San Benito junior runs to 17th place at state meet in 400-meter
race
San Benito’s Jesse Rice finished the track season Friday as the 17th fastest 400-meter runner in California. He is the seventh fastest junior.
Rice, who was the final Haybaler athlete competing this year, finished ahead of any other Central Coast Section 400-meter runner at the state meet. But only the top nine advanced to the state finals held last Saturday.
Rice would have had to run 48.90 or less to make the finals, a mark almost a second faster than the sizzling 49.39 that he ran last week in the CCS finals. Instead he ran 50.51. While Rice was disappointed in his time, it was still about a second faster than he ran to finish first in the TCAL championships.
He finished sixth in his heat, a heat that was won by David Gettis in 47.51 seconds. Gettis has run over a second faster this year and barely broke a sweat Friday despite the hot Sacramento weather.
“There was no way I could catch Gettis,” Rice said. “I was more than three seconds behind him as I came into the final stretch.”
“Jesse ran too hard in the second 100 meters of the race and never could relax,” said coach Iran White.
Rice will start practicing for his July trip to Australia today.
Two Tri-County Athletic League athletes ran in the final day of action in Sacramento. North Salinas’ Ronnie Drummer finished third in the 100 meters with a time of 10.57, and fourth in the 200 meters with a time of 21.35. Live Oak’s Cobbie Jones finished fourth in the girls 800-meter race with a mark of 2:11.83.
Raquel Butler of Gilroy finished 15th in the girls 400-meter race and didn’t qualify to run Saturday.
