Arreola Runs Quick 800 in Open Meet

Darcy Arreola of Cal State Northridge wanted more, but she basically got what she came for at an all-comers track and field meet at Birmingham High on Wednesday night.

Arreola, the NCAA Division I champion in the 1,500 meters, ran a personal best of 2 minutes 4.0 seconds to finish fifth--she was the first woman--in the open 800.

The time tightened Arreola’s grip on second on the all-time Northridge performer list and lowered her previous best of 2:04.05 set last year. Julie Brown holds the school record of 2:02.88 set in 1977.

An hour after the 800, Arreola planned to run the first 3,000 of the open 5,000, hoping to pass that mark in 9:22. But she never made it that far, dropping out after 1,900 meters. “I felt really smooth, but it was more of a mental thing,” said Arreola, who ran the first 1,600 in 5:03.6. “It’s hard running fast by yourself.”

Lack of competition was not a problem in the 800 as Arreola was seventh after the first 400 (60.5 seconds). Peter Mogg won in 1:57.5, and former Northridge standout Rose Monday was seventh in 2:06.7.

“I wanted to run under 2:04, but I’m happy with the time,” Arreola said. “I just haven’t been running that much speed lately.”