Lady Warriors Battle the Best at WCAL Championship

Karen Mac in the 800 meters

St. Francis High School, Mountain View - There were thrills and agonies for the Warriors in the WCAL Track & Field Championships; in the end 52 season best marks were made from the 39 athletes competing in the WCAL Championship meet.

For the Lady Warriors it was a huge breakthrough in the 4 x 100 relay as they burst out into an early lead that was not surrendered until it was decided in a photo finish.  Their time of 49.72 ranks them seventh all-time in school history and propels them up the section rankings into the top 10. 

Lydia Sum has been a major contributor to the team all season and the Championships were no different.  She broke her own school record in the triple jump at the trails with a wind legal mark of 36’ 8.5.”  She came back just days later to finish second.  She was bust jumping from one event to the next.  In between jumps she finished third in the 300 meter hurdles and seventh in the long jump.

Shelby Smallwood has been another consistent contributor to the team’s success this season.  Smallwood ran a stellar leg on the 4 x 100 meter relay, finished second in the 100 and third in the 200.  Joining her in the 100 and 200 final was Mary Ellen Bradley.  A senior in just her second year of track and field she was firing on all cylinders in the trials running two personal bests on the day.  Her time of 12.71 in the 100 meters puts her seventh all-time for the Warriors while her 26.72 ranks her tenth.

Jessica Xu in the 1600 meters

Ashley Lara has made her mark in the cross country record books and now in the track records as well.  In her first year on the track the sophomore has come on strong despite a late start due to a leg injury.  Lara ran a strong 800 meter race to finish third in the 800 meters in 2:22.75.  Her mark places her seventh on the Warriors all-time list ahead of Emily Blaha, Morgan Lira and Jenifer Bergman.  Lara has the unfortunate distinction as the fastest non-qualifying time from any league this season.

Taylor Johnson had quite the week of her own.  A key member in the CCS Qualifying 4 x 100 relay the freshman had a breakthrough in the long jump hitting a mark of 16’2” to qualify for the finals where she finished in eigth.  She also hit a personal best in the triple jump (32’4.5”) and had a marvelous run in the 200 meters running 26.79.  

Much of the team’s standing this season has been powered by a dynamic group of athletes in the field events.  Ronna Stone and Elena Bruckner have led that charge.  Dubbed the “dynamic duo” of the Warriors throws Stone and Bruckner have competed and made their mark all season long at big meets such as the CCS Top 8 Invitational.  The WCAL was no different with Stone throwing 37’0” for third hitting the CCS Automatic qualifying mark.  Bruckner, who was just inches from the automatic qualifying mark finished fourth with a personal best 36’2.”  Her mark ties Ronna Stone’s freshman record set last year at the WCAL Championship.  Also in the throws was senior Kristin Uda, who had a breakthrough of her own throwing a personal best 31’6” to get to the finals.  Teanni Roberts is another blossoming young talent.  Her mark of 98’9” made her the Junior Varsity discus champion and is the furthest for the Warriors this spring.

Nicole Favre is on her mark in the 400 meters

Elaine Ma and Robriana Johnson have been huge contributors this season in the field events and they came through again in the championship.  Ma finished fourth in the high jump and fifth in the long jump while Johnson finished sixth in the high jump and seventh in the triple jump.  After easily hitting the CCS auto qualifying mark in the trials she fell just inches short in the triple jump.

The Lady Warriors finished fourth in the team standings qualifying three individuals and the 4 x 100 meter relay team to the CCS Championship.  They move on to compete in the CCS Semi-Finals Saturday at Gilroy High School starting at 10 am.

Additional Meet Highlights:

• Kellianne Connolly has had four years of plateaus and breakthroughs.  She ended her high school career with the later shattering her personal best by nearly 30 seconds to finish in 12:25.10, a time that currently stands as #10 all-time for the Warriors!
• It was a solid showing in for the Junior Varsity girls as Sonjali Padalkar finished second in the 100 meters and helped the 4 x 100 meter relay team finish with a season best time in fourth.
• Rebekah Bruckner ran a personal best 51.60 to finish second in the 300 hurdles
• Scoring for the Warriors in the 400 meters was Nicole Favre who ran a personal best 65.49.  Another personal best and sixth place finish came from Karen Mac who ran the 800 in the time of 2:34.40

For Full Results: CLICK HERE