Fry surges into state 800-meter finals

Exeter sophomore Katie Fry’s season has one more race left.

Seeded 10th at the California State Track and Field Championships in Clovis, she finished second in her heat in 2:13.38, which was good enough to automatically qualify her for today’s 800-meter finals.

Paisley Pettway, a junior from Millikan High, won Fry’s heat in 2:11.75, which was the fourth-best time overall.

Fry finished her first lap in 63.5 seconds and was able to hold off Lincoln senior Elizabeth Apgar (2:14.03) to finish second and hold on to the automatic transfer spot. 

No other third-heat runner advanced.

Fry’s time is the seventh-fastest mark entering the finals. The top six finishers in the finals receive medals.

Heat one qualified just two runners as well while five qualifiers came out of heat two.

Valencia junior Aly Drake (2:11.03) out-kicked Neausha Logan (2:03.17) and is seeded first in the finals.

Fry’s fellow Central Section entrants — Madera South’s Alisha Brown and El Diamante’s Molly Pahkamaa — failed to make the finals out of the third heat.

The lone Orange Belt entrant is the only underclassmen in the girls’ 800-meter finals. 

The race starts at 7:50, Saturday, at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Buchanan High School).

Check Monday’s Recorder for recap.