CLOVIS, Calif. – St. Francis senior Ariane Arndt closed out her junior season with a 16th-place finish in one of the fastest 800 meters in state history. She clocked the second-best time of her career, crossing the line in 2:11.06 but failed to advance to the finals on Saturday.

“I was real surprised (with the first lap),” said Arndt, who set the school record this year at 2:10.05. “It was really fast. I tried to hang on the best I could. I am a little sad that I died so hard at the end. It is ok and I gave my all. It is a learning process for next year.”

The first lap went out in 61 seconds and Arndt was with the lead pack. But she started to slide back over the final 300 meters as a group of five pulled ahead. The top three in each of the three heats advanced along with the next three best times.

“I think she ran her heart out,” said assistant coach Mason Myers. “We talked about going out fast but it was a little imbalanced and too fast. She looked really good through about 500 meters and started slowing down. I am proud of her and elated that she made it this far. She ran the second-fastest time ever – nothing to be ashamed of. They sky is the limit for her next year.”

Arndt, who was running in the event for the second straight season, was five seconds faster this season (2:16.18 in 2014) at the state meet. The time on Friday would have qualified for the final last season but 13 runners went under 2:10 in 2015.

“I am really proud of how far I have come from last year and how much I have learned,” said Arndt. “From the ups and downs, (it is great) to see how far our team has come.”

Arndt, who is from Folsom, won the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters title for the second consecutive season, posting a seed time of 2:14.25 last week to qualify for the meet. She ran a personal-best 2:10.05 to win the Arcadia Invitational earlier this season.

“II feel like she did so much in so many events,” said Myers of her versatility from the 200 to the mile this season. “She is extremely talented and our outstanding performer all year. It was an incredible building year for her and she is going to do wonderful things to come.”