TRACK AND FIELD: Winning battle of nerves

By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
ARCADIA - A little nervous energy never seems to hurt anyone. But channeling those nerves, now that's a different story.
Arcadia High School high jumper Karen Han admits that she might have more than just a little nervous energy when she takes to the West Coast track and field's center stage in Saturday night's 41st annual Arcadia Invitational.
"I'm always nervous," the 18-year-old senior said. "Even when nobody is here. I get nervous easy."
Han will have home-field advantage against some of the best high jumpers in the state in one of the most prestigious regular season events of the year. She will be jumping against Millikan's Ashley Smith, who was second in the state meet last year; Long Beach Poly's Tara Richmond and Carondelet's Adrienne Johnson, who tied for fifth in state last year; Saratoga's Kristin Dolbec, who reached the state finals last season and three-time Nevada state champion Langley Iverson of Reno's Galena in the marque invitational portion of the meet.
Smith has jumped 5 feet, 9 inches and beat Han in the Surf City Invitational earlier this season; Han finished second. Richmond, Johnson, Dolbec, Iverson and Kristin Rambach of the CIF-Central Section's Los Altos have all cleared 5-8. Han reached 5-7 at the Junior Olympics competition last summer, and has cleared 5-6 numerous times for Arcadia.
"When I made that mark at the Junior Olympics, I was really nervous," Han said. "And I had a personal best. And I was so nervous at last year's Arcadia Invitational, and I was only in the Saturday day part of the meet."
So, where do the nerves come from? Han, who is undefeated in dual meet competition this season and has won at the Foothill Invitational at Citrus College and the Spartan Relays last weekend at Rio Mesa, isn't sure why.
"I don't really know," she admits. "I guess I'm not very confident."
But Apaches coach Chris Schultz doesn't believe it for a minute.
"I'm pleased with how she is doing," he said. "She has a really good shot at making the state meet. The only people she's lost to this year were in the state meet last year, and I think she'll make 5-8 any time soon. She's come close.
"It literally means having everything go right for that day. The conditions have to be perfect; the stars have to be aligned to get a personal best. But she's really close."
Han said she sometimes is still unsure what she is doing on the tarmac.
"I'm a sprinter and I walk up to the bar," she said. "Every day when I come out, I'm never sure if I'm doing the right thing. I don't know why I don't have more confidence."
By the results of her first jump in the event three years ago, she should have plenty of confidence.
She showed up on the Arcadia track as a freshman sprinter, long jumper and just off the volleyball court; a sport she played again last fall. Late in her sophomore season, she said just wanted to try the high jump. She cleared 4-10 on her first try.
"A lot of girls who have been high jumping can't even do 4-10," Schultz said.
"My coach said I didn't have any hops, and I said, `Wait a minute, I'm a volleyball player. I have hops,"' she recalled. "Coach left early one day, so I kind of snuck over to the high jump. The next day, when people told him what I did, he didn't believe it, and I had to do it for him again. I guess it was the spontaneity. I had no idea what I was doing."
So, what is better than beginning your high jumping career in a key Pacific League dual meet against Muir, which is consistently one of the best teams in the league? Han won the high jump, although she said the Apaches lost by five points. She went on to win the league title, and will take aim at her third league crown next month.
Last year, she reached the CIF-SS Masters Meet, finishing eighth at 5-2; she had only needed to go 5-4 - a height she consistently jumped last season - to reach the state meet.
"This will be good for her, to see what she can do," Schultz said of Saturday's meet.
Han also has competed in the 100 meters this season, and has run the anchor leg of the 400 relay.
"He looks at me and says I'm doing everything wrong," Han said of her high jumping. "It's all in the approach."
So, will this nervousness ever go away? Even if she decides to compete for UC Riverside next year? She said the Highlanders have been recruiting her, but she still has not made a decision on her college choice.
"I was even nervous when I did youth gymnastics," she said. "I just don't know why."