The season was outstanding, perhaps the best ever overall in San Diego, but the section was a legislative loser.
San Diego Section commissioner Don Clarkson made a request to the state CIF during a meeting in Berkeley the week of the state meet.
Clarkson asked that his section be allocated three berths in each event at future state meets. The section was allowed one berth in 1961 and ’62 and that number was raised to two in 1963.
CIF officials said no. The bosses declared it was a matter of student enrollment, in which the San Diego Section lagged when compared to other sections, according to Clarkson.
Track and Field News’ Fran Errota provided an interesting observation after the meet, when he computed scoring on the percentage of each section’s entries.
The Southern Section, with five entries, scored 37.3 per cent of the points. The Central Section, with three entries, scored 28.9 per cent. The San Diego Section, with its two entries, was third with 23.3 points.
The locals outscored the Los Angeles City and North Coast sections, each with four entries, and the three-entry Central Coast and Sac-Joaquin sections.
It would be years later, in 1980, but San Diego eventually was granted three. By the decade of 2010-19 the rule became three entries plus anyone who met a CIF-imposed standard for each event.
5/2/68
El Cajon Valley’s Tom Davidson announced he had chosen the mile over the two-mile for the big, late-season meets and ran 4:14.6 in the shorter event as the Braves subdued Granite Hills, 90-46.
Davidson had set a state-leading mark of 9:02.2 in the two-mile at the Mt. San Antonio Invitational in Walnut on April 27. “He’s got stars in his eyes for the mile and I know he’ll do a good job,” said Braves coach Joe Brooks.
Jim Cochran, Davidson’s teammate, upped his pole vault best to 14-8 ¼, close to the county record of 14-9 by El Capitan’s Andy Steben in 1965.
–Monte Vista’s Dave Carter won the mile in 4:22.8, but will move to the two-mile.
–Larry Gillham logged a 1:57.8 in the 880 and outran Monte Vista’s Steve Gillean’s 1:58.2, but Gillean and teammates scored a 70-66 win over Grossmont. The Monarchs got a double win from shot putter-discus ace Pat Foley, who hurled the 12-pound ball 56 feet, ¾ inch and wafted the 3.9-ounce platter 163-4.
–Coach Ed Teagle’s Mar Vista Mariners, claimed the Metropolitan League dual-meet championship, 69-49, at Castle Park as Dan Helton shot putted 58-2 and teammate Wolfgang Weichert 57-2.
TRIALS
WESTERN LEAGUE, @KEARNY.
Steve Becker’s 4:21.1 mile broke Thornton Bigley’s 1967 record of 4:22.1 and Becker and his Kearny teammates led qualifiers with 27.
Becker’s teammate Dennis Downes covered the 120-yard high hurdles on the Kearny track in :14.8, tying Dee Hayes’ 1965 standard. Downes also was first in a :20.4 180-yard low hurdles heat.
Komet Seneca Godwin doubled (:50.1 440 and 22 feet, 2 inches long jump). Vincent Breddell won heats in the 100 and 220 (:10.1, :23.1). Craig Campbell led shot putters with a toss of 54 feet. High jumper Bob Fulbright and vaulter Carl Geisser also tied for first in their events.
Clairemont’s Larry Castillo won an 880-yard run heat in 1:58 and Point Loma’s Rick Kaye took the other in 1:58.5.
EASTERN LEAGUE, @BALBOA STADIUM
Marion Franklin was one of 20 Lincoln qualifiers and had the day’s best mark, :14.4 in the 120 high hurdles. Hoover’s John Talbot and Lincoln’s Melvin Maxwell won 100 heats in :10.
5/7/68
AVOCADO LEAGUE, @SAN DIEGUITO
“I had a hunch I was going to do something,” said San Dieguito’s Pete Shmock who had “been in a slump, but I had a pretty good practice last week and things were falling into place.”
Shmock was speaking with Evening Tribune reporter Bill (Biff) Weurding after setting a County record of 64 feet, 11 inches, in his home ring. Shmock improved on his previous best of 63-3.
Oceanside’s Ed Johnson won his heat in the 120 high hurdles in :14.9 and led broad jumpers at 22-4. Johnson was recovering from a pulled muscle sustained in a 66-52 dual meet win over San Diego April 16.
