Clovis North’s Foster absent, but other stars star at North Area track meet

Cinching up his signature, wide-brimmed straw hat was the easy part for Clovis North High track and field coach Rich Brazil during Wednesday’s toasty Central Section North Area meet at Clovis East.

Discussing his girls program’s latest horrific jolt of misfortune was quite another on the 89-degree day: “We’re trying to focus on being positive,” he said.

That’s a definite test of will, given what’s happened to his national-class athletes, Rhesa Foster and Mikaela Smith, in the past 20 months.

Foster, signed with 2015 NCAA champion Oregon, leading the Central Section in three events and ranked No. 2 in another entering this week, missed the North Area with a hamstring strain.

Because it was a qualifying meet, that means Foster will not advance to the section Masters Championships on May 21 at Buchanan’s Veterans Memorial Stadium in the sprints or the 100 high hurdles, where she’s ranked fourth in the state.

Clovis North did have a medical waiver approved for Foster in the long jump, where she’s ranked third in the state. So, given improved health, she will compete at Masters in that event, as did Kingsburg’s Joey Souza last year in the same event after he missed the Sequoia-Sierra Area meet with a similar injury.

Waivers can be approved in field events because field size can be virtually unlimited, but that isn’t the case in lane events simply because there are limited lanes – nine. Foster, however, had to have the section season-best mark in the long jump to advance to the Masters, even with the waiver approval. And her 20-2 1/2 exceeded by more than a foot all other marks in Wednesday’s four area qualifying meets.

For Foster, this comes a year after she missed her junior season with an ACL torn in a September 2014 volleyball match.

And, for Clovis North, the latest Foster absence comes 11 months after now-USC team member Smith was denied the opportunity for a third straight state 800 title in the CIF finals at Buchanan when she was disqualified for impeding the progress of another in an incident that had her ankle spiked.

“That’s part of athletics,” Brazil said. “You’re going to have that. This will only make Rhesa stronger. She’s a fighter, she doesn’t back down, she doesn’t give up and we’re going to continue to keep fighting with her while looking out for her best interests. This isn’t ideal; I feel for her. But, hopefully, she’ll have an opportunity on the 21st to compete. If not, she has a bright future ahead.”

Other stars stand out – Foster aside, several of the state’s elite gathered momentum for the season’s stretch run with exceptional performances:

▪ Hannah Waller: The Buchanan senior and state defending 400 champion added four gold medals to her four-year prep treasure chest in the 200 (24.18), 400 (meet-record 54.11) and 400 (48.42) and 1600 (3:55.73) relays.

“I feel better than ever,” said Waller, who has signed with Oregon. “I don’t remember a time when I’ve been this healthy, this hydrated and this happy overall. Everything is flowing correctly; everything is in synch.”

▪ Lauren Moffett: The Clovis North senior swept the distances (meet-record 4:54.20 in 1600; 11:08.63 in 3200) a year after doing the same in the Masters. She’s headed for Vanderbilt.

▪ Eduardo Herrera: The Madera South senior delivered a difficult triple, especially given the heat, by winning the 800 (1:56.66), 1,600 (4:13.61) and 3,200 (9:14.24). A year after sweeping the Masters’ 1,600 and 3,200 and placing third in the state 3,200, the Colorado signee is uncertain if he’ll run the 800 at the Masters.

▪ McKay Johnson: The Clovis North senior, heading to Cal, improved his state third-best mark by winning the shot put at 63-9. He also placed third in the discus at 177-3.

▪ Paramveer Chohan: The Buchanan senior, who has committed to Cal, swept the hurdles (15.13 in 110 highs; 38.61 in 300 intermediates) and torched a 47.2 anchor split on a third-place 1,600 relay.

“I haven’t had the competition,” said Chohan, whose 37.05 time in the intermediates is a section record and second-ranked in the state. “I have a lot better time in me.”

▪ Charles Williams: The Bullard senior swept the sprints (10.84 in 100; 21.61 in 200) and ran on relays that won the 1,600 (3:22.56) and finished third in the 400 (42.62).

South Area – Ridgeview’s Lawrence White (24-8 1/4 in long jump) and Liberty-Bakersfield’s Dennis Hicks (49-10 1/2 in triple jump) became clear state leaders with golden jumps in the South Area Meet.

White, who will play football at Iowa State, leads the state – Hicks, actually – by 7 1/4 inches in the long jump. Wednesday’s mark would have won the first 35 state finals in the long jump and 37 of the past 63.

Hicks leads the state by 1-10 1/2 in the triple.

Central Area – Mt. Whitney’s Tatum Perez became the first runner in Central Area Meet history to win the 800 four times, clocking 2:18.11. She arrived ranked second in the section at 2:14.99. Only Kathi Roldan (1987, 2:13.41; 1988, 2:16.79) has won a Masters 800 in school history, girls or boys.

Sequoia-Sierra D-II Championship – Immanuel’s Zoe March and Central Valley Christian’s Gabby Satterlee stole the show.

March, The Fresno Bee Small Schools Player of the Year in basketball who’s competing in prep track and field for the first time as a senior, won the 400 (57.15), 300 low hurdles (43.39) and anchored the Eagles’ winning 400 relay (50.18). Her 300 hurdles time ranks No. 7 in section history. She’ll play basketball at Azusa Pacific.

Satterlee, The Bee’s co-Runner of the Year in cross country and headed to Baylor, scored gold in the 800 (2:15.5), 1600 (5:00.78), 3200 (11:00.85) and 1600 relay (4:11.65).

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 10:50 PM with the headline "Clovis North’s Foster absent, but other stars star at North Area track meet."