TRACK AND FIELD: A LEAP FOR BLANCHARD.

Byline: Kevin Connelly Special to the Daily News

La Reina High of Thousand Oaks sophomore Sasha Blanchard already is one of the top hurdlers in the area, but she had no idea what to expect when Regents coach Robert Lopez asked her to give the long jump a shot at a meet last week at Oaks Christian of Westlake Village.

She leapt 17 feet, 7 inches, breaking a school record (17-5 1/4) set by Pam Curran in 1974 - two lifetimes ago for the 16-year-old track and field star.

``I wasn't expecting that mark at all,'' said Blanchard, also the school record-holder at 200 meters and in both hurdling events. ``The long jump is not my best event, but it's a lot of fun. My goal is to eventually jump over 19 feet.''

Blanchard's best event is the 300 hurdles. Her 46.01 clocking three weeks ago is the fastest time in the area this season, just fractions of a second behind the 45.97 she posted as a freshman.

``Sasha has one of the strongest work ethics I've ever seen,'' Lopez said. ``This is her first year with significant weight training, so she is starting to see some results. She will be one of the best athletes to come out of La Reina.''

Blanchard, also a 4.0 student, said she expects to run the 300 hurdles in the 45-second range this year. In the state-qualifying Masters Meet at Cerritos College last year, she tripped over a hurdle and did not finish the race.

Blanchard will have a shot at vindication at this year's Masters, scheduled for May 26 at Cerritos.

``I'll admit it was a little intimidating, being so young last year,'' Blanchard said. ``But I'm used to it now. It's not like I've never done this before. I ran youth track, and this is my seventh year hurdling.''

The six state qualifying times in the 300 hurdles at last year's Masters were 43.80 and faster, so Blanchard needs drastic improvement to reach the state finals this season.

Lopez will not rule out anything from Blanchard.

``Sasha hasn't run very many races this year, so we don't know where she stands exactly,'' Lopez said. ``I think she can break 44.5. She is still young, and she has by no means hit a wall.

--Nice start: So much for shaking off the rust.

Taft of Woodland Hills star Jamere Holland, the defending state champion in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, ran his first 100 of the season in a hand-timed 10.41 seconds Saturday at the Culver City Invitational, missing his personal record by just three-hundredths of a second.

Holland, who has committed to USC on a football scholarship, has been spending less time training this year to focus on schoolwork. Although pleased with the result, Holland said there remains room for improvement.

``I got off to such a slow start,'' he said. ``I was in last place out of the blocks and had to catch everybody from behind. But I feel really good about running right now.''

Kevin Connelly, [phone]

kevin.connelly(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

La Reina's Sasha Blanchard set a school record in the long jump, leaping 17 feet, 7 inches.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

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