Sophia Luckey
Staff Writer
On May 7, record breaker Dalia Frias missed her heat and was not able to run in the 3200 race in the CIF Prelims. Dalia ran in the 2nd heat; however, after qualifying, the officials retracted their previous statement and disqualified the Costa runner from the 3200 altogether.
“I knew I had a while until my 3200 race, but I didn’t know exactly how much time I had because they didn’t have an actual time schedule,” Frias said. “My coaches and I estimated that my race would be around 4:30, so I only started warming up around 3:45.”
As Frias was walking over to the track, the other runners were already lined up for the race. She quickly checked in, but by the time she went to line up, the red coat had already blown the gun.
“They let me run in the 2nd heat, and I qualified,” Frias said. “However, after that, they decided they shouldn’t have let me race and disqualified me.”
According to Frias, this disqualification discouraged her. Frias will still be able to run in CIF, but in a different race.
“Luckily I did qualify in the 1600, so I will be able to run that. At first I was really bummed, but then I realized that I can completely focus on the mile and go fully out in that, so I am okay with it.”
Many are relieved that Frias will still have a chance to participate in CIF, including one of Frias’ teammates and friend junior Anna Chittenden. According to Chitteden, she is happy to have a mate like Frias alongside her.
“She’s competitive and has an infectious passion for running,” Chittenden said. “At the same time, she still supports her teammates and makes sure everyone is having a good time.”
Both Frias and Chitteden are excited to run in the last meet of CIF this year on May 28.This will be Frias’ last CIF meet of her high school career.
“I’m incredibly thankful to run with such an amazing runner and person,” Chittenden said. “I’ve definitely learned a lot from Dalia and will miss her a ton next year.”
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