The La Jolla High track team has some runners worth going out to the oval and seeing this season — and at least one of the Vikings is recording times over two counties worth eye-witnessing.
On the former, sprinter Payton Smith, blossoming even further in her junior year, placed third in the 400 meters in 55.45 seconds in the enormous Mt. SAC Relays on April 15.
Then “Smitty,” who also is the Vikings’ designated goal-scorer in soccer during the winter, doubled in the same meet by placing seventh in the 200 meters with a time of 24.26 seconds.
Both performances were in the invitationals for those events, in other words, on a special we-invite-you basis because of her previous times, for those of us who aren’t track aficionados.
Those weren’t even personal records (PRs, in track parlance) for Payton, who the week before, at the Arcadia Invitational also in greater L.A., ran a 54.12 in the 400, a PR, and 24.59 in the 200, slower than the 24.08 she ran at the Mt. Carmel/Asics meet March 25.
On the latter, Kirra Fisk, Smith’s junior classmate, burned a time of 10:56.33 in the 3200 meters at Mt. SAC Friday night, April 14, good for seventh place among those specially invited.
Then, riding back down to San Diego, getting a night’s sleep, and appearing at the fifth annual Jim Cerveny Invitational at Mission Bay High on April 15, Fisk, who has accumulated times like this since her freshman year, competed in the 1600 and clocked 5:15.73 for third place. That’s over five minutes of running as hard as you can, for the uninitiated, against top competition.
The third female runner to complete the constellation of Viking stars is Chiara Dailey, a freshman, who went to Mt. SAC and ran a PR in 1600 with 4:48.62 (fourth) and another PR in the 800 with 2:16.48 (sixth in the seeded race).
“The three athletes went to Mt. SAC and performed well,” La Jolla head coach Paul Byrne commented in characteristic low-key fashion. His remarks seek to lessen expectations for further competition and reduce undue pressure — a great coaching approach.
Meanwhile, on the boys’ side, Byrne singles out for strong performances: senior Wyn Smoole, freshman Leed Smoole (400, 4×100 relay), senior Isaac Chu (800, 400, 200, 3200, mile, 4400 relays, distance medley relay), sophomore Kevin Chiu (2:11.54 in the 800, 4:45.68 in 1600, and 10:25.84 in the 3200), Chris Ruff (4:36.52 in the 1600 and 10:01.04 in the 3200), and Elijah Vaz (100, 200, 400, 4×100 relay).
Wyn Smoole was all over the place at La Jolla’s event at Canyon Hills High with San Diego High in a tri-meet on April 13: The rugby back won the 300-meter hurdles, his specialty, in 41.01 (his fourth of six wins this season); he ran the second leg in a Viking-winning 4×100 relay time of 44.52; the senior with the long, flowing locks jumped 5 feet 8 inches for third in the high jump; while he long-jumped 19 feet 2.5 inches for fourth.