The Beavers had five athletes who performed well in the season’s final meet at Cerritos College in Norwalk.  Jessica Counts had the team’s best finish, placing eighth in the triple jump with a 10.87 leap.  Counts also finished twelfth in the high jump, clearing 1.45m.  Amanda Taylor finished just behind Counts in the triple jump, placing tenth with a 10.42m effort.  Jinnee Miller went over 8’ 6” in the pole vault to place eleventh in that event.  On the track, Krystal Buck ran a 5:03.20 in the 1,500m to finish ninth, and Tina Kukharets came in eleventh place with a 12:55.83 time in the 3,000m steeplechase.

Behind Lyndsi Riley’s title run in the 10K, the Beavers finished sixth at the meet in San Mateo.  Riley claimed the NorCal title and advanced to this week’s State Championships at Cerritos College in Norwalk by covering the course in 40:39.39.  Five other ARC athletes qualified for the State meet.  Amanda Taylor, who competed in four individual events and placed fifth in last week’s NorCal heptathlon, finished third in the triple jump with a leap of 35’ 6.5”.  She also took seventh in the long jump (15’ 8.75”).  Krystal Buck ran a 5:03.69 in the 1500m, finishing third in the event.  She also came in eighth in the 800m with a 2:30.30 mark.  Tina Kukharets finished fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase, clocking a 12:49.5 time; she followed up that run with a 43:22.99 time in the 10K, finishing 10^th.  Jessica Counts finished fourth in the triple jump (35’ 5.25”), fifth in the high jump (4’ 9.75”), and sixth in the long jump (16’ 3.25”).  Jinnee Miller took third in the pole vault, clearing 8’ 7”.

The Beavers finished the first day a close third at the meet in San Mateo. ARC finished with 15 points, just one behind second place Shasta and three off the NorCal leader, Modesto. Lyndsi Riley picked up big points by winning the 10K event with a run of 40:39.39, her best mark of the season.  Amanda Taylor also stood out for ARC, finishing fifth in the heptathlon.  Taylor won the shot event and took second in the javelin, 200m, and long jump.

The Beavers took third in the two-day meet in Modesto.  While there were many outstanding individual performances, the strongest efforts were turned in by Tina Kukharets and Amanda Taylor.  Kukharets won the 3,000m steeplechase with a personal-best 13:02.3.  Taylor scored points on the track and in the field by running to a fourth-place finish in the 100m with a personal best 12.54 and then leaping to fifth place in the long jump (16’ 5.5”) and second in the javelin (89’ 6”).  Jessica Counts had two strong events, earning a third-place in the high jump (4’ 10”) and a fourth in the long jump (a personal best 16’ 6”).  Jinnee Miller cleared a season-best 9’ 0.25” to take second in the pole vault.  Lyndsi Riley also picked up a second place finish by turning in her fastest time of the year in the 10,000m run (41:30.0).  Jazmin White took third in the 400m with a personal-best time of 1:00.25, and Lumuli Kyumba finished fourth in the javelin with a throw of 83’ 6”.

april 18, 2008

Harlan Anderson Memorial Invitational

The Beavers finished third in the meet at Diablo Valley College.  ARC had strong showings in the sprints and several field events, most notably in the relays.  The 4x400m relay team took first with a 4:16.63 effort, and the 4x100m foursome—Jessica Counts, Amanda Taylor, Lumuli Kyumba, and Jazmin White—finished second with a 50.88 effort.  Counts, Taylor, and White each had impressive individual performances as well.  Counts took first in the triple jump with a 35’ 7” leap, and she also took third in the high jump with a personal-best 5’ 0”.  Taylor had two second-place finishes, the first coming in the 100m with a time of 12.76, and the second was in the triple jump where her 35’ 4” put her right behind Counts.  White ran to third place in the 400m with a time of 1:02.60, and she came in fourth in the 200m with a mark of 27.19.  Jinnee Miller also turned in a strong performance, winning the pole vault by clearing 9’ 0” and clearing a personal-best 4’ 10” for fourth place in the high jump.  Krystal Buck came in second in the 800m with a time of 2:28.07.

The Beavers received some strong individual performances in 90-degree weather.  Krystal Buck ran to an impressive second-place finish in the 1,500m run with a time of 4:58.33.  Lyndi Riley clocked her best time of the year in the 5K by finishing sixth in 19:57.15.  Jinnee Miller had her best effort of the spring in the high jump, clearing 5’ 0” to come in fourth in that event, and Jessica Counts tied for fifth in the same event with a 4’ 10” jump.  Amanda Taylor finished fourth in the triple jump with a 11.09m best, and then put up a personal best in the javelin with a throw of 98’ 11”.

Led by four outstanding individual efforts, the Beavers finished second in the 12-team meet.  Jessica Counts turned in the most impressive performance for ARC with her win in the triple jump with a 36’ 2” effort.  Counts, who hit the fifth-best mark in the state, easily cleared the automatic qualifying mark for the NorCal Championships.  She also was one of four women to clear 4’ 8” in the high jump, tying for first in the event.  Counts took third place with a 16’ 2” effort in the long jump; she also joined Amanda Taylor, Lumuli Kyumba, and Jazmin White on the 4x100m relay team, which finished third.  Taylor qualified for the NorCal in the heptathlon as a result of improving her javelin mark (95’ 9”, good enough for third place) and the shot put (26’ 7”).  Taylor finished second in the long jump (16’ 4.25”).  Kyumba also qualified for the NorCal in the heptathlon by posting her best marks in the 200m (27.93) and the shot (24’ 2”).  Kelly Melanson improved her 400m time with a 1:05.82 run, and Tina Kukharets competed in the 400m hurdles and finished with a 1:22 time

