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Top 15 Finish For Moreno At State Meet
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It wasn't the way she would have liked the season to end, but Escalon's Amanda Moreno made it into the top 15 in the State Track and Field Meet at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento on Saturday.

The lone Cougar to advance to the state competition, Moreno did battle in the 3200 meters - two-mile - and came away with a 14th place overall finish.

"The first mile she did real well," noted coach Rick Heflin. "The second mile, she was battling, she tried to stay in there."

Moreno finished the course in 10:59.57, according to figures released by state meet officials, well off her time over the past few weeks. She turned in one of her best efforts in the subsection meet, setting a new record there in 10:42.

"It was not one of her better times," Heflin agreed of the state event. "We'll go back, see what we did right, see what we did wrong and go from there...I know she tried her best."

Moreno ran Saturday evening in the event and the winner, Lindsay Flacks, took the first place medal in 10:26.25.

"We'll go back and work harder," Heflin said. "It's too bad it wasn't her best race because you like to finish strong, but she went toe to toe with the best in the state."

A sophomore, this was Moreno's first trip to the state meet in the two-mile. Heflin said he expects she will be back for more.

"Even though she was upset and sad (after the race), she grabbed her running shoes out of my hand and did her cool down," Heflin pointed out. "She does what she needs to do."

Both coach and runner will take a breather - Moreno left with her family for a vacation the morning after the state meet - before getting back to regular workouts.

"We're going to take some time off, then we'll do some base work, hit the weights, get back in shape," Heflin said.

Taking 14th at the state capped a hugely successful year for the young runner, Heflin added.

"She set two school records, two league records and a subsection record," he said.