Switching Races Already Paying Off for Canchola

SACRAMENTO — Elaine Canchola of Nordhoff High had surprised some track and field experts earlier in the week when she decided to run the 1,600 meters instead of the 3,200 in the state track and field championships.

But she made it look like a smart move at Hughes Stadium on Friday when she easily advanced to today’s final.

Canchola, the 1995 state Division III cross-country champion, clocked 4:55.62 to finish second in her heat behind Julia Stamps of Santa Rosa, who led all qualifiers with a time of 4:55.60.

Stamps, who ran 4:42.79--best time in the nation this year--to win the North Coast Section Meet of Champions last week, ran a stride back of Canchola for most of the race before surging ahead in the final five meters.

“I just felt like doing it,” Canchola said of her decision to run the 1,600 instead of the 3,200. “[Coach Ken Reeves] and I talked about it and he said, ‘You can do both or you can drop one.’ I just wanted to run one. I wanted to go all out in one event and see how I can do.”

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Trivia question: In honor of the state championships being held at Hughes Stadium for the first time in 10 years, name the two future Olympic gold medalists who combined to win three titles in 1987.

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Fleet trio: It’s not often that three sprinters from the Valley advance to the final of the boys’ 100 meters in the state championships. In fact, it may never have happened, but it will today with juniors Justin Fargas of Notre Dame, Miguel Fletcher of Alemany and Demetrus Patterson of Birmingham.

Fargas and Fletcher were expected to advance to the final, and Patterson grabbed the ninth--and final--qualifying spot when he clocked 10.92 to finish second in the first heat.

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Tough times: It was not a good day Friday for City Section champions from Valley schools as seven of them failed to qualify for the finals intheir events.

Among the nonqualifiers were Jessica Cosby of Granada Hills in the girls’ shotput, Ali Benmohamed of Monroe in the boys’ 1,600, Malinda Malone of Cleveland in the girls’ 400 and Larry Jones of Taft in the boys’ 400.

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Heading east: Bree Akeeson of Kennedy, the runner-up in the girls’ 3,200 meters and the third-place finisher in the 1,600 in the City Section championships, will attend Columbia in the fall.

Akeeson, who transferred from Alemany to Kennedy last fall, has personal bests of 5:12.85 in the 1,600 and 11:21.97 in the 3,200.

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Record-breaker: Ika Eliashvili of Birmingham set her fourth school record in as many weeks when she qualified eighth in the triple jump with a distance of 37-10. Her finish also qualified her for the finals. Eliashvili had won the City title with a leap of 37-5 last weekend. Before that she jumped 36-5 to win the Northwest Valley Conference finals and 36-7 1/2 in City Section preliminaries May 22.

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Trivia answer: Quincy Watts and Steve Lewis.

Watts, the 1992 Olympic champion in the 400, won the 100 in 10.49 and the 200 in 20.99 as a Taft junior in 1987.

Lewis, the 1988 Olympic champion in the 400 and the silvermedalist in 1992, won his second consecutive 400 title in 1987 as a Fremont American senior.