12.28.07
Fall 2007 All-Area girls cross country selections
North Carlson, Candace 18:09:00 1 1 1Originally uploaded by andynoise
Runner of the Year: Candace Carlson
North, junior
Had top times for girls from Kern County at the state and Central Section championships
Beat all Kern County girl runners head-to-head all season
Third consecutive first team All-Area pick
Placed first at Kern County Championships at Hart Park
Brianna Diaz
Delano, senior
Won Division II Central Section race to qualify for the state meet
Set Delano course record of 18:11
Was undefeated in East Yosemite League and Central Section
Ashley Nolasco
Stockdale, senior
Became second Stockdale runner in coach Bree Tape’s five-year tenure to reach Division I state meet
Second team All-Area in 2006
Ran 19:08 at Mount San Antonio College Invitational
Cassandra Salazar
Stockdale, senior
84th at state meet in Division III
Ran 18:04 at South Sequoia League championship, beating school record by 1:35
First team All-Area in 2006
Ashlee Thomas
Centennial, senior
Fourth in Central Section Division II race, leading Golden Hawks to team title
Fifth in SWYL meet
Personal record in 5-kilometer race is 20:00
Elizabeth Wittenberg
Shafter, junior
Qualified for the Division III state meet
Finished second behind teammate Cassandra Salazar at Atascadero Invitational and the Central Valley Championships
photo album HERE
girls runner of the year 1984-2006
First team All-Area in 2006
Coach of the Year: Randy Jones, Centennial
A blend of newcomers with veterans helped Centennial win its fifth Central Section girls cross country team title in the 10-year career of coach Randy Jones.
Jones earned The Californian’s All-Area girls cross country coach of the year honor for the third time in four seasons.
“Our boys (team) got one (a Section title) this year, too. It’s been a good run,” said Jones, who resigned as Centennial’s cross country coach but will continue to coach track and field.
Centennial won the Division II girls section title by placing five runners in the top 10. The Golden Hawks scored 33 points to easily outdistance Visalia-Golden West’s 63.
“That was our goal all season,” Jones said of the section meet. “We wanted to win that valley meet. I set up our training for that meet. We tried to peak there and we did.”
girls coach of the year 1987 to 2006
Second team All-Area
Lizzy Baker-Steimer, Centennial
Sarah Baker, Bakersfield
Halie Meadow, Frontier
Natalie Fernandez, Foothill
Ruby Lara, McFarland
Carolyn Haney, Stockdale
Honorable mention
Centennial: Jessica Crow, Kelsey Dahl, Rachel Tiner
East: Sophia Garcia
Garces: Monica Guzman
Golden Valley: Hanna Rocha
Highland: Denise Mercado, Angelina Roman
Foothill: Perla Veloz
McFarland: Corina Garcia
Ridgeview: Jessica Huizar, Yesmin Tanguma
Shafter: Cassandra Carillo, Amy Waters, Elizabeth Wittenberg
Stockdale: Brianne Curtis, Jessica Miller, Amber Nelson, Shelbe Penner
Tehachapi: Emily Leming, Sarah Whitson
Taft: Melinda Magee
Wasco: Alejandra Gutierrez
Carlson put together a dominant run
BY JEFF EVANS, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jevans@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Dec 27 2007 8:30 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Dec 27 2007 8:35 PM
Candace Carlson proved to be unbeatable against Kern County opposition this season.
Carlson, a junior at North High School, was the dominant girls runner in the county and has been selected as The Californian’s All-Area Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.
“I’m excited. That’s awesome,” Carlson said after learning she’s been named the top runner.
She is the second North runner to win the honor in three seasons. Amanda Montgomery won in 2005 when Carlson was a freshman.
“It’s cool following in her footsteps,” Carlson said.
Carlson said her best race of the season came at the Oct. 27 Kern County Championships, where she blistered the 3-mile Hart Park course in 18 minutes, 9 seconds.
“That was my best time at Hart Park,” she said. “I felt so good that race.”
Carlson took the lead by the midway point of the race and steadily pulled away. She sped up and crossed the finish line in a sprint.
“I didn’t have any competition (that day), but even when you don’t have anyone to run with, you have to run for yourself,” she said.
Carlson won the Southwest Yosemite League individual title with a time of 18:52 at Hart Park, then placed fourth at the Central Section Division I race at Woodward Park in Fresno with a time of 19:04.
At the state meet two weeks later, her time was 19:28 — still faster than any other Kern County runner at the state meet but a disappointment to Carlson. She had a 19:14 on the same course at the state meet her sophomore year.
“I thought I would do a lot better the last two races this season, but I can’t be disappointed,” Carlson said.
She acknowledged it was difficult running among a pack of runners after often being alone ahead of everyone during Kern County races.
“You’re used to winning to having so many girls around you,” Carlson said. “It’s going to get into your head and break down your spirit a little bit.
“But that happens to everyone. I think I’m getting adjusted to it.”
One hurdle Carlson said she’ll need to overcome is the mental aspect of running at Woodward Park.
“That course is really hard for me, whenever I run there,” she said. “It seems like every time I’m there, I’m facing intense competition, which doesn’t help.”
Carlson said her goal is continued improvement next year, which she hopes will lead to a college athletic scholarship.
“My coaches all tell me I have a lot of potential,” she said. “I’m excited to see what I can do.”
Time-wise, she said she’d like to chop about 30 seconds off her time at Woodward Park while running below 18 minutes at Hart Park.
“I’m pretty excited for my senior year,” Carlson said. “If I can drop into the 17s, it gives me a lot of improvement from this year.
“That was my goal coming into this year, but I didn’t get my times down that low.”
She has taken a break from running in December but said she’ll be back running in January in preparation of track.
“I’ll start by running 5 miles a day, until I need to do some speed workouts,” Carlson said. “Track is different from cross country, of course. It’s hard to say what I prefer. It’s boring running eight laps around the track (for the 3,200 meters). The 1,600 goes so fast.”
