LJ track: Azimioara cooks

Nicole Azimioara PR'ed against OLP

with a long jump of 15'7", then

followed that with a 15'4" leap at

the Cerveny Invitational

(Photos by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Sophomore Nicole Azimioara extended to her best long jump mark ever by nine inches, 15'7", in La Jolla's home dual meet against OLP and St. Augustine Thurs., April 13. Then she came right back two days later and leaped a solid 15'4" at the first Jim Cerveny Invitational at Mission Bay High.

"She's never jumped before this year," said an enthusiastic Roger Karnopp, the Vikings' coach in the long jump and triple jump. "She's doing good."

"She's our top long jumper and triple jumper. She's also a good hurdler," said Paul Byrne, La Jolla's head coach.

How Azimioara has achieved such a quick "P.R.", or "personal record", according to Karnopp, is technique. "It's all technique," he said as he kept a watchful eye like a mother hen on the sophomore and his other jumpers, who were waiting their turns in the triple jump at the Cerveny event after the long jump event was concluded at mid-day of the all-day event.

"She's beginning to put the technique together. She looked at me before, when I told her to do something, and said, 'You're asking me to do what?'" Karnopp related.

Sophomore Manami Nishikawa gets instruction

from Viking jump coach Roger Karnopp.

 



Another jumper in La Jolla's stable is Manami Nishikawa, Azi's classmate. She PR'ed in the triple jump against OLP with a mark of 29'8", bettering her previous distance by 13 1/4 inches. She's brand new to the jumps, too.

Nishikawa also PR'ed in the long jump against OLP at 13'2' 1/4, then lengthened that to 13'10" at Mission Bay two days later.

The two girls tie in the longest-last-name category, with nine letters each.

While the two "super sophs" have contributed their points to the Viking varsity, a third jumper, junior Danielle Shields, has competed at the junior varsity level. She triple-jumped 23'7", a PR by 2 1/2 inches, against the Pilots Thursday in the Vikings' brand-new home pit.