Enigmatic Canchola Returns to Top Form

OXNARD — Elaine Canchola is back.

It might seem strange to say that about the winner of three consecutive Southern Section cross-country titles from 1994-96, but it was a fitting statement Friday after the Nordhoff High junior romped to victories in the girls’ 1,600 and 3,200 meters in the Ventura County track and field championships at Rio Mesa High.

Canchola, who set school records of 4:58.99 in the 1,600 and 10:46.70 in the 3,200, turned the high school distance running community on its head as a freshman when she placed second in the 1994 West regional championships in her first season of cross-country.

But her career has had its ups and downs since.

Her freshman track season ended in disappointment at the Southern Section Division III championships when she ran poorly in the 1,600 and 3,200 after being inadvertently tripped by one of her competitors in the 1,600.

She won the 1995 state Division III cross-country title as a sophomore but missed the 1996 track season in order to help care for her younger siblings and take a break from the pressures of competition.

She came back to win the Southern Section Division IV cross-country title last November, but was upset by Sarah Ellis of La Canada in the state championships a week later and then skipped the West regional.

That decision had experts questioning her competitive desire, but she is laying those doubts to rest this season.

“I’m just going to get back and try to do my best in whatever I do,” Canchola said. “I got my goals today and now I’m going to try and beat those times.”

Canchola entered the meet with personal bests of 5:00.26 in the 1,600 and 10:54.37 in the 3,200, but those times had come in highly competitive races. So when she ran 4:58.99, with her closest competitor 15 seconds behind, Nordhoff Coach Ken Reeves was impressed.

“If you had told me she was going to run 4:58 all alone, I would have said, ‘I don’t think so,’ ” he said.

Canchola capped her performance by anchoring Nordhoff to victory in the 1,600 relay with a school-record time of 4:07.27, but her distance victories left more than one coach shaking his head.

“I haven’t seen her look that good since she was a freshman,” Agoura cross-country Coach Bill Duley said after the 1,600.

Canchola was one of four athletes who won two individual events Friday.

The others were seniors Carl Richardson of Rio Mesa and Shannon Livingston of Simi Valley and junior Jenny Myzkowski of Royal.

Richardson, a football standout who is competing in track for the first time, led Rio Mesa to a 1-2-3 finish in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 14.83 and paced the Spartans’ 1-2 placing in the long jump with a personal best of 22 feet 7 1/4 inches.

A horrendous start doomed Richardson in the 100, however, and he clocked 11.04 to finish third behind Oxnard junior Desmond Davis and senior teammate Courtney Palmore, who ran 10.81 and 10.92.

Livingston won her second consecutive title in the 100 high hurdles with a time of 15.38 and took the 300 lows in 47.29.

Myzkowski won the girls’ long jump and triple jump with leaps of 16-11 1/2 and 35-1 1/4.

In other events, junior Ryan Meuse of Simi Valley won his second consecutive title in the 800 with a time of 1:55.44, Palmore and Davis finished 1-2 in the 200 with times of 22.29 and 22.50 and junior Matt Lea of Camarillo won a hotly contested 400 in 49.79.

Lea had finished second to Matt Appel of Ventura in the 1996 county championships, but he pulled away from Appel (50.03) in the final 50 meters Friday. Meuse was third in 50.99.