Local runners show well at state meet

Three San Lorenzo Valley High School distance runners and a team of sprinters and one runner from Scotts Valley High School ran strong races at the California Interscholastic Federation championships in Clovis last weekend.
Cody Johnson, a junior 800-meter runner from SLV, ran 1 minute, 52.44 seconds in the first of three qualifying heats to grab a spot as one of nine runners in the final. The following day Johnson ran 1:52.81 to finish fifth overall in the state.
“Cody did great,” said coach Rob Collins. “He set a school record and a Santa Cruz County record.”
Teammate Nick Hicks, a senior in his first trip to the state championship, finished 23^rd in the state in the 3200-meter for the Cougars. Hicks finished in 9:35.62, about 11 seconds slower than the 9:24.28 he ran in the Central Coast Section finals the previous weekend that qualified him for state.
The 90-plus degree heat and windy conditions in Clovis affected the runners, especially in the 3200, Collins said.
The boys 4×400 meter team of Jonny Cooper, Lucas Sinnott, Billy Mullins and Johnson ran 3:22.14, their second fastest time of the season, but did not make the final.
On the girl’s side, SLV’s Anna Maxwell and Scotts Valley High School’s Vanessa Fraser finished sixth and seventh. Maxwell clocked in at 10:32.38 and Fraser 10:33.16. Maxwell was off the pace she set last week at the CCS finals when she ran a personal record 10:21.04.
This was Johnson, Maxwell and Fraser’s second consecutive trip to the state meet in the same events. In 2011, Johnson did not make the state final while Maxwell finished 11^th while Fraser got 15^th.