The song says “It never rains in California,” but on an uncharacteristically rainy day, the Los Alamitos High School Girls Track and Field Team said, “Bring it on!”
With every varsity girl athlete who competed scoring at least one point to help the team win, they stepped out from the shadows of four-time champions Mater Dei and a strong Mission Viejo team to win their first Orange County Championship and prove the strength of this year’s team.
“This track season has been absolutely historic,” Coach Nathan Howard said.
“We have set more school records and top 10 marks than ever before.”
The 4×100-meter relay team set the tone for the day with junior Ashley Willingham, seniors Anijah Green, Kenna Limp and Sara Limp dropping their school record time by about a second to secure victory and the third fastest time in meet history.
Next, in the 1600-meter race, senior Katie Izzo lowered her school record by five seconds (4:55.27) on the way to a second place finish.
Willingham returned to the track for a solid performance in the 400 as she lowered her school record to 55.74 and produced the second fastest time in meet history.
Defending OC Champion in the 100, Sara Limp had her work cut out in the short sprints.
In the 100 she placed second; however, as the rain began to fall, she found her speed and surged to victory in the final 20 meters with less than a tenth of a second separating the top three places.
With Limp and Willingham finishing first and second in the 200, the team scored vital points.
The team then received a boost in the field events with sophomore Kallie Given placing second in the high jump with a clearance of 5-5 and junior Alison Parsons taking sixth in the long jump.
As the weather conditions deteriorated, Izzo stepped into the 3200m and ran the distance for only the second time and lowered her school record by two seconds to 10:42.67.
By placing second, Izzo positioned the girl’s team for victory.
In the final event, seniors Sarah Pisani and Brianna Taylor joined Limp and Willingham in victory as they lowered their 4×400 time by nearly seven seconds to secure the Orange County Championship.
For her efforts, Willingham was name “Sprinter/Hurdler Athlete of the Meet.”
The teams’ next meet will be the Sunset League Prelims at Huntington Beach High Sschool on Friday, May 1.
The girls are looking to defend their title and the boys face a tight battle with Fountain Valley High School.
