2011 California Track Trivia

1) TOO MANY TO COUNT! See question #10 for more.

2) Yes, Amy Weissenbach will defend her state title over 800 meters and she'll do so in a new personal record.

3) From what I could find, the Saugus girls returns three under 11 minutes, three more with personal records at 11:09 or faster, and two others that earned section and state first team honors but can't find the two's records. That's a potential eight under 11 minutes this spring, so yes they will eclipse their 2009 record.

4) This spring, Elias Geydon will run 3:58.67 ... that is all I have to say.

5) Too close to call between the three. Grabill is the defending champ, we have yet to see Baxter race on the track, and Mahoney seems to be her old self (ran 10:25 as a freshman in 2008 I recall). My predictions between these three: 1) Baxter, 2) Mahoney, 3) Grabill. With Aly Billmeyer: 1) Billmeyer, 2) Baxter, 3) Mahoney, 4) Grabill. However, like I said, it's way too close to call.

6) With Krinik and Dotson gone, I can't see one particular contender. I'll come back to this one...

7) Heydon Woolf has not looked like his old self in quite some time. As far as I can tell, no, he will not near his 3,200-meter personal record this spring. It be great to see though, he was always one of my favorite runners to watch.

8) I'm surprised with Catrina McAlister and her Pre-like strategies during championship races. However, at section finals and the Masters Meet, it will not work against Baxter, Mahoney, Stephanie Bulder, Savannah Pio, etc...

9) Aly Billmeyer, Lyndsey Mull, and Jennifer Owen are all back in the girls 1,600-meter run. Didn't hear anything about Owen, but Billmeyer and Mull had solid cross country seasons. Billmeyer, however, is in a different world and is by far the one to beat in this event.

10) Moussa or Pons? The state championship won't be between just these two, but my bet is on Moussa winning in June. Justin Villhauer, Lane Werley, Sergio Gonzalez, Elias Geydon, Darren Fahy, etc will be in that front pack at the state championships.

11) With Mull, Rachel Bush, Laura O'neil, etc., Redondo is going to be fast in the DMR, hopefully a battle between Redondo and Saugus formulates, that be intense. Redondo and Saugus could dip under 11:50 this season, with maybe one other school in the picture, for example, Long Beach Poly.

12) What is the national record in the boys mile relay? Once I know it, I'll answer this ... GO ARCADIA!

13) Both squads have personal records of 20:03 in the 1,600-meter relay. Redondo: Mull is a huge advantage (like Chloe Curtis was last season), plus Bush, O'neil, and several other runners. Saugus: Both Bulder and Mahoney ran low 4:50s two or three years ago, while the team also has another 6-7 girls that could run on the mile relay team. Sub-20 is possible.

14) Yes, Rebecca Mehra will recover from her stress fracture and run in the low 4:50s this spring. If anyone is going to challenge Billmeyer for the state championship, it will be Mehra.

15) No one knows what is going on with Julie Nacouzi, but after a third at Footlocker Nationals last weekend, she should be a contender for the state championships in the 1,600 and 3,200. The negative: I have never seen or heard about her on the track, may be a better cross country runner. If she does choose to run in the state meet, it will only make the 1,600 with Billmeyer, Mehra, and Mull more interesting and the 3,200 with Baxter, Mahoney, Grabill, Bulder, Pio, and McAlister more interesting.

I see no trivia here.

What IS the deal with Heydon Woolf anyway?

1) more than 15... I mean look back at Arcadia

2) yes she will defend her title

3) Saugus will NOT eclipse their record

4) Elias will not break 4 in an all-HS race. Maybe during the summer like Webb did.

5) Baxter

6) Its hard to tell. no one as of yet.

7) Heydon who? jk, only time will tell.

8) Only when she is the best in the race. If its at CIF finals/state she will not get away with it.

9) Redonod girl. can't remember her name.

10) Moussa

11) Not as fast as last year.

12) Arcadia will break it.

13) nope.

14) Yes Mehra will PR

15) I'll come back to this one later

1) 8

2) Yes

3) Yes

4) No

5) Mahoney

6) Don't know

7) Yes

8) Never

9) Billmeyer

10) Moussa

11) 11:51

12) Arcadia will break it

13) No

14) Yes

15) Won't run

Long Beach Distance Carnival results came out today, looks like Saugus ran most of their varsity teams. The girls were very impressive, missing both Emily McCarty, who I believe has a 11:03 personal record, and Danielle Hernando:

1) Kaylin Mahoney 10:40.40

2) Stephanie Bulder 10:41.49

8) Alex Hampton 11:08.53

9) Jenay Jauregui 11:14.39

10) Karis Frankian 11:14.65

11) Merissa Kado 11:16.89

1) I'd say 25+. I think 23 did last year...and this years senior class is deeper.

2) IDK

3) Yes

4) No

5) Nacouzi

6) Gedyon?

7) IDK

8) When she learns to race like Pre

9) someone else...Baxter

10) Moussa

11) IDK

12) My guess is 16:50 and I don't think anyone will be near it.

13) IDK

14) Perhaps

15) Yes she is aloud

1) LOTS.