Several Beavers turned in strong performances in the meet at the meet at San Mateo.  Krystal Buck hit an automatic qualifying mark for the NorCal Championships in the 1500m with a time of 4:57.38.  The mark earned her a second place finish and established her new personal best.  Buck was also fourth in the 800m at 2:27 for an outstanding “double.”  Jinee Miller won the women’s pole vault with her 8’ 6” mark in her first meet of the season in this event.  She also placed fourth in the high jump with 4’ 8.25.”  Lyndsi Riley won the women’s 10K in 42:20, and coming in after her was teammate Tina Kukharets with a time of 43:09.  Lumuli Kyumba set best marks in the 400m hurdles (1:11.29) and the 100m hurdles (18.47) in her first attempts in those events.  Amanda Taylor set best marks in the 200m (27.65) and the shot (24’ 8”).  Carissa Hatch also set best marks in the shot (27’ 6”) and discus (95’ 11”).

Three athletes stood out for the Beavers at the meet at Sacramento State.  Jazmin White ran to a personal-best 1:02.43 time in the 400m, finishing 17th in the field of four-year and two-year runners.  Amanda Taylor leapt to a 12th-place finish in the long jump with a 5.08m effort, and Jessica Counts was 17th in the triple jump with a 9.97m effort.

Several ARC athletes turned in strong performances at the meet in Modesto, none more impressive than Amanda Taylor.  Showing her versatility, Taylor picked up three second place finishes and topped it off with one third place finish.  Taylor took second in the long jump (15’ 9.75”), the triple jump (33’ 9.5”), and the javelin (95’ 9”).  She also took third in the 100m dash, clocking a 12.82.  Sophomore Tina Kukharets finished second in two distance events.  She took second in the 3K steeplechase with a 13:12.9 time, and then ran 20:59.96 to place second in the 5K.  Krystal Buck ran a 5:04.21 in the 1,500m race, giving her a fifth place finish overall, but the fastest among the junior college runners. 

Amanda Taylor, Jinnee Miller, and Jessica Counts led the Beavers with strong performances in the High Jump Relay, establishing a new school record with a combined height of 14’ 0”.  Taylor cleared 4’ 6”, Miller went 4’ 8”, and Counts topped at 4’ 10”, shattering last year’s record total by seven inches.  Taylor was also the champion of both the long jump (16’ 5”) and the triple jump (35’ 1.25”), and the freshman took third in the 100m with a 12.57 time.  Counts was second in both the long and triple jumps (15’ 2.75” and 34’ 10”, respectively).  Lumuli Kyumba hit the provisional qualifying mark for the NorCal. Championships by posting a 30-foot jump in the triple.

Leap Day Meet

The Beavers took first in the six-team meet at San Mateo.  ARC totaled 34 more points than second-place Diablo Valley, primarily as the result of some outstanding individual performances.  Lauren Hoffman won the 100m (with a time of 12.60), the 200m (25.52) and ran a leg on the winning the 4x100m (52.02) and the 4x400m (4:17.27) teams.  Krystal Buck won the 800m (2:26.58) and the 5K (19:55); also in the 5K, teammates Lyndsi Riley was second (20:12) and Tina Kukharets (21:06) finished third.  Jessica Counts won the high jump, clearing 4’ 11”, and the triple jump (35’), and she placed second in the long jump with 15’ 11.25” effort, off the meet’s best jump, a 16’ 4.5” leap by ARC’s Amanda Taylor.

The Beavers received some outstanding individual performances in the meet at Santa Rosa.  Krystal Buck was a double winner, sprinting to a win in the 600m with a time of 1:48.52, and another victory in the 1600m with a 5:01.70 mark.  Lauren Hoffman won the 300m with a 41.64 time, while Jessica Counts and Amanda Taylor went 1-2 in the triple jump with leaps of 35’ 3” and 34’ 9.25”, respectively.  Taylor also won the javelin with a throw of 85’ 2”.  The ARC 4x400m relay team ran a 4:08.16, more than three seconds ahead of second place Modesto.

february 15-16, 2008

ARC 5 Way Meet

Coming off a season in which the team won its first California state title, the Beavers brought high expectations into the season-opening meet at ARC.  They did not disappoint.  Dominating the competition, the Beavers won ten of the 18 events run over two days.  In the running events, Lauren Hoffman and Amanda Taylor went 1-2 in the 100m dash, and then Hoffman ran to another first in the 200m.  Sara Smith won the 5,000m race, crossing over a minute and a half ahead of the second place finisher, and Tina Kukharets won the 3,000m steeplechase.  The ARC 4 x 400 relay team blazed to a first place finish, coming in 17 seconds ahead of second place Diablo Valley.  In the field events, Jessica Counts won the high jump and the triple jump, and she took second behind Taylor in the long jump.  Taylor added to her second in the 100 with a win in the long jump and another second in the triple jump.  Carissa Hatch won the discus. 

At a special ceremony on Friday, the 2007 State Championship women’s track and field team was recognized and presented with commemorative rings.  It is the first state title for women’s track.  Ten of the athletes from last year’s team are now at four-year schools:  Elsa Barthson (University of North Texas), Colleen Callaghan (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), Lindy Capps (University of San Diego), Faunn Davis (Cal State Dominguez Hills), Cristina Hibbert (Cal State Northridge), Kourtney Johnson (Central State University, Ohio), Bonita Jones (Chicago State), Crystina Osborne (Fresno State), Brittany Peterson (Humboldt State), and Kelley Rooney (University of Southern Mississippi).