El Molino’s Nicole Lane recently became the latest college recruit gold nugget mined by UC Davis out of the Redwood Empire. Lane has signed to run for Davis after graduating and the Redwood Empire has created some impressive runners for them in the past.
Back row is Heather Rosales, Track & Cross Country Head Coach at El Molino and Mike Roan AD at El Molino. Front row Dorothy Lane, Mother, Nicole and Tony Lane, Father.
Lane was first team All-Empire her junior year in both track and cross country.
Expect her to be picked as runner of the year for the Empire following her senior year of cross country.
Lane was the NCS IV Cross Country Champion, 7th at State and of course won the SCL Championships. Already in track this year she has won the unofficial State Indoor Championships.
UC Davis’ current team has a strong Redwood Empire influence.
A few weeks ago on Feb. 11th one of the three 2008 Empire grads on the team crushed a Davis school record.
Former Ukiah high runner Lauren Wallace broke a 16 year old (Suzy Jones 2:10.78 1996) Davis indoor 800 meter school record in 2:07.48. That time is also the fastest 800 ever run by someone from the Redwood Empire.
Story about meet
http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/c-track/recaps/021212aab.html
Wallace is 2nd on the outdoor list for Davis at 2:08.08 from 2010 behind Davis school record holder and former 1997 Analy star Rose Criss who in 2001 ran 2:07.91.
Wallace also ran the 8th fastest Empire 400 ever at 57.74 and ran on a 1600m Relay team timed in 3:45.88 last year for Davis.
The other two 2008 Empire grads on the team are Healdsburg High’s Sarah Sumpter and Santa Rosa High’s Suzanne Howard.
Sumpter who has been reported about often in The Press Democrat for the trials and victories in her life, has turned in some great track marks for Davis.
In 2010 running for Davis, she ran the 3rd fastest 10,000 meter race ever for the Empire in 34:28.84 and also the 6th 5K (16:52.65) and 7th 3K (9:49.10)
And who is helping these great distance runners? None other than former Montgomery State Championship team member Kim Conley. Conley, who was a Viking grad from 2004, was a part of the only Redwood Empire team to ever win a state cross country championship, along with current USA star Sara “Bei” Hall.
Whats going on with Conley?
http://kimconley.wordpress.com/author/kimconley/
Whats going on with Hall?
http://twitter.com/#!/SaraHall3 or
http://www.ryanandsarahall.com/
Conley is a current assistant distance coach for both the Davis cross country and track teams along with competing at the national level herself.
At the same meet (Husky Classic at the University of Washington) Wallace broke the indoor 800 record, Conley won the open 3,000 meter race in 8:57.62, which is 4th in the nation for 2012. Hall holds the national best this year at 8:54.75.
Watch live web cast of USA indoor Championships Today and Sunday. Hall is entered in the 3,ooo on Saturday and the 1,500 on Sunday.
http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/USAIndoorTFChampionships/video.asp
Conley has the 2nd fastest 5,000m ever by an Empire runner at 15:38.13 from last year and holds the Davis school record at 16:17.51 from 2009.
Conley’s indoor 3,ooo of 9:19.16i from 2009 still stands as Davis’ school record.
Conley also turned in a 2:10.73 800 while at Davis.
Also on this year’s team is 2008 Santa Rosa High grad Suzanne Howard, who while running for Davis has so far turned in the 5th fastest 400 hurdle time ever in the Empire at 61.73 last year and 6th in 100 hurdles at 14.50 from 2008.
So what about guys
Here are the locals who competed for Davis and the place they stand on the All-Time Empire list in that event.
1,500m 8th 4:14.42i Steve Laurie, (Maria Carrillo’99) at United Heritage Invitational in Boise, Id. 2/7/04
3,000m 3rd 8:24.59 Steve Laurie, (Maria Carrillo’99) 2001
3,000m 4th 8:24.85 K.C. Cody, (Montgomery ’04) 2008
3,000m 5th 8:24.93 Calvin Thigpen, (Maria Carrillo ’07) 2011
5,000m 4th 14:11.12i Steve Laurie, (Maria Carrillo’99) at Pac 10 Indoor Invitational 2004, 14:25.70 outdoor
5,000m 7th 14:28.12 K.C. Cody, (Montgomery ’04) at Stanford Invitational 2008
10,000m 4th 30:03.99 Steve Laurie, (Maria Carrillo’99) Stanford 2004
10,000m 6th 30:28.90 Calvin Thigpen, (Maria Carrillo ’07) at Stanford 2011
10,000m 9th 30:48.73 K.C. Cody, (Montgomery ’04) 2008
110 Hurdles 7th 14.55 Dave Townsend, (Casa Grande ’90) 1993
3,000m Steeple 5th 9:15.87 Calvin Thigpen, (Maria Carrillo ’04) at Steve Scott Inv. (UC Irvine) 2008.
Jim Crowhurst
