Prep Track and Field: Athletes looking to peak at section meet

Jackie Patterson has learned a thing or two about late-season strategy over the years.

The talented Rancho Bernardo High junior sprinter knows it is a long and grueling road to the San Diego Section finals and to the CIF State Track and Field Championships.

Just staying healthy is a battle in itself.

So Patterson, ranked No. 2 in the county in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, gives it her all in every race, but also makes sure not to push her limits until the time is right.

“I know what I can and I cannot do now,” said Patterson, who powered through the headwind at Saturday’s Palomar League championships at Canyon Crest Academy to win the 100 (12.37 seconds) and 200 (25.37) titles for the second straight year.

“I always give it my all,” she added. “I don’t save myself. But I don’t push too hard that I could injure myself.”

Patterson along with all the qualifiers from around the county will be competing in the San Diego Section preliminaries Saturday at Mt. Carmel High School.

Girls start at 9 a.m. and boys start at 2 p.m. The finals are slated for May 23 at 10 a.m. at Mt. Carmel.

There were some great performances in the Palomar League and Avocado East League championships last week. Rancho Bernardo girls 800 runner Nia Akins stole the headline in the Palomar League with her record-breaking finish.

Nobody was within 50 meters of the junior for the majority of the race. But even with the lack of competition and a strong headwind, the junior still managed to crush the 30-year-old meet record, finishing in a blistering 2:11.11. That broke Kristina Hands’ 800 meet record of 2:12.24 set in 1985.

“I really wanted that meet record,” said Akins, whose time is No. 1 in the section and eighth in the state. It also is a new school record. “It was difficult without anybody pushing me, especially in the last 200 because that is where I work the hardest.”

It showed. Akins pushed around the final turn and saw the clock counting up. With first place wrapped up, she still gave it her all and collapsed at the finish line with a record that might last another 30 years.

“It is indescribable,” she said of owning the record. “There are really no words that can explain what the feeling is right now.”

Over in the Avocado East League, Del Norte girls hurdler Ruby Mandell braved the cold, rain and wind to capture the 100 and 300 hurdle titles on her home track.

“I am from Chicago so I am used to the weather,” said Mandell, who finished the 100 hurdles in a personal-best 15.33 and the 300 hurdles in 45.50. “The cold didn’t bother me, but the wind and rain made it a little weird.”

Thrower Michelle Altice also was a double-winner at the girls Avocado East championships. The junior blew away the field in the discus, throwing 134-feet, 11-inches. She won the shot put with a throw of 37-03.

The Nighthawks’ junior enters the section preliminaries ranked No. 2 in the shot put and discus. She is behind Mt. Miguel’s Laulauga Tausaga in both.

BOYS

The boys high jump, throwing and pole vault events are where the local area should excel in the section preliminaries and finals.

The high jump will feature top-ranked Yaniv Rokach of Rancho Bernardo and Del Norte junior Cameron Hepworth, who is ranked No. 3 in the section. Rokach won the Palomar League title with a mark of 6-5. Hepworth won the Avocado East League title with a leap of 6-1.

Local throwers Colton Clark of Poway and Devin Lecakes-Jones of Rancho Bernardo will compete in the shot put and discus events. Clark won both the shot (52-6.5) and discus (154-3) titles at the Palomar League championships. He enters the prelims ranked No. 3 in the section in the shot put and No. 8 in the discus.

Rancho Bernardo’s Colin Reynolds and Skyler Ng are in the top four in the section in the pole vault. Ng won the Palomar League title with a vault of 14-0. He has hit 14-8 this year and is ranked No. 4 in the section. Reynolds has hit 15-0 and is ranked No. 2 in the section.

Del Norte’s D’Angelo Gunter is No. 4 in the section in the 400 and Paul Holbel is No. 3 in the 800. Both captured league titles in the respective events and are looking for a top-three finish in the section. Both also run on the Nighthawks 1,600-relay team, which is ranked No. 1 in the section.