CLOVIS, Calif. – Senior Ariane Arndt advanced to an individual final for the first time in her career and anchored the 4x400-meter relay into Saturday’s finals.

“Advancing is all that matters at this meet because times don’t carry forward,” said Interim Head Coach Rod Jett. “We have to come out tomorrow and do the best we can.”

Arndt, a three-time state qualifier in the 800m, finished third in the third heat in 2:09.61 to advance automatically to Saturday’s final. She was seventh overall as the top three in each heat and next three best times advanced.

“It felt really good coming off the turn,” said Arndt. “Somebody had to go so I decided to kick in and I pulled in strong. The goal was to get top three to qualify for tomorrow and that is what I did. I am excited about tomorrow.”

The mark improved her school record by one-hundredth of a second, besting her 2:09.62 at the Meet of Champions in April.

“It was great the way she ran the race not leading the first lap and taking charge at 300 meters,” said Assistant Coach Aaron Rios. “It is what we have worked on in practice and she executed it in the race.”

Arndt was in the middle of the pack at the halfway point before making an outside move to get to the front of the pack around the back stretch. She held the lead around the final turn before Erica Shroeder of San Marcos and Rylee Penn of Cent-Cor. beat her to the line with Arndt holding her position third to earn the automatic time. Alyssa Brewer of California had the top qualifying time in 2:08.00.

Arndt, who is from Folsom, entered the meet with the seventh-best time on the season.

The 4x400-meter relay (Kiani Reyna, Lilly Enes, Elizabeth Hennessy, Arndt) also advanced to Saturday’s final with a ninth-place finish, earning the final spot in the race for the state title.

“It was good but we were definitely surprised by the competition out here,” said Arndt. “There are crazy good ladies and it is always an honor to run here. You never know who is going to come out and surprise you.”

Calabasas had the top time in winning the second heat in 3:44.71 ahead of Rancho Cucamonga (3:44.75) and St. Mary’s (3:45.94). The Troubadours were fourth in the fastest heat and advanced with the ninth and final spot via time, edging Santa Margarita (3:49.88).

“I am excited,” said senior Lilly Enes. “It was kinda a surprise tonight. We thought it would be easier to qualify and we barely made through the qualification round. I know that tomorrow we are going to run our best. I think we can go faster and be a top contender.”

The St. Francis 4x100-meter relay team opened the meet with a school-record 47.52, finishing fourth in their heat and 11th overall. The top nine qualified for Saturday’s final.

“It is crazy,” said junior anchor leg Meaghan Rogers. “I did not think I was going to be at this meet this year. The relay team has been doing pretty well all season. It is a pretty good end to the season.”

The team was ranked 18th in the state coming into the meet after winning the SJS Masters title in a then school-record 47.58.

“They were a longshot to make the finals,” said Jett. “But my goal was to try and lower the school record. We ran the fastest time of the season so I can’t complain.”

Rogers teamed with seniors Reyna, Arndt and Enes.

Sophomore Sydney Vandegrift will join the meet, running the 3200m final late Saturday.