The Half Moon Bay High School foursome of Abadie, Lauren Irish, Becky Tamez and Sammy Hamilton finished second in that event at the Skyline High School Distance Fiesta.
Half Moon Bay stopped the clock at 13 minutes, 20.22 seconds, well behind winner Livermore. But no one was complaining.
 Lauren Irish takes the baton from Kathleen Abadie in the distance medley relay Saturday. Abadie'€™s right foot caused her problems during the week. However, she was able to run, helping Half Moon Bay finish second. |
The sophomore, suffering from inflammation, didn’t run in practice last week, trying to rest the foot. It didn’t look promising when Abadie stepped off the track 800 meters into the 1,600 meters race earlier Saturday. Hamilton went on to win that race.
“That was the first time I have not finished a race,” Abadie said. “I didn’t feel like I could finish.”
She had several hours to make a decision.
“It was either go home and think about not finishing for the rest of the weekend, having it lessen my confidence,” Abadie said. “I knew I could do better. I felt like I really needed to come back.”
She was on the track, ready to make a go of it. She ran the 1,200-meter portion of the distance medley relay in 4:24, slower than a week earlier in San Rafael.
“I’m glad I did it because I would have been hating myself if I decided not to run this,” Abadie said.
Her teammates were just as excited that Abadie made a go of it.
“She definitely pulled it out for us,” Tamez said. “She pushed through the pain and took one for the team. It’s great she has that attitude.”
Abadie passed the baton to Irish, who finished the 400 split in 58.6 seconds.
“That was a surprise,” Irish said. “I thought I did 60 or 61. It was cold. It was hard to get the muscles moving.”
Tamez took a few seconds off her time from a week earlier, before passing off to Hamilton.
“I’m really happy about the team effort,” Hamilton said.
A short time after the race, the four were wearing red T-shirts, signifying their second-place finish.
It was Hamilton’s second T-shirt of the day. She got one, and a new sombrero hat, for winning the individual 1,600 in 5:16.55, two seconds off her personal best.
The sophomore took the lead at the start of the race, and held it until the start of the final lap. Ashley Chavez took over the lead, and held it until Hamilton regained the lead with 80 meters left in the race. Chavez finished two seconds behind Hamilton.
“I wasn’t worried when she passed me,” Hamilton said. “I knew she wouldn’t get far.”
Tamez ran an impressive open 800, finishing third in her heat, ninth overall in 2:30.60.
“It was a good experience for me because the two girls that passed me at the end were both seniors,” Tamez said. “You can learn a lot from people with more experience. It’s all about your technique. You’ve got to stay strong and keep your focus.”
Two days earlier, Half Moon Bay athletes set personal bests at a meet at Menlo-Atherton. Matt Thornton ran the 1,600 in 5:04. Frank Lima finished the 110 high hurdles in 16.27 and 300 hurdles in 43.31.
The Cougars participate in a meet at San Mateo Thursday, and at the Easter Relays in Santa Barbara, Saturday.
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