarty clocked in at 41.74 seconds, placing third in the race in the CIF State track and field championships at Clovis Buchanan High on Saturday, May 30.
The Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo commit dropped under 42 seconds for the first time in her career, bettering the previous county record of 41.86 seconds, which was set by Segerstrom’s Nyree Brown in the Southern Section Division 1 final in 2018.
Her performance also pushed her past Emma Kratzberg for the Newport Harbor school record. When Kratzberg ran 41.95 seconds in the event at the Southern Section Masters Meet in 2016, it also became the county standard, surpassing a former teammate in Hope Bender, who posted a time of 42.18 seconds in the state prelims the previous year.
“Watching her felt like watching a raw talent with this infinite well of potential, so as a coach, she made you want to be your best simply so you could try to bring out the absolute best in her,” Newport Harbor coach Haley Bates said. “We knew this performance at state was a long time coming and something she was fully capable of, even after being out almost eight months with her foot injury and surgery.
“So to watch it be able to come to fruition at her last race made me so happy for her. The last thing I told her before her race was, ‘Go do it for you,’ because that is what she deserved, and I would like to think that’s exactly what happened and why it came together in that manner.”
Fountain Valley’s Viet Le, an Army West Point commit, also rode a personal-best height clearance of 15 feet, 8 inches to a share of the school record in boys’ pole vault. He placed seventh at state.
Le, who matched Blake Mason’s mark established in the Sunset League finals in 2008, rose to the occasion in the postseason, clearing his previous career-best bar of 15-6 twice — in the Masters Meet and the state preliminaries — before authoring a new personal record to close out his time as a Baron.
Corona del Mar senior Colton Eggleston posted a long jump mark of 22-5 in the preliminary stage to reach the finals of the state meet. He did not medal after finishing 12th with a mark of 21-6½ in the finals.
