North Salinas High sophomore Clara Adams ran the fastest time in the girls’ 400-meter finals at the CIF State Track & Field Finals last weekend.
She crossed the finish line .28 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.
But Adams is not the state champion. She was stripped of that title after she used a fire extinguisher to spray her cleats while on the field inside the track moments after the race.
“I was robbed,” Adams, 16, told The Times shortly after being disqualified from that event as well the 200 finals, which took place later in the meet.
Adams said CIF officials told her that she was being disqualified because she had been “unsportsmanlike,” but that’s not how she saw it at all.
“I was having fun,” Adams said, noting her win in the 400 marked her first state title. “I’d neve