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Taylor, Tracy and Stone qualify for track finals

By ERIC BRANCH
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Friday, June 5, 2009

CLOVIS – The high jump bar was set at 6 feet, 8 inches, a height Windsor’s Mike Tracy had cleared once in his life –
and that was seven weeks ago.

His task might have been difficult, but the math was simple. If Tracy cleared the bar – the equivalent of catapulting
his body over Kobe Bryant and not touching Bryant’s head – he would advance to the finals at the CIF Track and Field
Championships, the most prestigious state meet in the nation.

If he missed? Tracy’s high school career would be over.

If he felt much pressure, Tracy disguised it masterfully Friday night as he cleared 6-8 on his third and final attempt
and became one of 11 high jumpers to advance to today’s finals at Buchanan High School.

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” said Tracy, a 6-6 Cal signee whose personal-best leap of 6-9 ranks seventh in Empire
history. “But I knew I had done it before and I’d been close on my last jump – I had just hit it with my leg. I knew I
just had to time it right.”

Tracy shared the stage with Ursuline junior Michelle Stone, who continued her stunning development by tying an Empire
record in the pole vault, advancing to the finals with a mark of 11-8. They were joined by Casa Grande distance-running
star Jacque Taylor (1,600 meters) as the only Empire athletes to qualify for today’s finals. Seven other Empire athletes
failed to finish among the top nine in their event in the preliminaries and had their season end. Petaluma’s Sterling
Lockert and Santa Rosa’s Reesey Byers will compete in the finals today in the 3,200 meters, which does not have a
qualifying heat.

Stone, a student with a 4.71 GPA this year, has proven to be a quick study in the pole vault.

Seeded 18th in the event, her vault of 11-8 topped her previous best by five inches and tied the Empire record set by
Santa Rosa’s Emely Flores in 2004. Stone, who was among 12 qualifiers for today’s finals, has improved her vault by 11
inches in the past month and 26 inches in the past year.

Buoyed by her recent success, Stone said she entered Friday with a longer pole and a belief that she could clear 11-8.
But she also admitted she was nervous about clearing the opening height of 11-2, which was one inch shy of her personal
best.

“I think once I got through that opening height I was able to relax a little bit,” Stone said. “… It’s exciting. At the
beginning of the year I didn’t expect anything like this.”

Taylor, a state runner-up in the 1,600 last year, took the first step in her quest to become the first Empire athlete to
win a state title since 2001 and just the fourth in the past 41 years.

Taylor, seeded second, had the sixth-fastest time in qualifying in 4 minutes, 52.78 seconds. Junior Chloe Curtis of
Redondo had the top qualifying time of 4:50.00 and Our Lady of Peace senior Sammy Silva, the top seed, was fourth in
4:51.32.

The top three in each of the two qualifying heats advanced to today’s finals. With that in mind, Taylor used a
conservative strategy and didn’t make her customary first-lap charge to the front of the pack.

But she gleaned some valuable information from the prelims after witnessing the strong finishing kicks of several
runners, who finished their final laps in around 67 seconds.

Taylor, not known for her speed, will try to wear out the field today with a blistering early pace.

“I want the lead,” Taylor said. “I have to go out hard and get it because I have a (finishing) kick, but it’s not always
the strongest. I definitely need to be out front.”

While Taylor and Tracy survived to compete another day, the script wasn’t as rosy for other local stars.

Fort Bragg senior Oleg Ryabokorovka injured his right knee on his first attempt in the long jump and finished 14th in
21-9¼, more than nine inches shy of his personal-best jump. Ryabokorovka had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last
year and he said the sharp pain he felt in his right knee Friday felt all-too familiar.

Ryabokorovka completed his three attempts, but his jumps became progressively shorter. His personal-best leap of 22-6½
would have earned him a spot in the finals.

“It felt like my cartilage was just being squished,” Ryabokorovka said. “It’s very frustrating. It’s a long drive down
here and to get here and know I could have gone a lot farther and things could have gone a lot better, that’s tough.”

Santa Rosa senior Troy Baker finished 14th in the shot put in 51-6¾, more than two feet shy of his top throw, a mark
which would have placed him in the finals.

But Baker, making his second straight trip to state, said his performance this year was much easier to digest than last
year’s debut when he battled nerves and scratched on all three of his throws.

“It felt like any other meet,” Baker said. “But some days it’s just not there and today was one of those days. I felt
good, but it just didn’t happen.”

Petaluma senior Kaleb Trembly felt good in the triple jump, shattering his personal best by more than six inches en route
to a 12th-place finish with a leap of 45-7.

Other Empire athletes to compete Friday included Healdsburg senior Dante Fountain (16th, 200 meters; 24th, 100 meters),
Santa Rosa senior Rory McLeod (17th, 1,600 meters), Healdsburg senior Eric Arneson (23rd, 300 hurdles) and Petaluma
junior Isabel Andrade (24th, 1,600 meters).

NOTES

La Sierra senior Reggie Wyatt set a national record in the 300 hurdles with a time of 35.02. Wyatt broke the record of
35.28 held by Jeshua Anderson of Taft in 2007 … Shafter’s Anna Jelmini set a state-meet record in the shot put with a
toss of 53-8. Jelmini broke the record of 52-11 ½ set by Ygnacio Valley’s Kristin Heaston in 1993 … Junior Ashton Purvis
of St. Elizabeth in Oakland false-started and was disqualified in the 100-meter prelims. Purvis’ time of 11.69 seconds
ranks second in the state this year … Diamond Ranch senior Karynn Dunn leapt 20-2 ¾ in the long jump, the top mark in
the state and third-best in the nation this year.

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