Pitman star beats everyone at Masters 400 trials

Kiana Clay’s smooth arm action escorted her down the home stretch of the 400 meters toward a time that shocked her.

The Pitman High junior wasn’t ready for her lifetime best of 55.46 seconds, the first time she’s ever dipped into the 55s. She waited for the second-best time, Thursday’s preliminaries of the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Track and Field Championship, to run her best.

The best time, of course, is Friday night’s finals.

Clay made a huge leap, from fourth place at last week’s section Division I meet to the top time of the Masters’ 24 qualifiers. She’ll be one of the favorites tonight.

“My dad told me I could get into the 55s. I said, ‘I don’t know,’ ” Clay said. “I surprised myself today.”

Her 55.46, good for the win in her heat, is the fourth-fastest time in the section this season. She also lowered her school record and – more important – fortified her confidence level for tonight. Her previous best was 56.14.

“I didn’t even know (if) I could qualify,” Clay said. “It showed me that I could really run with these girls. Before, I would get so anxious I was almost sick. Now I have the confidence.”

The Masters, the premier meet of the section season, is a test of nerves for both the experienced and the first-timers. The top three finishers in each event advance to the CIF Championships at Clovis next week.

To merely continue their seasons, athletes in most events had to qualify for Friday night’s Masters finals. All heat winners, plus the five fastest finishers of the three heats, qualified in races through the 800.

Clay kicked off her big day by helping Pitman secure a berth in the 4x100 relay finals. Scarly Tristao, Clay, Cerah Moren and Madi Todd placed third in their heat with a school-record 48.74. That was sixth overall.

Modesto junior Kendall McNair, like Clay, also did a double-take after his personal-best of 14.85 in the 110 hurdles. He placed sixth overall.

“I was just trying to qualify, but I was in a fast heat,” McNair said. “I don’t know how I PR’d. I was out of the blocks last. I’ll give it my all tonight.”

Hilmar senior Dani Olson will wrap up her solid career Friday night in the finals of the 100 hurdles. She won her heat in 14.90 and was second overall.

Also advancing were Pitman sophomore Isaiah Marable, whose 49.37 in the 400 was sixth overall, and Sonora junior Thomas Kruetzfeldt was seventh in the 800 (1:55.42).

Turlock’s boys 4x400 relay team – Ryan Weaver, Jesus Robledo, Gali Farias and Bryan Montes – reached the finals by placing sixth (3:23.55). In eighth was Pitman – Jose Chavez, Edgar Amaya, Chaise Schroer and Marable – in 3:39.67.

There were also some painful “almosts” at Elk Grove High. Downey junior Erykah Hall was timed in 12.51 in the 100 for ninth. Only the top eight race Friday night. Hall missed by two-hundredths of a second.

It was worse for Waterford’s Dante Berggren after his 11.0, one-hundredth of a second off the mark. Undaunted, Berggren kept his season alive later with a fifth in the 200 (22.12).

Central Valley senior Heaven Simon, a double winner at last week’s Division IV-V meet at Cal State Stanislaus, recorded a fourth-place overall finish in the 300 hurdles (44.31).

Squeezing into the finals of the 4x100 relay was East Union (49.20 for eighth) – Katelyn Allen, Alyssa Drew, Sophie Williams and Jordan McNeal.

Spicing the day were finals in six field events. Manteca senior Carl Chandler is state-bound after his third in the triple jump (46-93/4).

Livingston senior Diego Solis tossed 154-8, his second-best throw, for fifth in the discus. Also fifth was Oakdale junior Kai Tanner in the shot put (38-13/4). Pitman’s Lauren Cariaso was sixth in the girls triple jump (36-41/2)

This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 9:40 PM with the headline "Pitman star beats everyone at Masters 400 trials."