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SR'S PRECOCIOUS SOPHOMORE: FEARLESS AND FAST, HURDLER SUZANNE HOWARD HAS SHOT AT QUALIFYING FOR STATE MEET DATE: Friday, May 26, 2006 BYLINE: ERIC BRANCH As a seventh-grade track novice sizing up the hurdles, Suzanne Howard already had an edge on the competition: She wasn't scared. While her classmates at Santa Rosa Middle School fretted, Howard had rolled her eyes. ``A lot of girls would say `I'm scared to go over them,''' she said. ``I couldn't stand that ... I have zero tolerance for people that get there and then don't try it.'' Three years later, Howard, a sophomore at Santa Rosa High, is still fearless. And fast. She enters today's Meet of Champions at UC Berkeley as the highest-seeded underclassman from the Empire, a precocious talent who already has the second-fastest time in Empire history in the 100 hurdles. A three-time North Bay League hurdles champion, Howard, 16, set a meet record in the 100 hurdles at last week's North Coast Section Redwood Empire Championships, winning in a personal-best time of 14.91 seconds. She has dominated the area competition. But qualifying for next week's exclusive state track meet won't be such a breeze. Last year, fewer than 750 of California's 45,038 track participants -- or less than two percent -- reached the state meet in an individual event. Today's MOC qualifying will have 24 competitors in each event. Eight will advance to Saturday's finals. And only four will qualify for the state meet on June 2-3 at Cerritos College. Howard is seeded sixth in the 100 hurdles, based on last week's time. No other frosh/soph from the Empire is seeded among the top eight in any event. ``Not a lot of people have been around her around here,'' Santa Rosa coach Doug Courtemarche said. ``But she'll get all she wants (today) and Saturday.'' At 5-foot-3, 110 pounds, Howard compensates for her lack of height (taller hurdlers typically spend less time clearing hurdles) with classic form. Santa Rosa hurdles coach Bob Shor, 65, who has coached the event for more than 40 years, considers Howard something of a hurdling savant. She has quickly grasped many of the event's subtleties, such as the placement of her hands in mid-air. ``You say it to her,'' Shor said, ``and she does it.'' Howard's form may be textbook, but her approach is less conventional, right down to her pre-race meals. Her teammates eat gourmet deli sandwiches, but Howard insists on peanut butter and jelly. She also has little use for sizing up this weekend's competition, explaining that she's ``not much of a goal-setter.'' She doesn't compare times on the Internet, but says her friends have told her she has a chance to reach state. Of course, she'd like to qualify, but she says there is a silver lining if she doesn't reach prep track's pinnacle: She won't travel 450 miles to compete in, at most, two races. Said Shor of his unique pupil: ``When she's determined, she's a pleasure to work with.'' Other top Empire athletes at the MOC (seed in parentheses): * Leanne Fogg, Maria Carrillo, 3,200 meters (2): Fogg, a junior, has an Empire-best time of 11:12.83 this season, 23 seconds faster than the area's second-ranked runner. * Jean Lightfoot, Maria Carrillo, shot put (2), discus (3): Lightfoot, a senior, ranks 16th in the state in the shot put. She won both events at the NCS Redwood Empire Championships. * Jenna Lowder, Maria Carrillo, 200 meters (2), 400 (2): Lowder, a senior, reached state in both events last year. She finished 18th in the 400 and 23rd in the 200. * Tim Murphy, Healdsburg, 800 meters (2): Murphy, a senior, ran a personal-best time (1:55.16) last week. * Mike Perez, Lower Lake, 1,600 meters (1), 800 meters (3): Perez, a senior, owns the state's fourth-fastest time in the 1,600 (4:09.91) and 800 (1:52.13). * Mindi Wiley, Sonoma, high jump (1): Wiley, a senior, has the state's second-best leap (5-10) this season. She is aiming for her fourth trip to state. She has three top-eight finishes, including a second-place finish as a freshman. MEET OF CHAMPIONS North Coast athletes seeded in top 4 for this weekend's NCS meet (seed, name, grade, school, seed mark from last Saturday's meet): BOYS 800m: 2. Tim Murphy, Sr., Healdsburg, 1:55.16; 3. Mike Perez, Sr., Lower Lake, 1:55.85 1600m: 1. Mike Perez, Sr., Lower Lake, 4:15.86 110m high hurdles: 4. Jon Cunha, Sr., Ft. Bragg, 15.23 Shot put: 3. Daniel Erdman, Jr., Healdsburg, 54-7.25 GIRLS 100m: 4. Tracy Webster, Sr., Analy, 12.36 200m: 2. Jenna Lowder, Sr., Maria Carrillo, 25.36 400m: 2. Jenna Lowder, Sr., Maria Carrillo, 56.84 3200m: 2. Leanne Fogg, Jr., Maria Carrillo, 11:12.83 1600m relay: 3. Maria Carillo, 3:58.85 High jump: 1. Mindi Wiley, Sr., Sonoma, 5-7 Shot put: 2. Jean Lightfoot, Sr., Maria Carrillo, 41-4.25 Discus: 3. Jean Lightfoot, Sr., Maria Carrillo, 121-0
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