Latrisha Jordan's performance at the 90th Annual CIF state track and field championships was nothing short of amazing.
The Central Valley High School senior accomplished what she set out to do by medaling with a fifth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles last week at Cerritos College in Norwalk.
Seeded eighth for Saturday's finals, Jordan posted a personal-record time of 42.40 seconds on her way to beating El Segundo's Allison Reaser, Nyjah Cousar (Wilson/Long Beach), Katie Nelms (Leland) and April Pate (Carter).
"She ran the race of her life," head coach Mike Reynolds said. "There's definitely some girls going home upset because they didn't expect a girl from Northern California to beat them."
"I did so good," Jordan said. "I surprised myself."
Latrisha's confidence climbed after she ran a personal-best 42.60 (ninth fastest time in the state this year) on her way to a third-place finish in Heat 1 during Friday's trials.
She actually led before stumbling on a hurdle late in the race. Nowell, the top seed, and Finley edged out Jordan at the finish line.
"To PR on back-to-back days is tough to do," Reynolds said. "She was focused."
Jordan finished 19th (45.94) last year.
"Three weeks ago, she was maybe top 30 in the state," Reynolds said. "Each week, she kept moving up. I'm not surprised. We knew what she was capable of."
Latrisha joined Kori Carter of Claremont High School (41.28), Rancho Cucamonga's Brittany Crabb (41.82), Perris' Ericka Nowell (41.89), St. Mary's Academy's London Finley and Reaser on the Victory Stand following the conclusion of the race. They celebrated and collected their medals in front of 10,721 fans.
"It was exciting to see her up there in front of everybody and that happy," Reynolds said. "That's what we worked for. She was in awe the first day as we drove by the stadium."
Jordan enjoyed the experience.
"There was so many people," she said. "I love crowds like that."
Latrisha had a memorable season.
The state medalist claimed Masters and Division III titles in the 300 hurdles. She swept the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 400 and 200 at the Valley Oak League Championships.
Jordan advanced to the state meet, won a Masters championship (300 hurdles) and captured four conference titles (100 hurdles, 300 hurdle, 200 and 100) during her junior year.
Latrisha has already received several Division-I scholarship offers.
"She's basically on cloud nine," Reynolds said. "Fresno State called when we pulled back into Ceres. They talked with her for 45 minutes. They offered to pay for everything."
Jordan graduates on Thursday.
"Her resume is unbelievable," Reynolds said. "It's pretty crazy if you really think about it. For her to be only in her second year and have everything she has is amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if she had Central Valley's records forever. She's just a great kid."
Reynolds, Anthony Castro, Tony "Chubbs" Castro and Dale Hancock all played a part in Latrisha's success.
"I couldn't have done it without my coaches," Jordan said.
Added Mike: "There's still room for her to get even better."
The Central Valley High School senior accomplished what she set out to do by medaling with a fifth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles last week at Cerritos College in Norwalk.
Seeded eighth for Saturday's finals, Jordan posted a personal-record time of 42.40 seconds on her way to beating El Segundo's Allison Reaser, Nyjah Cousar (Wilson/Long Beach), Katie Nelms (Leland) and April Pate (Carter).
"She ran the race of her life," head coach Mike Reynolds said. "There's definitely some girls going home upset because they didn't expect a girl from Northern California to beat them."
"I did so good," Jordan said. "I surprised myself."
Latrisha's confidence climbed after she ran a personal-best 42.60 (ninth fastest time in the state this year) on her way to a third-place finish in Heat 1 during Friday's trials.
She actually led before stumbling on a hurdle late in the race. Nowell, the top seed, and Finley edged out Jordan at the finish line.
"To PR on back-to-back days is tough to do," Reynolds said. "She was focused."
Jordan finished 19th (45.94) last year.
"Three weeks ago, she was maybe top 30 in the state," Reynolds said. "Each week, she kept moving up. I'm not surprised. We knew what she was capable of."
Latrisha joined Kori Carter of Claremont High School (41.28), Rancho Cucamonga's Brittany Crabb (41.82), Perris' Ericka Nowell (41.89), St. Mary's Academy's London Finley and Reaser on the Victory Stand following the conclusion of the race. They celebrated and collected their medals in front of 10,721 fans.
"It was exciting to see her up there in front of everybody and that happy," Reynolds said. "That's what we worked for. She was in awe the first day as we drove by the stadium."
Jordan enjoyed the experience.
"There was so many people," she said. "I love crowds like that."
Latrisha had a memorable season.
The state medalist claimed Masters and Division III titles in the 300 hurdles. She swept the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 400 and 200 at the Valley Oak League Championships.
Jordan advanced to the state meet, won a Masters championship (300 hurdles) and captured four conference titles (100 hurdles, 300 hurdle, 200 and 100) during her junior year.
Latrisha has already received several Division-I scholarship offers.
"She's basically on cloud nine," Reynolds said. "Fresno State called when we pulled back into Ceres. They talked with her for 45 minutes. They offered to pay for everything."
Jordan graduates on Thursday.
"Her resume is unbelievable," Reynolds said. "It's pretty crazy if you really think about it. For her to be only in her second year and have everything she has is amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if she had Central Valley's records forever. She's just a great kid."
Reynolds, Anthony Castro, Tony "Chubbs" Castro and Dale Hancock all played a part in Latrisha's success.
"I couldn't have done it without my coaches," Jordan said.
Added Mike: "There's still room for her to get even better."
