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Taylor hopes to join elite company In the past 41 years only three Empire track stars have claimed state titles By Eric Branch PRESS DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER Published: Thursday, June 4, 2009 But never quite like this. Taylor, the Gauchos’ distance-running extraordinaire, will arrive at the CIF Track and Field Championships in Clovis today with a chance to win a state title in the 1,600 meters. If she wins — she is seeded second in the event — she would become the fourth girl in Empire history to win a state track title and the first since Montgomery’s Sara Bei won the 3,200 meters in 2001. For further perspective on how rare it is for an Empire athlete to win a state title consider no boy has won a championship since Mel Gray won the 100 and 200 yards in 1967. Taylor, a junior, knows a bit of that history. And realizes she could join a list of local state-title-winning legends that includes Bei and Santa Rosa’s Julia Stamps, a duo that combined to win seven of the eight state titles won by Empire athletes in the past 41 years. “It is a little different feeling this year,” Taylor said. “It’s really exciting having a chance to win, but it’s also really nerve-wracking. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous before.” Taylor finished fourth at state in the 3,200 meters as a freshman and placed second in the 1,600 last year. But she finished runner-up to Woodbridge’s Christine Babcock in the 1,600 in 2008. Babcock won in jaw-dropping fashion — shattering a national high school record to win in 4 minutes, 33.82 seconds, nearly 16 seconds ahead of Taylor, who posted the fourth-fastest time in Empire history. But this year is different. Babcock is a freshman at the University of Washington. And Mission College Prep senior Jordan Hasay, the national high school record holder in the 1,500 meters, is only running the 3,200 meters this weekend. That leaves Taylor with a legitimate title shot. But that doesn’t mean the field isn’t filled with challenges. Sammy Silva, a senior at Our Lady of Peace in San Diego, is seeded first in a time of 4:49.79. Taylor (4:50.56) is second with the 13th-fastest time in the nation this season and junior Chloe Curtis (4:51.32) of Redondo Union is third. Taylor has run against Silva once this season, at the Arcadia Invitational in April. Silva won the 1,600 in 4:54.08 and Taylor finished third in 4:56.30. Candace Eddy of Utah finished second. Taylor, who typically charges to the front of the pack in the 1,600, said she learned a valuable lesson in her first race against Silva. Instead of taking her aggressive tact, she stayed back before making her charge. “That was definitely a learning experience,” Taylor said. “I have to do what I think is right, what I’m used to. I can’t be held back by anyone.” The top 12 of the 27 runners in today’s qualifying will reach the finals on Saturday. Taylor would like to qualify without expending too much energy, but she knows that may not be possible. The top 12 seeds are separated by 4.21 seconds. “That’s going to make qualifying a lot more interesting,” Casa Grande coach Carl Triola said. “It really is a wide-open race.” Regardless of her performance in Clovis, Taylor has already carved out quite a career. She also has a pair of top-three finishes at the state cross-country championships and will take official recruiting visits to Stanford, Oregon, Washington and Arizona during her senior year. While her future beyond high school seems secure, Taylor has a unique chance to burnish her legacy. Only three Empire athletes have won state titles in the past 41 years. What if she became the fourth? The ever-chatty Taylor laughs at the thought. “I’d be speechless, probably,” she said. “That would probably be the only time I’d ever be speechless.” You can reach Staff Writer Eric Branch at 521-5268 or eric.branch@pressdemocrat.com. Casa Grande’s Jacque Taylor has been to the state meet before. Empire competitors Isabel Andrade, Petaluma Year: Junior Event: 1,600 meters (seeded 14th of 27) Personal-best: 4:56.29 Top seed: Sammy Silva, Our Lady of Peace, 4:49.79 Notable: Owns the school record and ranks eighth in Empire history ... qualified for state with a fifth-place finish at last week’s North Coast Section Meet of Champions. She knocked more than eight seconds off her personal-best time to go under the CIF qualifying standard of 4:57.09 ... won the North Coast Section Division III cross country title in the fall and finished ninth at state. Eric Arneson, Healdsburg Year: Senior Event: 300-meter hurdles (seeded 22nd of 27) Personal-best: 39.24 Top seed: Reggie Wyatt, La Sierra, 36.88 Notable: Owns the school record and ranks sixth in Empire history ... lowered his personal best by .50 seconds during qualifying and finals at last week’s MOC ... was also on