Nearly ten minutes after her photo finish in the 100-meter hurdles Friday night, Katie Nelms was asked if she won the race.
Nelms didn't know, and wasn't worried about the result at the Top-8 Track and Field Classic. It turned out that she had edged Mount Pleasant's Shanique Walker by two hundredths of a second with a time of 14.29 seconds, but the talented senior was looking at the big picture.
"This meet isn't about winning, it's about training for the big meets at the end of the year," Nelms said.
The Stanford-bound senior, who went on to win the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.90, leads a strong group of female athletes from Santa Clara County who have signed letters of intent.
Peaking at the perfect time last season, Nelms impressed college recruiters at the California State Meet with a second-place finish in the 100 meters and a fourth place showing in the 300 hurdles.
She was considering schools such as UCLA, Baylor and Harvard before taking a trip to the Farm.
"Stanford offered the perfect blend of academics and athletics and I loved the coach and facilities," said Nelms, who is considering a pre-med major. "I got along real well with everyone on the team and that really sold it for me."
One of Nelms' top hurdling rivals is Sunny Margerum of Gunn, also a standout long jumper. The pair will continue to compete locally as Margerum has committed to Cal.
The daughter of former Stanford star Ken Margerum and Joy Upshaw-Margerum, Sunny has athletic talent running through her blood. Her mom was an All-American when she competed in the hurdles and long jump and coached at Cal for eight years. Her aunt, Grace Upshaw, was a two-time Olympian long jumper, and her grandfather Monte Upshaw broke Jesse Owens' national scholastic record in the event with his leap of 25 feet-4.25 inches at the 1954 California state championships.
Margerum didn't compete at the Top 8 meet while nursing a sore ankle, but she is currently ranked second in the CCS behind Prospect's Mariah Rogers in the long jump with a mark of 18-feet-2 inches, and is also among the top seven in both hurdles races.
"I wanted to compete at the Top-8, but I needed to make sure that I'm 100 percent for the CCS meet," Margerum said. "I haven't been able to put together a real good 100 hurdles yet this year and haven't ran the 300 much. But I feel like I'll do well racing against the top girls. They will pull me along. In the long jump, I get plenty of coaching from my mom and aunt. I know exactly what I need to do."
Another notable star missing from the Top-8 meet was Pinewood sprinter Angela Gradiska, whose dynamic performance at last year's state meet helped her earn a scholarship from Stanford.
Gradiska finished second in the 200 meters (23.85) and fourth in the 100 meters (11.74), but has been out of action for most of this season with a sore foot.
Her father Ken Gradiska said Angela experienced pain in her arch while running in January. An MRI didn't reveal any major problem, but Gradiska hasn't trained in the last six weeks.
"She is going to try to get back in time for CCS," Ken Gradiska said. "But she has nothing to prove. We want to make sure she doesn't get hurt and jeopardize her career at Stanford. We're thinking that's the most important thing right now."