Allen's 800-meter title highlights Pirates run at State Meet
WALNUT -- Sophomore Leanne Allen capped off an outstanding school career by winning the state title in the 800 meters at last weekend's California Community College Athletic Association State Meet, held at Mt. San Antonio College.
Allen, who helped lead the Pirates to the state title in women's cross country, continued her success for Coast track and field. After winning the Southern California Regional event, Allen came in as the favorite and she did not disappoint.
It became a two-person race after the first 400 meters as Allen (1:02.62) and Riverside's Maria Morales (1:02.91) led the way with one lap to go. Allen found another gear and managed to pull away from her Tiger opponent to win the state title with a time of 2:09.98, nearly breaking the school record of 2:09.66, set by Jill Harrington in 1985.
Allen's teammate, Raeanna Cortez, also performed well in the 800 and finished third with a 2:13.4.
Coast finished 11th as a team with 24 points. Mt. San Antonio College won the title with score of 88 points.
Several other Pirates turned in top-10 performances at the State Meet. Cortez also competed in the 1,500 and finished sixth in the state with a time of 4:41.49, while teammate Sabrina Howe battled the Walnut heat and finished sixth overall in the heptathlon with 4,181 points.
Distance standout Guadalupe Cantoran finished seventh in the 10,000 with a 39:59.6 and followed that up with a 10th-place time of 18:59.47 in the 5,000.
A pair of top-10 marks were also turned in by Nikki Puerner, who finished ninth in the triple jump (35-feet, 10-inches) and 10th in the long jump (17-3 1/4).
