Did February injury cost Rancho track star her final shot at a state title?

After finishing second in the state in both hurdling events last year, Rancho Cucamonga’s Jordie Munford has been nowhere to be found. Turns out she was nursing a hamstring injury suffered in late February, just weeks after signing with Oregon.

Munford finally made her 2013 debut over the weekend at the Mt. SAC Relays, finishing fourth in the 300 hurdles, an event in which she finished second in the state not only last year, but in 2010 as well.

Her time last weekend: 43.55 seconds. For some added perspective, consider that Munford was aiming to become the second-ever high schooler to run a sub-40-second time this season. In other words, she has a ways to go.

“Quite frankly, she’s just not in good shape right now,” Rancho Cucamonga track coach Terry Tierney said. “Will she be in the same form as she was last year? Probably not. Can she get to state and finish in the top two or three? Probably.”

It seems a safe bet that Munford will qualify for the May 24 CIF-SS preliminaries, but that is when the competition ramps up in a hurry. The big question is, is Munford too far behind after missing a significant portion of the season.

“She basically has four weeks to get in shape,” Tierney said. “The problem is her fitness level. Even being hurt, she could win both hurdle events at (Baseline) league finals. From there, I think anything’s possible.”

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