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Cole fourth in 1,600 meters
St. Helena senior sets personal-best of 4:11.74; Casa's Jacque Taylor fourth in 3,200

By ERIC BRANCH
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

SACRAMENTO -- St. Helena senior Brian Cole once viewed distance-running phenom
Chad Hall as his idol.

But in the finals of the 1,600 meters at the CIF State Track and Field Championships
on Saturday, Cole had an entirely different view of Hall, the reigning national high school
cross-country champion.

In the final 100 meters, Cole, the kid from an anonymous school the track announcer
couldn't pronounce correctly, sprinted past Hall en route to a fourth-place finish in a
personal-best time of 4:11.74, the third-best mark in Empire history.

As he talked about blowing by Hall, a blue-chipper from Big Bear who has signed with
distance-running dynasty Oregon, Cole smacked his palm against his forehead, the universal
code for utter amazement.

Cole, who narrowly slipped into Saturday's nine-man finals, is headed to Williams College,
a Division III school in Williamstown, Mass.

"I came by him in the stretch," said Cole, his eyes bulging wide, "and I was like 'Chad
Hall?' It was pretty amazing."

Cole's effort shared space with two others as the most impressive performance by an Empire
athlete at the ultra-competitive state track meet, held before a crowd of 11,171 at
Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium.

Casa Grande freshman Jacque Taylor finished fourth in the 3,200 meters, lowering her
personal-best time, already ranked fifth in Empire history, by nearly two seconds. In
addition, Montgomery senior Blake McDowall, still a novice 800-meter runner, finished fifth
in his newfound event to also earn a state medal, given to the top six finishers in each
event. Healdsburg senior Daniel Erdman finished seventh in the shot put, Petaluma sophomore
Sterling Lockert placed 18th in the 3,200, and El Molino senior Brittny Escamilla was 21st
in the girls' 3,200.

Taylor, whose high school career was eagerly awaited after her middle-school exploits,
capped off her debut prep season in memorable fashion.

Mission Prep sophomore Jordan Hasay, the defending state champion and the owner of the
nation's top time this season, won the 3,200 in 10:06.76, more than 19 seconds ahead of
runner-up Laurynne Chetelat of Davis.

With Hasay and Chetelat running well ahead of the pack for most of the race, Taylor stayed
in a second group and used a finishing kick to clock a personal-best 10:34.39.

Her fourth-place finish was the best state finish by an Empire freshman since Sonoma's
Mindi Wiley placed second in the high jump in 2003.

It also gave her slightly more appreciation for the spring running season.

Taylor admits that she tires of running laps around the track, preferring the trails, hills
and scenery that highlight the cross-country season. Taylor finished fifth in Division II
at the state cross-country meet in the fall.

"I still like cross country the best," Taylor said with a smile. "But after this, I like
track more than I used to."

McDowall, who ran the 800 in competition for just the second time in late April, capped his
improbable late-season charge to state.

A former 1,600 specialist, McDowall's fifth-place finish (1:54.49) was the best by an
Empire boy in the event since 1990. His time was off his personal-best of 1:53.98, ninth-
best in Empire history.

But considering his inexperience in the event, McDowall, who admitted to pre-race fears
of embarrassing himself, wasn't complaining.

"It blows me away," said McDowall of his success in the 800. "I never thought it would
happen -- that's the reason I'm happy right now. But if I had been an 800 runner, I
wouldn't be too happy with that race."

Erdman, who has signed with UC Santa Barbara, couldn't surpass his personal-best of 59-5½;
and placed seventh with a toss of 57-3.

He graduates with the fourth-best mark in Empire history, and his finish Saturday was the
highest by an Empire boy in the shot put in 11 years.

Similarly, Cole's finish in the 1,600 was the best by an Empire boy in the event since
Santa Rosa's Steve Guerrini finished third in 1991.

Cole, who boasts a 4.1 GPA, admits moments such as Saturday's make him wonder about his
decision to attend a smaller school to balance academics and running.

But he didn't appear too upset after the race.

Cole beat not only Hall, but several other runners with more-impressive pedigrees. Also
finishing behind him were two UCLA-signees and another who will run at Cal.

Last year, he admittedly arrived at state slightly awed by his competition and finished
10th.

On Saturday, he finally felt like he belonged.

And his final 100 meters left no doubt that he did.

"Today was different," Cole said. "I knew there were good guys in the race, but I
believed I could run with them. I knew I had to believe that in order to do it."

You can reach Staff Writer Eric Branch at 521-5268 or eric.branch@pressdemocrat.com.

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