All-American Honor Highlights Rainy Second Day
On a rainy second day of the 2019 CCCAA State Track & Field Championship, the Hartnell women's distance team enjoyed three top 8 medal finishes in just one event lead by sophomore Monica Ruelas in fourth. The trio of Ruelas, Isabelle Torres and Nerina Campos represented the North in the 12 women field that saw some of the day's heaviest rain during the event. Ruelas would use a final charge in the last 100 meters to pick up her first CCCAA All-American honor. She stopped the clock at 4:54.93, her fastest clocking since early March. Freshman Isabelle Torres would place sixth in her first 1500 meter final with a new lifetime personal best 4:57.77. The mark will mark her one of the top five returning runners next spring. Freshman Nerina Campos used her opportunity to compete in the state final to place eighth picking the final medal in a new lifetime personal best 5:04.70. Campos moves on to the program's all-time top 20 race in her final 1500 meters of the season.
Fellow freshman Daniela Salazar was able to return to action just in time to use her early season state automatic qualifying time to compete in the last two meets of the season. The reegional trials of the 800 meters was her first race since March 2 but did not stop the motivated freshman from winning her first regional title over the two lap distance the following week. In the state final, Salazar ran in the fifth position nearly the entire race and would cross the line in a season best 2:17.42. The mark will move her up on the program's all-time top 20 list and within striking distance of the nearly 30 year old 800 meter record.