Healdsburg’s 4x400 relay team, which missed a state berth by .02 seconds last week ... will compete at Santa Rosa Junior College next year. Troy Baker, Santa Rosa Year: Senior Event: Shot put (seeded 11th of 27) Personal-best: 54 feet, 2 inches Top seed: Matt Darr, Frontier, 60-7¾ Notable: Has posted personal-best throws en route to winning titles at the Redwood Empire Championships and the MOC the past two weeks. Has improved his PR by 16 inches in the past month ... also qualified for state last year ... will attend SRJC, but is unsure if he will compete in track. Reesey Byers, Santa Rosa Year: Junior Event: 3,200 meters (seeded 20th of 32) Personal-best: 9:14.15 Top seed: Erik Olson, Novato, 8:55.06 Notable: Owns the school record and ranks sixth in Empire history ... has posted the fastest time by a junior in Empire history ... topped his personal-best time by more than seven seconds en route to a fourth-place finish at the MOC ... has lowered his PR by nearly 40 seconds since last year. Dante Fountain, Healdsburg Year: Senior Event: 100 meters (seeded 27th of 27), 200 meters (seeded 26th of 27) Personal-best: 10.97 (100 meters); 22.06 (200 meters) Top seed: Randall Carroll, Cathedral, 10.50; Rashad Ross, Vallejo, 21.22 Notable: Has the fourth-fastest wind-legal time in Empire history in the 100 meters and also ranks fourth in the 200 ... is the only person to win three straight Sonoma County League titles in the 100 meters ... was an all-league wide receiver/defensive back ... will compete at SRJC next year. Sterling Lockert, Petaluma Year: Senior Event: 3,200 meters (seeded 15th of 32) Personal-best: 9:09.48 Top seed: Erik Olson, Novato, 8:55.06 Notable: Shaved more than six seconds off his personal-best to post the second-fastest time in Empire history last week. Petaluma’s Jon Sisler set the record of 9:06.95 in 1974 ... is making his third straight state trip. Finished 18th in the 3,200 as a sophomore ... is a two-time NCS cross-country champion ... has signed with Loyola Marymount. Rory McLeod, Santa Rosa Year: Senior Event: 1,600 meters (seeded 16th of 29) Personal-best: 4:17.35 Top seed: Mac Fleet, University City, 4:09.46 Notable: Ranks third in school history and 13th in Empire history ... finished 18th in the state in cross country in the fall ... ranks eighth in Empire history in the 3,200 meters ... has a 4.46 GPA ... has signed with the University of Arizona. Oleg Ryabokorovka, Fort Bragg Year: Senior Event: Long jump (seeded 18th of 28) Personal-best: 22 feet, 6¼ inches Top seed: Chase Wheeler, De La Salle, 23-11¾ Notable: Ranks second in school history behind Doug Heightmeyer, who leapt 22-7½ in 1969 ... ranked second in the triple jump in the Empire this season with a personal-best of 43-8¾ ... a native of the Ukraine, he moved to Fort Bragg in the seventh grade and will apply for U.S. citizenship ... will compete at SRJC next year. Michelle Stone, Ursuline Year: Junior Event: Pole vault (seeded 18th of 27) Personal-best: 11 feet, 3 inches Top seed: Claire Hawkins, Santa Margarita, 12-9 Notable: Owns the school record and ranks fourth in Empire history, five inches shy of tying the all-time mark of 11-8 set by Santa Rosa’s Emely Flores in 2004 ... has raised her personal-best by six inches in the past month, winning titles at the Santa Rosa City Meet, North Bay League Championships and Redwood Empire Championships. She finished second at the MOC. Jacque Taylor, Casa Grande Year: Junior Event: 1,600 meters (seeded 2nd of 27), 3,200 meters (seeded 19th of 31) Personal-best: 4:49.63 (1,600); 10:34.39 (3,200) Top seed: Sammy Silva, Our Lady of Peace, 4:49.79; Jordan Hasay, Mission Prep, 10:30.04 Notable: Ranks fourth in Empire history in the 1,600 and fifth in the 3,200 ... finished second at state in the 1,600 last year ... placed fourth at state in the 3,200 as a freshman. Mike Tracy, Windsor Year: Senior Event: High jump (seeded 30th of 31) Personal-best: 6 feet, 9 inches Top seed: Xavier Williford, Franklin, 6-8 Notable: Owns the school record and ranks ninth in Empire history ... his personal-best of 6-9 ranks seventh in the state this year ... is seeded based on his leap of 6-4 at the MOC last week ... Murrieta’s Nick Ross, seeded 10th, has leapt a state-best 7-3 this year ... has a 4.28 GPA and has signed with Cal. Kaleb Trembly, Petaluma Year: Senior Event: Triple jump (seeded 23rd of 26) Personal-best: 45 feet, 0½ inches Top seed: Hammed Suleman, Deer Valley, 49-1 Notable: Ranks third in school history ... won the long jump and triple jump at the Redwood Empire Championships ... attended high school in Hawaii as a freshman, went to Heritge High in Brentwood as a sophomore and arrived at Petaluma last year ... was a wide receiver/defensive back in football and won Petaluma’s Most Courgageous Wrestler award. — Eric Branch and Jim Crowhurst
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