Trading Mickey Mouse for Masters
Accomplishments: Paige Sefried is enjoying the final ride of her Lodi High track and field career.
In addition, more Flame teammates will join Sefried as they embark on their destination. Competing at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters at Davis High on May 18, Sefried, a senior, took third place in the girls’ 400-meter race with a time of 57.25 seconds. This is one of two events she placed at the meet.
Sefried and the rest of the runners in the event ran during a light to moderate rain storm. Davis has an allweather track, but there was consistent rain that hit the Sacramento region most of that afternoon.
“I think just the conditions there was real difficult,” said Sefried, “but I knew I had to be in the top three in order to move on. That was pushing me.”
Sefried was motivated. Knowing a top three finish in the event — the top three in running and field events earn a berth to the California Interscholastic Federation Track and Field Championships this weekend – was in the back of her mind prior and during the race. As rain has hit the region off and on in recent months, Sefried has adjusted to anything Mother Nature has thrown into the area.
“I’m used to it by now,” Sefried said.
The 400 was the first event Sefried earned a CIF State berth. The second came in running the last leg of the girls 4x400 relay team, which took second place with a time of 3 minutes, 59.75 seconds.
In that race, Lodi trailed half of the teams that included winner Sheldon of Sacramento and Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills, which took third place. After taking the baton from Jackie Westerterp, another senior, Sefried kicked her speed into another gear. That led to a neck-and-neck finish with Shimona Draper, who was
running the last leg for Oak Ridge. The Trojans finished at 3:59.92.
Sefried, who has been part of the relay team the last four years, plus Brooke Aberle, Westerterp and junior Amelia Ellison have raced against the Sheldon and Oak Ridge teams at the Meet of Champions at American River College in Sacramento earlier this season. Oak Ridge had beaten Lodi at that invitational.
“Sheldon has always been one of the top teams,” Sefried said. “Beating (Oak Ridge) was a surprise.”
Ellison runs the first leg, followed by Aberle, Westerterp and Sefried. The alternates are senior Lyneth Alacar and freshman Ashlyn Jory.
Perfecting handoffs of the baton was key in the Flames’ practices last week, Sefried noted. They have been working hard in practices that date back to the Tri-City Athletic League trials and finals that were held at Tokay High’s Hubbard Field earlier this month.
Sefried feels there’s a sisterhood among the six of them.
“We’ve just progressively got better,” said Sefried of her relay teammates. “Everybody had just run their hardest and now we’re moving on. Everybody came prepared and ready. It’s pretty exciting.”
Sefried and her relay teammates, plus Samuel Wright, who won the section title in the boys pole vault, and Emily DuBois, who captured the title in the girls high jump at the Masters, to the CIF State Meet at Veterans Memorial Stadium on the Buchanan High campus in Clovis. The trials will be held Friday and finals on Saturday for all running and field events.
In 2018, Sefried advanced to the CIF State meet in the 400. She won her heat in the trials but took 15th place in the finals, clocked at 57.08. The top nine earned state medals.
Sefried admitted, at that time of last year’s state meet, she was a little intimidated of running against Southern California runners of whom have dominated most running events at the state meet this decade.
“Last year I was so close to move up,” Sefried said. “They (Southern California) have always had a large group come through and try to dominate. But running with them I realized that they are just like me; I have just as much of a shot as they do.”
But this year is different for Flame runner.
“I know this year I’m going to go into it with more of a strategy in terms of how I’m going to run my race,” Sefried said. “
The return trip to the CIF State meet is worth it for Sefried, plus Aberle, Westerterp, DuBois and Wright. That is because they wanted to compete at the Masters instead of going on the senior class trip to Disneyland.
“I think we were all sad that we couldn’t go,” said Sefried of the popular high school senior class trip. “But after this past weekend, I think this is way better than any Disneyland trip.”