(Three days earlier than the dual-meet victory, Johnson and Oceanside teammates Sporty Willis, Willie Buchanon, and Larry Crayton stunned Lincoln with sizzling :41.5 and 1:27.1 victories in the 440 and 880-yard relays, and Johnson won the high hurdles in :14.2 in the San Diego Relays).
GROSSMONT LEAGUE, @EL CAJON VALLEY
Helix had 34 qualifiers to Grossmont’s 19. El Cajon Valley and Mount Miguel followed with 17. Best mark was the 174-3 discus throw by Monte Vista’s Pat Foley.
5/10/68
LEAGUE FINALS
METROPOLITAN, @MAR VISTA
Mar Vista’s Ralph Lopez was named the meet’s outstanding performer after running the two-mile in 9:32.2 as Mar Vista ran away with the team title with 78 points to 34 for runner-up Castle Park.
“He weighs just 106 pounds,” Mariners coach Ed Teagle said of Lopez, “but he’s the guttiest kid I’ve ever had.”
Mar Vista shot putters Dan Helton and Wolfgang Weichert held sway, with Helton reaching a career high 58-5 ½ and Weichert heaving 56-8.
Chula Vista’s Randy McNabb broke 50 seconds for the first time, at :49.9 in the 440.
EASTERN LEAGUE, @BALBOA STADIUM
Lincoln won its fourth consecutive team title with 84 points to San Diego’s 56, and the Hornets served notice to California with outstanding performances in the relays.
With Therlee Murphy anchoring in :47.2 the Hornets raced to a 3:17.4 clocking in the mile after Murphy finished a :41.7 440.
Sophomore Milton Mitchell, who won the 880 in 1:55.9, ran :49.2 on the first leg of the mile, followed by Clive Carrero (:51.4) and Albert Fennell (:49.8). Long Beach Millikan (3:18.5) and Compton Centennial (3:18.9) were closest to the Hornets in the long race and Los Angeles Fremont, the presumed leader of the L.A. City Section, was disqualified in its league meet because of a lane violation.
Lincoln was sandwiched between Centennial (:41.3) and Los Angeles High (:41.9) in the short race, all seemingly headed for a showdown three weeks later in the state meet in Berkeley.
“I like our chances in the mile, but we’re going to get better in the 440, too,” said the Hornets’ first-year coach, Darryl Nelson.
Lincoln’s Doug Jones bettered defending champion Phillip Singleton with a 6-5 ½ high jump. The San Diego high jumper’s 6-4 wasn’t close to his career best of 6-9 ¼ in 1967.
Singleton’s teammate, James (Bouncy) Moore won the long jump at 24 feet. Lincoln’s Herman Woods stunned teammates Marion Franklin and Doug Jones by winning the 120-yard high hurdles in :14.4.
Marion Franklin won the 180-yard low hurdles in :19.6. Therlee Murphy contributed to the Hornets seven first places by running :49.2 in the 440.
John Phillips and John Talbot made the 100-yard dash a 1-2 finish for Hoover, with Phillips winning in :09.8 and he repeated in the 220 in :22.1. The Cardinals’ Lloyd (Brick) Burrows won the shot put at 55-1.
WESTERN LEAGUE, @KEARNY
Dennis Williams set a meet record of :09.9 in the 100, won the 220 in :22.5 and anchored the 440-yard relay team to a first-time-run, record :43 as Kearny scored 90 points and outdistanced Point Loma (41), Clairemont (39), and Madison (32).
The Komets’ Steve Becker improved on his mile record from the league trials, lowering the mark to 4:20.3; Craig Campbell put the shot 57-1 ¾, breaking the record of 56-4 by La Jolla’s Holland Seymore in 1963, Seneca Godwin’s 22-9 long jump topped Komet Bobby Johnson’s 22-7 ¼ in 1964.
GROSSMONT LEAGUE, @EL CAJON VALLEY
Bruce Ruff’s :10 and :22.1 victories in the 100 and 220, Tom Davidson’s record, 4:13.4 mile, and Jim Cochran’s record 14-7 ¼ pole vault, plus a 22-6 ½ long jump by Ron Gillilan were the difference as El Cajon Valley’s 68 points won the team championship over Helix, which had 63.
