San Juan Hills' Kruthers Runs Race of Her Life

San Juan Hills High's Chelsea Kruthers ran her best time Friday night in the 800 meters and qualified for the finals in the CIF championships Saturday night.

Friday marked the first ever trip to CIF State Championships for the San
Juan Hills High School girls track and field team.  

 logged a new personal best of 2:09.2 Friday in Fresno. She goes into the race tonight with the second best time. The 800 has grabbed national attention as one of the strongest fields of talent seen in the last few decades.  

Kruthers raced Friday in a state preliminary heat against some of the top ranked athletes in the nation. Nine competitors advanced to Saturday night’s championship race.  

Wth a previous personal best time of 2:10.41 set last weekend at CIF Masters, Kruthers achieved her goal to break the 2:10 barrier this weekend. She has successfully qualified at three separate meets in the last four weeks to reach this elite level.

Kruthers said at the beginning of the season, she circled June 1 on her calendar knowing that would be CIF state championships.

"I knew that making state was my goal for my senior year," she said. "It was important to concentrate on each meet as one step closer to that goal. With the help of my teammates and coaches, I put in the hours during and after practice to become the best possible runner I can be.  Now, I can simply run my race and the time at the finish line will take care of itself.”

Stallions and fans can follow the live results of the girls' 800 meters here.

— Cat Nolan is the head coach for girls track and field at San Juan Hills High.