About this time a year ago, Del Norte track coach Chris Jacobs was pondering his options.
The state had approved adding the 4×800-meter relay to the championships as a scoring event and Jacobs knew he had the makings of a decent girls’ team. Maybe a lot better than decent, really.
He started with 2:07 metric half-miler Hannah Riggins and returned the Echsner sisters, Ella and Paige, not to mention rapidly improving veteran distance runner Emily Russo and the wild card, Brianna Busse, a fierce competitor both as a wrestler and runner.
Still, focusing on how that event might impact others since Paige Echsner was a pole vaulter and Ella figured to score points in the 300-meter hurdles. Might it be smarter to let Riggins and Russo enter multiple distance events in quest of the first girls section team championship for the Nighthawks?
No.
As it turned out, the quintet took the state lead at Arcadia and were untouchable the rest of the season, winning the section and state titles before adding on the U.S. championship at the Nike Nationals in Oregon.
The Nighthawks’ time in the state final, 8:55.99, became the section record and the 8:51.78 at Nationals is the section all-time best.
The San Diego Section uses the National Federation records and rules and that group will not accept a time from an individual or team who has already graduated, and Riggins had already marched before Nike but not prior to heading off to Princeton.
“Because Brianna advanced to the state championships in wrestling, she didn’t get to come out until almost March,” said Jacobs, “but by the end of the year she was pushing the others.
“This year I had this plan that we’d move Paige, who ran a 2:09, into Hannah’s spot on the third leg, keeping Ella and Emily in the first two positions. That would leave Brianna to anchor the team and I know she’s a very tough runner — perfect for that spot.”
But the best laid plans…..
In the Division I wrestling championships, Busse faced Rancho Buena Vista’s Kayla Edwards in the 135-pound championship. Just 15 seconds into the match, Busse twisted and tore every muscle, ligament, and tendon in her knee, eliminating her hopes for a wrestling medal at state and erasing her chances of running this spring.
“As bad as it was for the team, and it was terrible, it was worse for Brianna,” said Jacobs. “She’s going to get a varsity letter, which gives her 12 in four years (cross country, wrestling and track), and I know she’ll be there as a team captain. It’s devastating.”
As it was a year ago, Jacobs will see how things materialize over the course of the season to decide what direction the team will take.
“The three girls returning have all said they want to defend their state championship,” said Jacobs. “We have a lot of good runners who could step up and with normal improvement from the other three, we could easily break 9 minutes again.
“But you also have to be realistic. Right now (San Juan Capistrano) JSerra, which pushed us to that 8:51 (by running 8:52.68 in second place), looks very strong. I believe we’re strong enough to defend our section title, but state? You just never know.”
Actually, Jacobs did know by the time last year’s state meet came along.
The Nighthawks had won impressively at Arcadia in 9:00.77 and were ready to roll at state even though Paige Echsner had to hustle over to the starting line after finishing sixth in the pole vault.
“We ran the same order all year long and I knew they were ready for a big effort,” said Jacobs. “It turns out Hannah went 2:07 on the third leg and the race was over. At Nationals, Hannah came from behind and gave us the lead (running 2:05) and Paige battled step-by-step with the JSerra girl, finally pulling it out.
“With these three back, yes, it could happen again.”
Being the head coach with an emphasis on the distance races, Jacobs believes 2024 will be a very special season throughout the section.
“We set section records in the 800 (Riggins at 2:06.69), 1600 (Riggins at 4:41.42) and 3200 (La Costa Canyon’s Gioana Lopizzo at 9:59.08) and all three could fall again.,” said Jacobs. “With Poway’s Tessa Buswell in the 800 (2:08.53) and Lopizzo returning the 3,200, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like Chiara Dailey from La Jolla or Jaelyn Williams from Eastlake might get a push from runners like Buswell, El Camino’s Kaitlyn Arciaga or Russo to take down the 1600 record.
“That’s what makes track fun, you never know.”
