Hamlin makes debut as track and field head coach

Troy Hamlin made his debut as the Fallbrook High School girls head track and field coach March 5 at Escondido.

“It didn’t go too well on the girls’ side, but we did well,” Hamlin said.

“We’ve got some holes and gaps,” Hamlin said. “We kind of got trounced, but there are some bright spots.”

Fallbrook’s boys, for whom Hamlin also serves as an assistant coach, won their meet against the Cougars. The girls meet saw Escondido win by a 102-34 score. “We’re building and looking for a bright future on the girls’ side,” Hamlin said.

The only Warrior who won an event for the girls was Leslie Grantham, who captured the 300-meter hurdles race in 51.9 seconds. The Warriors took the top two finishes in that race, with Olivia Tidd’s first competition in the 300-meter hurdles producing a time of 52.9 seconds.

“300 hurdles right now is a strong spot,” Hamlin said.

Although the Warriors did not win the 4x100 relay, they posted a time of 53.2 seconds. “They should improve off of that,” Hamlin said. “This could be a team that could make it to the CIF.”

In her first-ever high school track and field meet, freshman Kristin Parry finished second in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:25. Noelle Garcia posted a time of 5:29 in that race.

Freshman Amanda Mulkey began her high school career with a second-place finish in the 800-meter race, covering the two laps in 2:27.3. Parry finished third in that race at 2:31.4.

Cassie Mulkey’s first 100-meter high school race saw her finish with a time of 13.5 seconds. The older Mulkey sister also ran the 200-meter event in 27.7 seconds to finish second. Roxanne Barnes-Smith was third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.3 seconds.

The 4x400 relay team of Amanda Mulkey, Parry, Tidd, and Grantham posted a time of 4:24.0. “We have a very excellent mile relay team emerging on the girls’ side,” Hamlin said.

In the field events Katie Votapka cleared 8’6” in the pole vault while Madison Donaghue vaulted 8’5” and Kyle Little went over the bar at 8’4”. Kaitlin Brown threw the shot put 31’7” and the discus 46’6”.

“We are building for the future,” Hamlin said.