Boys and girls track and field: The Fantastic Four

Steve Virgen

NORWALK - And then there were four.

The Newport-Mesa District trio of Corona del Mar High senior Krisserin

Canary, Costa Mesa junior Sharon Day and Estancia junior Humberto Rojas

will attempt to advance to one more level in the track and field season

at the CIF State Preliminaries today at Cerritos College. CdM senior

Julie Allen will compete in the 3,200 meters final Saturday.

Canary will begin the action, competing in the pole vault at 2 p.m.

She cleared 11 feet, 3 inches last week at the Masters Meet to advance.

Canary’s personal best and school record is 11-6, which she cleared to

finish fourth in the CIF Division III Finals May 18 and at the Arcadia

Invitational April 13. CIF Southern Section champion Chelsea Johnson, an

Atascadero senior, enters the favorite with a 13-3 clearance.

Day will represent the Mustangs for the third straight year in the

high jump. She has cleared 5-10 this season, and has come within an inch

of 6-0. She will be contending for the state title against a pair of

seniors, Chaunte Howard (J.W. North) and Kaylene Wagner (Dos Pueblos),

who have both cleared 6-0. Last week, Day finished second to Howard at

the Masters Meet.

Rojas also finished second at the Masters Meet, in the 1,600 meters.

The former alternate was the fascinating story of the day, as he made the

most of his second chance. Rojas broke his own school record in 4:14.71.

He passed five runners over the final 200 meters, completing a kick he

has not displayed the entire season.

Rojas, who will compete at 5:38 p.m. in one of two heats, owns the

fourth-best time entering the state preliminaries today. The best time is

4:11.55, from Northern California senior Sean Drake (University High of

San Francisco).

The girls 3,200 meters final will take place Saturday at 6:25 p.m.

Allen pulled out of the 1,600 meters to solely concentrate on the 3,200.

She has the sixth-best time, 10:40.54, but that’s from the Masters

Meet. When Allen won the CIF Division III title, she finished the 3,200

in a personal-best and school-record 10:33.95, which ranks third-best in

the state.

Central California junior Ruth Graham (Gunn High), who has a 10:32.06

time, Northern California senior Clara Horowitz (Head Royce), who

finished in 10:32.20, and Southern Section champion and Notre Dame

Academy senior Christine Bolf (10:35.94) will also be vying for the state

title.

Allen, who will run for Stanford next season, also finished second in

the 1,600 at the Masters Meet in a school-record and personal-best

4:57.57.