Courtney Allen had to run a slightly different race than normal on Saturday at the 50th Golden West Invitational in Folsom.
Not only was she competing in the one-mile event, which is approximately nine meters longer than the standard 1,600, but Allen's competition included Arroyo Grande's Jordan Hasay, who set the national high school record in the 1,500 last year at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
It was a slightly different race with slightly different competition.
"The competition was definitely good because Jordan Hasay was there," said Allen, who finished fifth in the one mile with a 5:04.22, a big improvement over the 5:33.55 she set two years ago at Golden West as a sophomore.
"Way big," she added.
Hasay, meanwhile, who attends Mission College Prep in San Luis Obispo, clocked a first-place time of 4:44.28.
"She went to the Olympic Trials and made it to the finals in the 1,500," Allen added, "and she's my age."
Allen had previously run against the Oregon-bound harrier at Golden West two years ago - Hasay ran a 4:43.34 then - and already knew of Hasay's exploits. Although Hasay beat her nearest competitor by some 16 seconds on Saturday, Allen still had a pack with which to run.
"She's on a different level," Allen said.
"I wasn't really worrying about her at all, but there was other good competition there to push me."
Most notably Alexa Aragon (5:00.16) and Danielle Aragon (5:03.53) of Billings West, as well as Megan Morgan (5:01.93) of Torrey Pines, each of whom managed to "push" Allen on Saturday.
"I think I did pretty well," Allen said. "I'm pretty happy with my overall season."
A four-time Tri-County Athletic League champion this year, Allen earned the Central Coast Section title in the 1,600 with a personal record, and school record, 4:59.08. Punching her ticket to the state preliminaries as a result, Allen recorded a 5:00.73 last week at the CIF Track and Field State Championships in Clovis.
"It's been four good years, and when you run back-to-back like that, that says something about you," said SBHS distance coach Jess Morales, who was pleased with Allen's consistency from the state competition to Golden West.
"She ran her race and she's running real good," Morales said.
Although she technically ran unattached, Allen was the lone competitor from San Benito High this year to run at Golden West. Last year, Ryan Shorey competed in and won the 400 meters with a 50.29 at Golden West.
Shorey, who will attend the University of Redlands, qualified toward Golden West but decided not to attend this year due to a prior engagement - his cousin's graduation.
Allen, meanwhile, will tone down her workouts for a brief period before she's back in training for cross country season. Attending UNLV in the fall, Allen's first scheduled college meet will be in late August.
"I told her to take a couple of days off," Morales said, "but she wants to be ready for cross country season."
Said Allen, "I don't want to get totally out of shape."
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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San Benito Score: Playoffs for football, volleyball and cross country
