Bulldog girls sweep sprint wins in loss to Wolverines
By Joe Naiman
Westview High School’s girls track and field team beat Ramona High School’s squad, 83-48, in the Palomar League opener March 28, but the Bulldogs won all three sprint events.
Caitlyn Choy won the 200-meter and 400-meter races, and Courtney Ford took first place in the 100-meter dash.
“That was a nice surprise,” said Coach Sherri Edwards. “I didn’t have any idea how good their sprinters were, but I was really pleased with Caitlyn’s performance and Courtney’s.”
Although rankings are subjective, one source ranked Westview’s Julia Yang 20th in the state in the 400-meter dash. Choy leaned out Yang at the finish line to win the race in 59.66 seconds, which was also Choy’s first 400-meter race with a time under one minute. Yang settled for the second-place time of 59.68 seconds.
“That was exciting,” Edwards said.
Choy and Ford took the top two positions in the 200-meter dash. Choy spent 26.97 seconds racing while Ford crossed the finish line 27.25 seconds after the start of the race. Ford had a winning time of 12.66 seconds in the 100-meter dash.
The Bulldogs had three other wins in the meet, including first and second place in the 100-meter hurdles in which Kelly Helman took 16.66 seconds and Carlee Roberts required 17.64 seconds. Helman’s time of 51.62 seconds gave her second place in the 300-meter hurdles while Roberts was third at 52.06 seconds.
The Banegas sisters took first and third place in the shot put. Kara Banegas had a throw of 30’6” while Kristy Banegas had a distance of 28’10”.
Ramona’s other winner was Brooke Brean, who set a personal record of 4’10” in the high jump.
Lauren Cortez set a personal record of 5:27.58 while taking second place in the 1,600-meter run. Claire Hagan gave Ramona second-place points with a discus throw of 72’10”. Amy Jordan had a third-place finish in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:36.5.
The Bulldogs were swept in three field events, including the pole vault. Taylor Uekert, who sprained her ankle after a 6’6” pole vault in Ramona’s March 21 meet at El Camino, made one attempt at Westview before withdrawing.
“She was a trooper for being at the meet at all. Hopefully after a week off she’ll be better against Rancho Bernardo,” Edwards said.
The home meet against Rancho Bernardo follows spring break on April 11.