Granite Hills’ Brian Wadlington won the discus at 173 feet, 8 ½ inches, and El Capitan’s John Robbins led shot putters with a 57-5 effort. Helix’ Allen Stevenson anchored 440 (:43.2) and mile relay wins (3:25.6), and won the 440 in :49.9. Teammate Roy Gayhart was a :14.9 winner in the 120 high hurdles.
PALOMAR LEAGUE, @SAN MARCOS.
San Marcos scored 91 points, Ramona 59, Ramona 22, and Army-Navy 21.
SOUTHERN PREP LEAGUE, @Camp Pendleton
Cruzet of Borrego Springs, competing independently, won the 100 in :10.2 and 220 in :22.4. San Diego Military won the team segment with 46 points. La Jolla Country Day had 41, San Miguel School 38, and Julian 18.
AVOCADO LEAGUE, @SAN DIEGUITO
Ed Johnson was ailing, but Oceanside won the team championship with 70 points to Vista’s 59.
Johnson, state meet fourth-place finisher in the 180 low hurdles in 1967 at Grant High in Sacramento, and a champion Oceanside runner in the lower classes as a freshman and sophomore, injured his right leg, a second, disappointing setback for the talented senior.
Johnson still competed in four events, anchoring the Pirates to a :43.1 victory in the first-time-run 440 relay, winning the 120-yard high hurdles in :14.5, and was third in the 180-yard low hurdles and broad jump.
Whether Johnson would be recovered by the CIF Trials in one week was a question coach Tom Shields couldn’t answer.
San Dieguito’s Pete Shmock won the shot put at 62-11 and Johnson’s teammate Larry Crayton was timed in :18.7 in the 180 lows, which would be a County record but disallowed. Timers, across the field, heard only the delayed report of the starter’s pistol and saw no smoke, from which they begin clocking.
5/16/68
SAN DIEGO SECTION DISCUS FINALS
Monte Vista’s Pat Foley fouled on five of his six attempts, but his first throw was good, Foley setting a CIF meet record of 175 feet, 1 inch, in his home ring.
Foley Bettered the 170-5 mark by Grossmont’s Richard Grise in 1964. Defending champion Brian Wadlington of Granite Hills, who had beaten Foley four times in five meetings this season, was second at 169-9.
Wadlington, who also qualified for the state meet in Berkeley, set the County record of 176-1 in 1967.
5/19/68
Lincoln, seeking its sixth tile in the eight years of the section, qualified 14, tying Kearny.
Oceanside would send 12 to the following week’s finals but all-around star Ed Johnson, plagued by leg problems, qualified in the high hurdles in only :15.1 and did not make the finals in the 180-yard low hurdles, in which Johnson was fourth in the 1967 state meet.
Oceanside led Lincoln at the anchor exchange in the 440 relay, but Therlee Murphy caught Johnson and the Hornets won by four yards in :41.6, second fastest time in the state, to Oceanside’s :41.9.
Murphy came within one-tenth of tying the meet record of :48 in the 440 and also finished the mile relay as Lincoln qualified in an eased-up 3:19.3. Doug Jones ran :14.2 in the 120-yard high hurdles.
Among the casualties was Hoover’s John Phillips, the Eastern 200 champ at :09.8, disqualified after two false starts.
Best in the Class B was Oceanside high jumper Jerry Culp, who cleared 6-5 ½, bettering the mark of 6-5 by Doug Jones in 1966.
5/24/68
SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Lincoln set meet records of :41.5 in the 440 and 3:16.8 in the mile relay and Doug Jones doubled, winning the 120 high hurdles in :14.3 and the high jump at 6-6 ¼.
But Oceanside, which trailed the Hornets, 45-33 in team scoring, had the evening’s top performer.
Larry Crayton won the 100 in :09.7, the 180-yard low hurdles in :18.9, and was second to James (Bouncy) Moore’s 24-2 ½ long jump at 23-1 ½.
“This should have been our year,” said Crayton to Bill (Biff) Weurding of the Evening Tribune. “I’ve been waiting four years for this one. I can’t stand to see the CIF go like this. This is torture.”
