Redondo track coach Bob Leetch knew he had something special when his girls 4×800 relay team had a winning time of 9 minutes, 22.16 seconds on the Sea Hawk’s home track during the Redondo Nike Track Festival
At the time, the performance marked the fastest time in the state and fifth best in the nation. In only three weeks, Redondo’s relay team of Amber Gore, Kayla Ferron, Rachel Bush and Lyndsey Mull made a drastic improvement, capturing the 4×800 at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational Friday evening with a time of 9:05.85.
Not only did the win set a new best time in the state, but it shattered the existing best mark in the nation held by The Woodlands (Texas) by nearly six seconds.
The Sea hawks led from start to finish, pulling away from Ridgewood (New Jersey) whose second-place time of 9:12.85 currently ranks third in the nation.
Leetch’s relay teams had a strong showing in Arcadia. Redondo won the 4×400 Seeded race when Erin South, Gore, Ferron and Anevay Hiehle combined for a time of 3:52.61. The Sea Hawk’s Distance Medley team of South, Gore, Ferron and Mull placed second with a time of 11:53.53.
Following Shelby Bassman’s opening leg, a trio of freshmen (Hiehle, Gore and Anastasia Chiodo) helped Redondo earn a 4th-place finish in the 4×200 Rated competition with a time of 1:44.55.
Bassman, Kristen Hamlin, Chiodo and South finished 6th in the 800 Sprint Medley with a time of 1:50.11.
In the girls 3200 Invitational, Bush placed 14th (10:37.59) and Cara Ulizio finished 23rd (10:53.03). Mira Costa’s Kelli Sugimoto finished 21st with a time of 10:48.16.
In the 4×1600 relay, Mira Costa’s team of Sugimoto, Jenna Tong, Abby Hong and Vivien Cherette placed 6th at 20:58.02.
In boys competition, Corbin Gates, Ramsey Zein, Tommy Lastrape and Kyle Hubbard gave Mira Costa a 2nd-place finish in the 4×100 hurdles with a time of 1:04.84.
The Mustangs also has a 12th-place finish in the 4×800 Invitational with Nico Pappas, Dylan Gates, Travis Taylor and Adam Perez turning in a time of 7:59.24.
Perez also finished 24th in the 3200 Rated (9:40.25) and Sean Griffin took 14th in the pole vault for the Mustangs with a height of 13 feet, 9 inches.
Redondo placed 9th in the 4×1600 Invitational with Garrett Klatte, Will Tait, Dustin Herold and Evan Malone-White finishing with a mark of 17:36.12.
Malone-White also competed in the 1 Mile Seeded, finishing 11th with a time of 4:22.92.
Redondo’s Distance Medley team of Dagmay Demsas, Klatte, Tait and Malone-White placed 19th with a time of 10:28.24.
On Saturday, Mira Costa will use the LA County Championships at Warren High School as a tune-up before the Mustangs host Redondo in a dual meet on Wednesday starting at 2:45 p.m.
