Stamps Must Try to Stick to Mortensen

NORWALK —  The predator has become the prey.

The hunter is now the hunted.

Those are two ways to describe the role reversal that Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks High and Julia Stamps of Santa Rosa will find themselves in Saturday when the final of the girls’ 3,200 meters is run in the State track and field championships at Cerritos College.

Qualifying rounds in the field events will begin at 2 p.m. today, followed by running events at 5.

The last time Mortensen and Stamps met was in the national cross-country championships in December. when the Lancer senior swooped past the heavily favored but ailing Stamps with a mile left in the race on her way to the title. Defending champion Stamps, a junior, dropped out of the race shortly after being passed by Mortensen, but most experts agreed that she would have won had she been healthy.

Mortensen, however, has improved immensely.

She is the midst of one of the greatest seasons ever by a U.S. high school runner. She has produced national-leading marks seven times this year, capped by a national record of 9 minutes 48.59 seconds in the 3,200 last Friday in the Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos.

The time broke the previous national outdoor record by more than 11 seconds and is the fastest ever indoors or out by nearly four seconds.

Stamps, who is healthy after being diagnosed with potassium and sodium deficient blood earlier this season, ran a career-best 10:12.20 in the Redwood Empire Region meet two weeks ago to move into 15th on the all-time national outdoor list. But she’ll probably have to break 10 minutes--if conditions are good--to have a chance at winning her third consecutive state title.

“Kim has kind of warped our sense of what’s a great time,” Thousand Oaks distance Coach Jack Farrell said. “If a girl ran 10:12 in just about any other year, it would catch people’s attention. But not this year. Kim has just run so fast.”

That doesn’t mean Farrell or Mortensen expect a cakewalk Saturday. They both recall last year’s State meet, where Stamps blew away Amy Skieresz of Agoura and Courtney Pugmire of Anaheim Esperanza in what was billed as a showdown.

Mortensen, who placed fourth last year, is one of three athletes from the region who are expected to contend for state titles.

Sophomore sprinter Miguel Fletcher of Alemany and freshman pole-vaulter Bridget Pearson of Hoover are the others.

Fletcher is ranked second in the 100 with a career-best of 10.47 and third in the 200 at 21.06. He will also run the anchor leg on Alemany’s 1,600 relay team that is ranked seventh at 3:17.29.

Pearson is the No. 3-ranked girls’ pole-vaulter at 11 feet 8 inches, but has defeated Erica Hoernig (12-0 3/4) of Santa Ana Foothill and Alexa Harz (11-10) of Palos Verdes Peninsula this year.

Juniors Michelle Perry of Quartz Hill and Liz Giltner of Chaminade head the list of other competitors from the region who are ranked among the top seven in their events.

Perry is fourth in the 300 low hurdles at 42.88 and tied for seventh in the 100 highs at 14.56.

Giltner is tied for third in the high jump at 5-8.

Nordhoff senior Will Bernaldo, who ran a career-best 9:14.22 to win the boys’ 3,200 in the Masters Meet, is ranked sixth in that event.

So is Shaluinn Fullove of Louisville in the girls’ 1,600 (5:00.6), Danielle Day of Quartz Hill in the girls’ 3,200 (10:45.20), sophomore Frances Santin of Taft in the girls’ 300 lows (43.47) and Cheree Hicks of Littlerock in the girls’ shotput (43-3).