A couple of local scholastic track and field athletes competed in the state championships last weekend.
At La Jolla High, the girls did not qualify for the finals, as they had to have peak performances of the year just to qualify for states.
“If they had not done that, they would not have had the chance to experience track at the state level,” La Jolla High head coach Roger Karnopp said.
Nihal Kayali ran a great race in the prelims, finishing in 5:01.06, which was only .26 of a second off her best time.
“She ran a very smart race,” Karnopp said.
Tess Plant-Thomas came by the 200 meters in 29.5, and her time for the 800 meters was 2:18.04, almost 2.25 seconds off her best time.
“Both girls have super work ethics and are determined to be back there next year. They did enjoy their experience,” Karnopp noted.
According to Karnopp, the season went very well except for a couple of key illnesses at the end of the season.
“Those two illnesses cost us a chance for the league title,” Karnopp said.
La Jolla finished third in the league and bounced back well to finish second in Division II CIFs.
Also at last weekend’s state championship, the University City High boys team ended up overall tied for 26th place with Mission Hills in the team results.