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DATE: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 BYLINE: Bruce Meadows PAGE: C5 COLUMN: ATHLETE OF THE WEEK ALL-CITY WINNER STILL FINE-TUNING Maria Carrillo's Jean Lightfoot appears to be right on schedule. Lightfoot, a junior specializing in the shot put and discus, won both Friday at the All-City Meet at Santa Rosa High and has the best marks in the Empire at 37-5 1/4 in the shot and 115-1 1/2 in the discus, that one coming Friday night. But Lightfoot, also an outstanding volleyball player, knows she has to add some distance in both events if she hopes to make it out of the North Coast Section Meet of Champions May 28 in Berkeley and move on to the State Meet at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. Maria Carrillo coach Dan Aldridge thinks Lightfoot is capable of making it to state, although first up is the North Bay League championships Wednesday and Friday, then the NCS Redwood Empire Meet the following weekend. ``She needs to throw 39 feet or more in the shot and maybe 125 in the discus to make it to state,'' said Aldridge. ``But every year she has gradually improved and throws her best at the end of the season.'' Last year Lightfoot, who works with Puma throw coach Tom Nyhan, was eighth in the shot and 12th in the discus at MOC. The top four qualify for state. Lightfoot relies on quickness and technique, not brute strength, and is fine-tuning her efforts. ``My technique is OK, but I throw it out in right field, which can be a foul,'' she said. ``I don't open my hips enough.'' Lightfoot, who started throwing the shot and discus at Rincon Valley Middle School, prefers volleyball to track but likes the balance. ``I like volleyball because it's a team sport,'' said Lightfoot, who had competed for the Empire Volleyball Club since her freshman year. ``Track gets a little lonely.'' She first became interested in throwing the shot and discus when she participated in a sixth-grade tournament. ``I started throwing the shot in the seventh grade and the discus the next year,'' said Lightfoot, 16. It's too early to think about a college choice, but Lightfoot would like to attend a school where she could play volleyball. -- Bruce Meadows JEAN LIGHTFOOT School: Maria Carrillo Year: Junior Sport: Track and field
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