Gunn junior Sarah Robinson will have every right to be a little tired on Sunday, after running the equivalent of three miles at the 2013 CIF State Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Buchanan High in Clovis.
Robinson made the most of her ironman effort as she finished third in the girls' 1,600 and fifth in the 3,200 to make two trips to the medal podium.
Robinson became the first Gunn girl to bring two medals home from the state final.
In the 1,600 early in the evening, Robinson had to come from well off the pace set by Anna Maxwell of San Lorenzo Valley. She grabbed the lead from the very start and never let it go, forcing the field to chase her on the hot evening.
Robinson was in fourth place with one lap to go, but made a move with 250 left and took over second. The gap between Robinson and Maxwell was too great, however. Robinson made a valiant attempt to catch Maxwell on the homestretch, but was passed by Nikki Hiltz of Aptos with less than 10 meters left.
Maxwell won in 4:47.36 with Hiltz second in 4:48.07 and Robinson third in 4:48.37. The order of finish was perhaps appropriate since the three ranked No. 1, 2 and 3 in the state, respectively, coming into the meet.
Robinson collapsed to the track for a moment after the race, but made a nice recovery in time for the 3,200. There she ran the race of her life while clocking a school record of 10:26.65 for fifth place.
Heavily favored Sarah Baxter of Simi Valley won easily in 10:10.71 for her third straight state title while SLV's Maxwell added a second medal in this meet with a third-place finish of 10:25.68.
The only other local athlete to compete in Saturday's finals was Menlo School junior Maddy Price. She finished sixth in the girls' 400 meters in 54.94, the second-fastest time of her life and her second race under 55 seconds this season.
Price came into the finals having clocked the No. 2 qualifying time of 55.15 in the prelims. The top qualifier, Nia Dorner of Cordova, made good on her top seed by pulling away in the final to win in a state-leading 53.00.
Price also was passed on the homestretch by Ellisa Bryant of Piedmont Hills, who lost to Price at the CCS finals. Bryant finished third on Saturday in a CCS-leading 54.64.
"She is crushed," Menlo coach Jorge Chen said of Price. "(But) We are still really proud of her for coming from not even making the finals last year to dropping almost three seconds from a year ago to a podium finish and going under 55.00 twice this year.
"But, all that won't matter to Maddy since she's a fierce competitor. But, when she takes some time to let her season sink in, I'm sure she'll feel better -- just in time to qualify to represent Canada in the (Jr.) Pan Am Games in Colombia this summer."
Comments
Menlo Park
on Jun 2, 2013 at 10:10 am
on Jun 2, 2013 at 10:10 am
Sarah is a girl. Therefore she did not make "the most of her ironman effort." Ironwoman, yes; ironman, no. Just like female members of Congress are now properly referred to as congresswomen, not congressmen. Think it doesn't matter? Try calling a male by a female term. Women now make up nearly 60% of American college students (perhaps "bachelor's" degree will also soon go by the wayside), and also outnumber men at the Master's and PhD levels, so let's please respect girls and women, and stop slighting them with outdated male-as-normative terms. And yes, I am a man who supports this. :-)
Now, back to the main point of the article: go, Sarah - fantastic job! And best of luck in your senior year!
Gunn High School
on Jun 2, 2013 at 1:25 pm
on Jun 2, 2013 at 1:25 pm
^^^You're that guy who probably took Roy Hibbert's "no homo" joke yesterday seriously and was offended. Some guys in this nation really just need to chill, I'm sure PA online had no intention of regarding her with "outdated male-as-normative terms". Read the damn article dude, no need to try and grab attention with you're nice attempt at intellectual language
Adobe-Meadow
on Jun 2, 2013 at 1:37 pm
on Jun 2, 2013 at 1:37 pm
Well, if you are going to be a stickler, I guess we should call it her "irongirl" effort, since she is a female prep competitor. But that doesn't sound as good. Personally, I'm perfectly fine with "ironman effort" covering all genders and ages as an accolade for strength and resilience, and don't think it slights anyone. Afterall, can't a woman make a "Herculean" effort? ;-)
Midtown
on Jun 2, 2013 at 4:42 pm
on Jun 2, 2013 at 4:42 pm
Men and women compete equally in the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii......that's a good analogy to what Robinson did in the finals.....instead of swimming, biking and running, she ran, ran and ran and did a great job.