2)Amy Weissenbach wins it in 2:06.xx

3) Saugus girls just ran two miles on the track this week:

1 Stephanie Bulder 10:40.40 Unattached

2 Kaylin Mahoney 10:41.49 Unattached

8 Alex Hampton 11:08.53 Unattached

9 Jenay Jauregui 11:14.39 Unattached

10 Karis Frankian 11:14.65 Unattached

11 Merissa Kado 11:16.89 Unattached

Missing: Daniel Hernando, Emily McCarty

By the end of the track season I can see 6-7 of these girls 8 under 11:00.

4) Elias will not break 4:00. I say 4:03.

5) Girl's 3,200: Baxter, Mahoney, Grabill, Nacouzi, Pio in this order.

6 ) LB Poly's Andrew Myles went 1:51 last year. 4th at State. Ran cross for the fist time this year. He ran 15:12 at MTSAC finishing 12th in Team Sweeps. I think he'll break 1:50 this year.

7) Heydon Wolf will run about the same times as last year (which is still great).

8) McAlister is smart and tough. She will do what's necessary to better compete in the finals.

9) Alli Billmeyer will face tough competition from tenth grader Kelly Lawson (4:50) who had a great cross country season (17:30 at the state meet for 4th, Billmeyer ran 17:25 for 3rd). Rebecca Mehra and Lyndsey Mull could contend as well.

10) Sam Pons for the upset in the 3200.

11) Redondo Union, Saugus, and La Costa Canyon will be the top contenders for the DMR. La Costa's Kelly Lawson (4:50 1600) and Emma Abrahamson (17:05 MT SAC) will be a tough combo to beat and their team has 2 more top ranked runners. I would call them the favorites. I think that Long Beach Poly could contend. They have two 2:10 (800) girls and one of those girls has run a 4:57 (1600), if they can get their state 400 champ to run a leg they could be dangerous.

12) Arcadia for the 4xmile national record

13) Saugus, Redondo Union, and La Costa Canyon could push each other to a national record. I would give the edge to Saugus, especially with Danielle Hernando's improvement in XC.

14) Rebecca Mehra had a good XC season considering her late-season injury. I think that she will be very impressive come this spring. She has sub 4:50 potential.

15) Julie Nacouzi will contend in the 3200.

Additionally:

Look for the boys Long Beach Poly team to make some waves in the relays. In the 4x800 they will be the best in the nation and they can contend in the DMR.

Last Years times:

Andrew Myles 1:51.2, 4:19 (1600 - ran this distance very few times)

Chris Hall 1:52.8

Chris Penn 1:56.3 relay split, mid 4:20s

Aaron Haris 1:55.8 relay split

Monaco 1:59

Shaquille Howard 48.34 (400)

They ran 7:43 in the 4x800 at Penn relays last year. How low can they go?!?!?

Also, how dominate will the LBP girls team be this year?

They have returning state qualifiers in the 100, 200, 400, 800, 110 hurdles, TJ, HJ, 4x100 relay (all four return) and we all know that they will be able to replace the one leg of the 4x400 that they lost to graduation last year.

The ridiculous thing about the Saugus girls is the teams all-time bests:

Kaylin Mahoney - 10:25

Stephanie Bulder - 10:30

Karis Frankian - 10:41

Emily McCarty - 11:04

Jenay Jauregui - 11:06

Alex Hampton - 11:08

Merissa Kado - 11:09

Not sure what Hernando's all-time best is, but I have no doubts she can break 11 minutes as well. Someone please answer this question,

HAS ANY SCHOOL IN NATIONAL HISTORY EVER DONE THIS AND HOW THE HELL DO THEY DO IT?!?!??!

That's a possible 8 girls under 11 minutes this season and their ninth and tenth fastest two milers have run 11:24 (Nicole Penick) and 11:36 (Abigail Frankian). RIDICULOUS DEPTH!

What was the point of Saugus running in a meaningless competition the week after Nike?I believe this was their fifth consecutive Sat of racing.Hopefully they're not running in any eggnog miles this weekend.

Realize most of these posts have an SS/SD bias but did any of you Socals see Carrie Verdon spank Mehra in the D3 XC finals?I'm sure Mehra isn't looking forward to next year.Check out the results and you'll see that Verdon's final closing time(5:21)was the fastest of the day.You might want to put her in your 3200 top 3.

Next year, Mehra will spank Carrie Verdon right back, just watch. Not sure if you knew, but Mehra had a stress fracture through half the season so to run so well at the end of the season with limited training is almost as impressive as Verdon's win. Next year, Mehra will be the shape of her life (was 3rd at NXN 2009) and will be one of the best in the nation once again.

As for your comment on Saugus, once you start coaching a team to the success they've had the last five years, then you can come back and ask that question.

im from socal and I have to agree that Verdon looked really impressive. If you watch the video of the state meet race you'll notice that she looked sooo smooth and she made pulling away from Mehra look easy. 17:14 at the state meet is definitely an elite time and I think it could have been much faster if she was pushed harder. In the interview after the race she said the plan was to stay with the leader for the first two miles and then pull away. Judging from her kick at the end it appeared that she still had a lot left in the tank.

She finished 19th at Footlocker AFTER taking a hard fall in the first mile. She probably would have gotten at least top fifteen, possibly top ten otherwise.

I expect her to contend for the state title in the 3200 and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she took it. She really should have been on my original list.