Lund places 20th at state in 400 meters

Collin Lund was happy with his time that he ran the 400 meters at the CIF state track and field championships on Friday, but wished he could have run faster. In the 400 meter trials, Lund posted a time of 48.53 and finished with the 20th fastest time in the state. The Vista del Lago senior was seven-tenths of a second from qualifying for the finals. "I know I could have run faster," Lund said. "You always can, but I was just reaching my peak and it's unfortunate I ended it the way I did." At the state meet, it's incredibly hard to make the finals, let alone earn a medal. Lund was seventh-tenths away from qualifying yet there were 10 runners who would have raced ahead of him if there were a "second" finals round. "I'm content with my time," Lund said. "My nerves got worse with each meet. I knew that without being in Will's shadow (Will Greene, Vista's top 400 meter runner last year) all eyes would be on me because of Vista's performance last year." Lund's coach, Mike Kozlowski, felt Lund did a good job. "Collin ran well," Kozlowski said. "His second-fastest time ever. Unfortunately, at that level the competition is so good that it requires a perfect race. His was not perfect, but it remains one of the best results ever by a Vista del Lago athlete." Lund had a stellar career at Vista, but he's not quite done. "What I'll remember most is trusting what my coaches had for me and how far I've come and who I've developed as a person because of them," Lund said. "They had a plan for me and I just had to follow it. "As for my career, it's not over yet. I have Nike Nationals from June 18-22 and then I'm running at Humboldt on a scholarship."