May 20, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Matchups will be very motivating

by Keith Peters

Tori Tyler and Alicia Follmar are friends. They are also rivals. Both run the same events in track and field. Both are among the best at what they do.

"Tori and Alicia Follmar have been racing each other since middle school, so there is a history there," said Ernie Lee, Tyler's coach at Gunn High. "Interestingly, both will be attending Pac-10 schools, so they will be racing each other for several more years to come."

Follmar, a senior at Saratoga, is heading to Stanford in the fall. Tyler, meanwhile, will run for Washington. While their paths are sure to cross in the Pac-10 Conference as early as next fall, their immediate futures have them on a collision course again this weekend.

Both are scheduled to face each other in the 1,600 meters in the Central Coast Section semifinals Saturday at San Jose City College. Field events begin at 10:30 a.m., with running events starting at 11 a.m.

The top eight finishers (top 12 for the 1,600 and 3,200 races) will advance to the CCS final on May 27, also at San Jose CC.

Tyler and Follmar faced each other last weekend in the SCVAL Qualifier at Los Gatos High. Tyler won their battle in the 3,200 while Follmar took the 1,600. Tyler once again will run both, but will meet Follmar only in the 1,600. Follmar, the two-time defending state champion in the metric mile, has dropped the more grueling 3,200 in favor of the 800 that provides better preparation for the 1,600.

Follmar is the top qualifier in the 1,600 in 4:49.69 and ranks No. 2 in the state. Tyler is the No. 3 qualifier in 5:02.14, with Evelyn Wing of Valley Christian sandwiched between them at 5:01.77.

Tyler is the clear favorite in the 3,200 with a qualifying mark of 10:42.98, just off her season best of 10:37.63 (converted from a two mile). That ranks her No. 1 in the CCS and No. 2 in the Bay Area, and puts her only three seconds behind state leader Lauren Saylor of Buchanan (Clovis), who has a converted 10:34.62.

A year ago, Tyler won the 3,200 at the CCS semis in 10:52.97, then raced away with the section title in 10:49.11. This season, Tyler has been consistently faster than in 2004.

" I think that Tori's consistency is due to several factors," Lee said. "First and foremost is her experience. In general, the more you race the more consistent you become. Of course, being able to train consistently is what allows you to race well in the first place.

"We are fortunate that her early season injury didn't sideline her for too long and thus she has been able to train consistently at a high level since the Stanford Invitational (in March)."

Lee pointed out that another contributing factor is the type of runner she is.

"That is, she's more of a longer distance strength runner, and those types of runners tend to be more consistent at the shorter distances," Lee explained.

Finally, Tyler's consistency can be found in her training.

"Playing off her strength, we do a lot of intervals at pace with relatively short rest in between," he said. "Ironically, going into this season the plan was to do more faster training in order to help develop her basic speed, which is her weak spot. However, her early season injury prevented much of that style of training so we stuck primarily with the pace work."

Meanwhile, the boys' 1,600 and 3,200 this weekend also will provide interesting matchups between Menlo-Atherton senior Evan Anderson and St. Francis junior Ben Sitler.

Anderson is coming off a remarkable triple at the Peninsula Athletic League championships. He won the 800 in a personal best of 1:56.92, third best in the CCS this season, took the 1,600 in 4:17.27 and won the 3,200 in a season best of 9:23.27. Anderson dropped the 800 for the CCS semis, in favor of the longer distances.

Sitler is the CCS leader in the 3,200 in 9:10.47 (converted) and is the No. 2 qualifier in the 1,600 at 4:19.55.

Other good matchups will come in the girls' 400 and 800 where Menlo senior Libby Jenke is the CCS leader in both events. She'll put her 56.41 in the 400 on the line against Palo Alto freshman Mia Lattanzi, who lowered her school record to 56.56 last weekend and comes in as the No. 1 qualifier. Jenke ran 57.00 to win the PAL meet. In the 800, Jenke is the No. 3 qualifier at 2:15.88 behind Christine Whalen of Mitty (2:08.97) and Wing (2:12.33) of Valley Christian. Jenke, however is the state leader at 2:07.47 (indoors) and has run 2:07.57 outdoors.

The girls' 400 and 800 will be hotly contested this weekend and again at the CCS finals.

As for the team races, the Palo Alto girls need to get all their top performers through in order to have a chance to challenge for the CCS crown the following Friday. Senior Katrina Zawojski is slated to compete in four events (400 relay, 200, long jump and triple jump) but reportedly is battling a cold.

"But," said Paly boys' coach Jason Fung, "she'll be there. She has no choice."

Zawojski ranks No. 3 in the 200 (25.45) No. 4 in the triple jump (38-1 1/2), eighth in the long jump (17-11), and runs the third leg on the 400 relay, which clocked a school record of 48.52 last weekend.

Katy Wanner (100, triple jump, 400 relay) and Elissa Chandler (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles) also will be counted upon to contribute big points on Saturday.

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