By Steve Ames Special to The Acorn

MICHAEL COONS/Simi Valley Acorn DOWN TO THE WIRE-Laura Willeford, left, of Simi High beats Jennifer Albertson of Camarillo by a nose with a time of 15.6 in the girls' 100 meter hurdles at last week's Ventura County Track and Field Championships at Moorpark High School.

Ashlee Blunk, displaying reserved excitement, was content for a moment to lay in the pole vault pit and think about what had just happened.

The Thousand Oaks High School junior had just won her event with a stadium record 10-3 vault during the Ventura County Track and Field Championships at Moorpark last Friday. Her previous best had been 9-6.

"Everybody who’s been part of the track team has helped," she said. "My parents have helped a lot, too, cheering me on. I’m having fun and it’s really exciting. I’m just really happy right now."

Blunk said she went from using a 12.30-foot pole to a 13.25-foot pole so she could hold it higher.

She also worked on her upper body strength and running faster to clear higher levels.

In addition, Blunk went to a longer run on her approach, increasing from a 6-step to a 7-step run. "That helped getting more momentum to being able to get on to the pole," she said.

Newman defends two titles

Junior Jeanne Newman of Moorpark successfully defended two county meet titles, winning for the second consecutive year in the 100 meters (with a time of 12.18) and third consecutive time in the 200 meters, with a stadium record 25.06.

She came to the meet with the season’s leading times in both events— 12.0 in the 100 and 24.8 in the 200.

Newman said that each event offers special challenges.

"In the 200, you have to hug the turn and go real fast out of the blocks, and that just propels you out to the straightaway," she said. "The 100 is more. You have to drive and maintain that speed, and keep going faster and then let it go."

Newman said she’s made a special effort to perform at her best this season.

Davis improves 400 time

Freshman Chelsea Davis of Newbury Park bettered her time in the 400 meters from 57.3 to a first-place time of 56.60 in the county meet. Davis came in third place int he 200 meters with a 26.12, behind Newman with a 25.06 and Julie Martinez of Fillmore, who clocked a 25.58.

Davis approaches the 400 as a sprint.

"When you first go into it, it’s not," she said. "But when you take it seriously and actually learn how to run it, it is. You just have to run it the whole way out.

The first time she ran the 400 she turned in an impressive 1:06.

"I ran that about two years ago<" Davis said. The next season I ran a 1:03. Then I ran against Stephanie Leong of Rio Mesa. She really taught me how to run it, and I got back to a minute. That season I ran under a minute, a 58.

Ever since then I haven’t run over a minute."

Murphy still triple jump leader

Junior Leah Murphy of Simi Valley led the county in the triple jump with 36-11, but was third in the event last Friday with a 34-10 1/2.

Brittany Lin of Calabasas took first with a 35-8 3/4 and Laura Willeford of Simi Valley was second at 34-11 1/4.

In the long jump, Murphy was second at 16-8 3/4 to Willeford’s 16-9 1/4. Willeford was also first in the 100-meters high hurdles with a time of 15.60 and fourth in the 300-meter high hurdles with a 47.84 clocking.

This is Murphy’s second year in the triple jump and she’s been improving. "I just hope I can get in CIF (championships) and do well," she said.

Initially she just wanted to try the event.

"My coach didn’t want me to do it because he thought I might get hurt," Murphy said. "I just decided that I wanted to try it. I thought it would be fun to do. It’s just determination and really concentration when you get on the runway. It’s speed for me. When I am going full speed and I just feel where the board’s at, I know I am going to go farther."

Additional girls’ meet top places

•Senior Katie Gose, La Reina, took a first in the 3,200 at stadium record 10:52.17.

•Junior Ashley Englander, Moorpark, tied senior Lizzy Wigton of Camarillo for first place in the high jump at 5-feet-2 inches.

•Junior Titiana Camacho, Oak Park, won the 800 meters with a time of 2:20.81.

•The Moorpark team of Newman, freshman Whitney Anderson, senior Nalena Betancourt and sophomore Andria Kim won the 400-meter relay at 50.2.