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Wiley on verge of clearing 6 feet

May 29, 2005

By DEWEY FORGET
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

BERKELEY - Mindi Wiley is the premier girls high jumper in the state. The Sonoma junior is
all about setting goals and breaking records.

Her next goal: Clearing 6 feet, and she may do it next weekend at the state meet in Sacramento.
Meanwhile, she will have a few days to enjoy her third consecutive North Coast Section Meet of
Champions gold medal.

With a large contingency of fans watching and battling a wind that kept the bar moving, Wiley
jumped 5 feet, 11 inches Saturday at Cal's Edwards Stadium to tie the NCS record set in 1981
by Maggie VanZeeland of Acalanes.

Wiley then failed on three attempts to clear 6 feet, narrowly missing on her second attempt.
Her 5-11 jump is the best in the state this year.

"On my first attempt at 5-11, the bar was wobbling, but I said 'I'm not going to let the wind
stop me,' " Wiley said. "My last jump at 6 feet was my best; to know my body was over the bar
is very satisfying.

"I'm getting so close to 6 feet. Today I was feeling good. I felt like I could get it."

Wiley said she loves jumping at Cal. A good thing since it will be her home track in a couple
of years.

"I've already verbally committed to Cal. They are recruiting me for volleyball, but I'm also
going to try track as a walk-on," she said.

Maria Carrillo's Kaitlin Sather, one of the Empire's top volleyball players, also qualified for
state with a jump of 5-3.

The top four finishers advance to state, except for Kristin Sanzari of Maria Carrillo, who
finished fifth at 800 meters, but still qualified for state. The NCS may enter additional
competitors if they meet or better the at-large standard for the event. Sanzari ran 2:14.11,
surpassing the at-large time of 2:15.01.

Healdsburg's Tim Quiroga ran huge in the boys 1,600, covering the distance in 4:21.67 for
second behind Piedmont's Mark Ceraldi, who is considered one of the top milers in the state.

"I thought I might run faster," Quiroga said. "The first lap was slow, but when Ceraldi took
off on the second lap, I knew it would be tough to catch him. At around 600 meters I decided
to kick it in."

Jenna Lowder, a Maria Carrillo junior who seems to be improving weekly, ran third in the girls
200 sprint, and finished second in her specialty - the 400 - in 56.85, her personal best. In
the 1,600 relay, Lowder and her teammates set a school record and Empire-best of 3:55.84 to
finish second to James Logan.

I'm so happy," Lowder said. "My goal was to break my PR and I did it. I tried to relax down the
backstretch and go for it around the turn. The last 50 yards were a killer, I just gutted it out."

Healdsburg's Will Crockenberg was second in the 400, running 49.17. The Greyhounds' 1,600 relay
of Ryan Costa, Quiroga, Crockenberg and Tim Murphy, qualified for state with a fourth-place
finish.

"My goal was to win MOC. It's what we work for," Crockenberg said. "But second place is also
pretty good."

Perhaps the most thrilling race came in the girls 3,200. Tamma Carlton of Mendocino, running
second behind eventual winner Gabi Rios-Sotelo (St. Mary's), faded to fifth with 600 meters
remaining and looked spent, but came back to beat Lexi Pappas (Bishop O'Dowd) for fourth in
11:12.62.

Thomas Wilhelm took second in the discus with a heave of 153, an Empire best; Jean Lightfoot
(Carrillo) was sixth in the discus; Analy's Tracy Webster was fifth in the 100 hurdles (15.74);
Marshall Olin (Santa Rosa) was sixth in the boys 110 hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles,
and Jacqui Wentz (Carrillo) finished sixth in the girls 3,200.
Olin qualified for state the day before in the triple jump.

The boys team title went to James Logan with 117 points, followed by California and Bishop
O'Dowd. Sonoma finished 14th, Montgomery 23rd, and Analy 29th. Carrillo was the Empire's top
girls team, finishing behind James Logan and Holy Names.

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