Arkansas’ Nikki Hiltz, an Aptos High alumna, raced to a runner-up finish in the 1,500-meters at Saturday’s NCAA Division I Track and Field Outdoor National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Hiltz, a redshirt junior, completed the race in 4 minutes, 13.8 seconds, falling just fractions of a second behind Michigan’s Jaimie Phelan (14:13.78).
Hiltz, the Southeastern Conference 1,500 champion, qualified for Saturday’s championships after running the third fastest time in Razorback history on Thursday at 4:10.80.
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COLLEGE BASEBALL
• Valenzuela helps Titans advance – Cal State Fullerton and St. Francis High alumnus Sahid Valenzuela edged the Long Beach State Dirtbags, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Long Beach Super Regional Championship to advance to the College World Series.
The College World Series is set to start on Saturday. The Titans will take on top-ranked Oregon State at a time still to be determined.
It will be Cal State Fullerton’s 18th appearance overall and Valenzuela’s first.
Valenzuela, a freshman middle infielder and No. 2 hitter that was recently named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s Freshman All-American Team, was hit by a pitch and scored a run for the Titans in Sunday’s nail-biting victory.
Cal State Fullerton forced Sunday’s all-or-nothing affair by overpowering the Dirtbags with a 12-0 win on Saturday in Game 2. Valenzuela went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a scored run on Saturday.
Valenzuela was held without a hit in Friday’s 3-0 Game 1 loss.
Watsonville High alumnus Chris Rivera picked up his 13th save of the season on Friday, striking out three batters in one inning on the mound. Rivera, a sophomore, did not pitch in Game 2 or 3.
