Locals look for titles

Chris Yemma

After officially staking claim as Orange County’s best cross country

runner in the fall, Newport Harbor High’s Whitney Blue has a chance

today to officially become the county’s best 3,200-meter runner.

Blue, along with numerous other Newport-Mesa athletes, is

competing in today’s Orange County track and field championships at

Trabuco Hills High, where individual events and Orange County team

titles will be up for grabs.

Newport standouts Allison Stokke, Bo Taylor and Trevor Theriot

will be joining Blue in their respective events, while Annie St.

Geme, Hilary May and Melissa Swigert are headlining the Corona del

Mar girls, who are poised to win the county team title.

Zach Chandy and Laura Gordon are leading Sage Hill, and Kyla

Flores, Tony Krikorian and Tracy Bjelland will be leading Costa Mesa.

Blue, who finished seventh in the Arcadia invitational two-mile

race two weeks ago, beating out state champion cross country runner

Alma Escobar, of Corona, is considered a favorite in the 3,200 today.

Her times in the nearly two-mile event have been constantly dropping

as she prepares for the CIF postseason.

“We’re just looking for her to go out there and do the best she

can,” Newport Harbor Coach Eric Tweit said. “We’ll see how good she

can run today. It’s a big day for her and we’ll see how she

responds.”

Blue will also be running in the seeded 1,600, competing against

CdM’s St. Geme and May, two of the best milers in the state who will

be leading CdM’s charge for a team title.

St. Geme and May, along with teammates Melissa Swigert and Allison

Damon, composed the record-breaking distance medley relay team at

Arcadia that notched the current fastest time in the nation and third

fastest in state history. St. Geme, May, Damon and Sarah Cummings

teamed together in the four-mile relay event at the Mt. San Antonio

College relays April 15 and broke another meet record while also

clocking the nation’s fastest time this season and sixth fastest

ever.

St. Geme anchored both relays and is considered a heavy favorite

in today’s 1,600, scheduled for 11:20 a.m., although Corona del Mar

Coach Bill Sumner said he doesn’t want to push her too hard and risk

injury before the CIF postseason.

St. Geme was ailed with plantar fasciitis, an inflammatory

condition that causes intense pain in the heel, during the end of

last year’s track season and beginning of cross country season this

past fall.

“We’ll take a shot, but we have to watch ourselves,” said Sumner,

referring to all of his athletes. St. Geme will also be running in

the 1,600 relay and the 800, along with May. Both could go 1-2 in the

800.

Both CdM’s Damon and Cummings will be running in the 3,200 along

with Blue.

Newport’s Stokke is also considered a heavy favorite in her event

-- the pole vault. The sophomore phenom vaulted 13 feet, 5 3/4

inches at the Surf City invitational earlier this year for a national

outdoor sophomore record. She narrowly missed her mark at Arcadia in

the windy conditions, and is currently eyeing the national high

school outdoor record of 13-8 1/2 set in 2003.

Stokke, the defending state champion, will be competing against

three of the top vaulters in the state in Huntington Beach’s Lyndly

Tamura and Edison’s duo of Tori Pena and Kelly MacLean, all who have

cleared 12-1 or higher.

On the Newport boys side, Taylor and Theriot will likely do the

most damage, both in the throwing events. Taylor currently holds the

10th best shot put throw in the state, according to listings by

DyeStatCal, at 56-3 he marked in a dual meet March 31. Theriot’s 54-6

3/4 is currently 20th in the state. Taylor also holds the 10th best

state throw in the discus (177-4).

Sage Hill’s Chandy will be in the thick of the sprints, competing

in the 100, 200 and 400. The times he clocked in the 200 and 400 at

Arcadia are currently the county’s third best behind Esperanza’s Wes

Williams and Edison’s Joe Turner, according to DyeStatCal.

Other Newport-Mesa athletes include CdM’s Alex Tobiessen, Justin

Turbow, Andrew Wong, Bryce Beshore, Avery Fenton, Brian Licorish,

Tiffany Liu, Kelly Morgan, Cliff Taylor, Taiki Sakai, Kirk Moses and

Max Prescott; Newport’s Jessica Robson, Keith Eldridge, Megan

Randall, Lauren Cohen, Jackie Belida, Ciara Lawrence, Lauren Celek

and Jennifer Ryder; Costa Mesa’s Rachel Ronquillo, Ana Rodriguez and

Randy Fea; and Sage’s Kelsey Rose and Mike Voge.