A week ago, the Torrey Pines freshman appeared to miss qualifying for the state championships when she finished fourth in the San Diego Section. Yesterday, she advanced to the state finals.

Granted a spot in the state prelims when section champion Molly Grabill of Rancho Bernardo chose to drop the 1,600 in favor of the 3,200, Billmeyer surprised even herself with a personal-best 4:57.37 to earn a spot in today's finals at Cerritos College.

“I was so excited just to get the chance to compete against all these great runners, go for a PR and try to qualify for finals,” Billmeyer said.

One athlete continuing to gain confidence is Mater Dei's Jackae Bridges. Her winning long jump of 18 feet, 8¼ inches last week thrust her into the section lead. It was her second time over 18 feet this year.

She followed that with three more jumps of 18-plus, including her 18-5¼ yesterday to advance to the finals today.

“I'm getting consistent and that gets me excited,” said Bridges. “I'm starting to expect to do better now.”

Her confidence gained a big boost when she jumped 18-2½ on her first attempt yesterday, despite slightly hurting her knee on the landing.

Bridges had her string of four straight jumps of 18 feet or better snapped on her third and final leap of the day when she fouled.

Mission Hills' Alex Pankey also qualified for the finals in the long jump with a personal-best 18-0¾.

Other highlights:

For the second week in a row, Rancho Bernardo's Emily Mattoon struggled to clear 11-9 but came back to qualify by topping 12-3.

Two San Diego schools qualified in the 400-meter relay. Poway won its heat in 47.34, and Morse earned a spot in the final with a time of 47.86. Poway set a section season best in the 1,600 relay with a time of 3:55.06.

Vista's Brandi Dyer was the third-best qualifier in the shot put at 42-3¼. El Camino's Amanda Phelps advanced with a mark of 40-7.

Rancho Bernardo's Tenille Stoudenmire overcame a false start in the 100 to post a section season-best 24.19 in the 200 to qualify for the finals.

Although she didn't make the finals, Canyon Crest's Susanna Marshall posted a section-best 48.80 in the 100 hurdles.