MCCORMICK SETS SECTION RECORD IN 100H

But Scripps Ranch star takes second at Arcadia Invitational

Competition. Great athletes will tell you when they really want to do well, they need that added boost of going head-tohead with the best.

Scripps Ranch High’s Aliyah Mccormick lost her first 100-meter hurdle race of the season at the 54th Arcadia Invitational on Saturday night, but it was hard to tell.

It’s difficult to be down when:

1. You lower your own section record to 13.82 from the 13.85 you ran to win the Division II title a year ago.

2. The person who beat you, Jasmine Harmon, was from Westlake High in Georgia.

On a day when the San Diego Section went 2-3 in the boys high jump, losing to a Westlake High athlete from a different state, Mccormick was philosophical about her first setback and had no problem looking ahead to next week’s Mt. SAC Invitational and down the road to the State Championships in Clovis.

“That’s OK,” was how Mccormick reacted when asked about the loss to Harmon, who ran 13.78 as both of them ran into a 1.3-meter per second wind.

“I got a PR (personal record) and since I didn’t really have a goal coming into the race, setting the section record is good. I’m bringing it down every meet and I’m hoping to do that again next week at Mt. SAC. As for the wind, I’d rather do what I did than run some crazy fast time and find there was a 3-meter per second wind behind me, which would wipe out the mark.

“When I go to the starting line, I don’t think about the others or even what I want to do. I try to be peaceful. Getting the record is amazing, I’m blessed. I’m fortunate to have two others runner in the section to push me so I’m confident about state.”

Remember, Mccormick set her goal at cracking 13 seconds and she’s steadily inching her way to that magic number, setting records as she goes.

San Diego High’s Charlize James was again right on Mccormick’s heels, running 14.16 for third, which is a bit of a disappointment as she was hoping the competition would pull her under 14 for the first time. She ran 14.00 at Mt. Carmel.

And right behind her in fourth was Cathedral Catholic’s Kapiolani Coleman, who ran 14.19, off her best of 14.07 at Mt. Carmel.

Put another way, San Diego again went 1-2-3 against the rest of the state.

The high jump, too, was a “win” for Steele Canyon’s Leon Gillis and Eastlake’s Justin Cardoza. They both cleared 6-foot-7, behind only the 6-9 by Elias Gerald of Westlake in Utah.

“I tried for a PR,” said Gillis, the section’s most consistent jumper. “I’ll admit, beating all of the other California jumpers gives me an edge for state. You know, it’s a mental thing. If I could just forget about everything and jump like it’s practice, I could go 6-9.”

Notes

The afternoon session produced two section season bests and a third mark that was highly impressive.

• Poway sophomore Tessa Buswell came into the meet looking for her first sub-2:10 in the 800 and she got it by winning the event in 2:09.54. “I wanted to break 2:10 and I was really nervous,” said Buswell. “We went out at 62, which is what I was looking for, and I really wanted that time.” Now she’ll have to decide if she wants to run the 800, the 1600 or both in the section championships.

• The Cathedral Catholic girls 4x100 relay team came into the meet with the section’s fastest time of 48.83 but the Dons foursome put some distance between them and others by clocking a 48.16 for second.

• Rancho Bernardo’s Jacey Farmer ran her fastest mile time since 2019 when she won the Open mile in 4:56.53. That converts to a 4:55.13 for 1600 meters, which is approaching her personal best of 4:53.75 in 2019 at the state meet. She is behind only Del Norte’s Hannah Riggins, who has gone 4:54.26.