Poly super sophomore Ariyoa Augustine making her own name

LONG BEACH >> Another Long Beach Poly sophomore sprinter is racking up the gold medals.

She’s got a familiar handle, too, although at this point, it’s clear that Ariyoa Augustine will make her own name.

Sure, the comparisons will be easy and frequent with Oregon star and Poly alum Ariana Washington, who’s ruing in the NCAA championships in two weeks, and who was recently named Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year. But Augustine is already making her own mark on the record books, and is just a sophomore.

Two weekends ago, Augustine claimed the CIF-SS Division 1 championship in the 100- and the 200-meter sprints, the first sophomore at any school to do so, since, well, her name-mate.

She followed that up last week with a grand performance at the CIF-SS Masters Meet, easily qualifying for state in both sprints and anchoring a third-place performance by Poly’s 4x100 relay, which also qualified for state.

“I knew I’d get my times down this year, but I didn’t think I’d make it to state or do this well,” she said. “I’m proud of myself.”

The soft-spoken sophomore has plenty of reason to be proud. Her times in wiing CIF-SS were 11.64 seconds in the 100 and 23.47 in the 200. She’s not likely to repeat Washington’s success at the state meet as the national leader is Oaks Christian junior (and Poly transfer) Lauren Williams, but Augustine’s times do compare favorably to Washington’s at the same age. Her time in the 100 was .19 slower than Washington’s CIF-SS run but her 200 time was .05 faster, and just .06 slower than Washington’s state championship run.

“I think Ariyoa is definitely making a name for herself this year and showing people what she can do,” said Poly coach Crystal Irving earlier this year.

Augustine isn’t shy, but she also admits that she hates being interviewed. Ruing is simple for her, and it came naturally. When she was in an after-school program in sixth grade, she used to race the other boys and girls who were there. When someone realized she was wiing every race, they suggested she start ruing track, which she did. She joined the LA Jets later that year.

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She enjoys the pressure of the sprints, where every success or failure is magnified.

“It’s great, because it makes you work harder and push yourself,” she said. “Execution is really important especially in how you start.”

Like many young ruers, Augustine’s start is definitely not her strength. She is better in the 200 simply because there’s more ruing. Her lengthy stride and powerful legs help her motor away from the competitions.

But Augustine is a student of the technical side as well, which has showed in her 60-meter times. The shortest sprint, only run during indoor season in the winter, has been a success for her as well. As a freshman she won a national championship at the New Balance Indoor National Championships with a time of 7.69, and a year later as a sophomore she won a state championship at the winter indoor state title meet with a time of 7.491.

That drop in time (.2 seconds) over a year is impressive at that age, and shows a dedication to improving the finer points of being a sprinter. Her time of 7.49 is also impressive since it’s just .03 off of the eighth-place finisher at the NCAA Indoor national championship meet.

This has been a tumultuous year for the Jackrabbits, who with injuries and transfers didn’t win a CIF-SS title for the first time since 2007. But Augustine has been a bright spot and is determined to get Poly back on track next year.

“I think with everything that happened this year we just have to be a family and keep working, to push through everything that comes our way,” she said. “It pushes us to work harder to get those titles next year.”