Crayton’s pain was the pain of Ed Johnson, who was heavily taped but managed to bring Oceanside home second in the 440 relay.
“His injury cost us a first in the highs, a second in the lows, a third in the long jump, and probably a first in the 440 relay, “said Crayton.
El Cajon Valley’s Tom Davidson won the mile in 4:09 and Jerry Culp upped his Class B high jump record to 6-6.
5/31/68
STATE TRIALS, @EDWARDS FIELD, BERKELEY
Therlee Murphy’s :47.2 anchor lap saved Lincoln from disaster in the mile relay. The Hornets had a qualifying time of 3:20.4, ninth fastest in the three heats, and they got another day.
Murphy took the baton in fifth place and ran down two runners to claim the qualifier.
Lincoln also advanced at :42 in the 440 relay and Oceanside, with a not-100-per-cent Ed Johnson, was seventh in :42.5.
San Dieguito’s Pete Shmock was second in the shot put at 62-1. Oceanside’s Larry Crayton was third with a :19.2 180-yard low hurdles but did not qualify after a :10.0 100.
El Cajon Valley’s Tom Davidson was fourth fastest with a 4:14.6 mile. Marion Franklin of Lincoln tied for fourth at :14.4 in the high hurdles. Doug Jones of Lincoln hit hurdles, stumbled and finished last with a time of :15.5 but was among many who qualified at 6-5 in the high jump.
James (Bouncy) Moore was fourth in the long jump at 23-4 ½ and El Cajon’s Jim Cochran and Ron Gillihan were in a parade of 13-6 pole vaulters.
Granite Hills’ Brian Wadlington, the County recordholder at 176-1 in1967, was out of the discus after reaching only 159-2. Pat Foley of Monte Vista qualified seventh at 166-11.
6/1/68
The San Diego Section, with just two entries in each event, came up strong, although it did not produce a gold medal. Scoring was on a point basis of 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.
–Pete Shmock won the shot put with a throw of 63 feet, 11 inches, and Mar Vista’s Dan Helton was a non-scoring eighth at 58-5.
–El Cajon Valley’s Tom Davidson was leading the mile when he tied up and within feet of the finish line, finishing second in 4:09.5 to Sacramento Kennedy’s Clifton West’s 4:09. Kearny’s Steve Becker was sixth in 4:16.7.
–Lincoln was third in the 440 relay in :41.7 and third in the mile relay in 3:15.5.
Compton Centennial won the short relay in :41.3 followed by Oakland Castlemont (:41.6). Los Angeles Dorsey was fourth in :41.8. Oceanside was seventh in :42.
Centennial won the mile in 3:14.3. L.A. Fremont, disqualified for a lane violation in its league meet, was allowed to continue by the L.A. City Section and the Pathfinders finished ahead of Lincoln in 3:14.6. San Bernardino trailed the Hornets in fourth place at 3:15.9.
Edesel Garrison anchored Centennial with a :46.6 lap. L.A. Fremont’s John Smith, a future world recordholder, his team home in :46.8 and Murphy’s :46.9 anchor saved third for Lincoln.
–Bouncy Moore was third in the long jump with a best of 24 feet. Larry Crayton tied for third in the 180 lows in :19.1. Jim Cochran was third in the pole vault, going over the bar at an all-time County high 14-10 ¾.
–Lincoln’s Doug Jones cleared a personal best of 6 feet, 8 inches and tied with five others at third place but placed eighth on the basis of more misses in the high jump. After clearing 6-8, Jones passed at 6-9 and almost made 6-10 on his first attempt.
Marion Jones of Lincoln was seventh in :14.3 in the high hurdles.
–Bruce Ruff’s :22.2 220 and Ron Figueroa’s 1:54.9 880 were eighth, respectively, as was the 9:13.9 San Diego’s John Jacobsen in the two-mile. Dave Carter of Monte Vista was ninth in the eight-lap race in 9:22.2 and teammate Pat Foley 10th in the discus at 155-10.
6/20/68
San Dieguito’s Pete Shmock completed an outstanding career by setting a County record of 64 feet,11 inches, in the Golden West Invitational. Shmock, headed to the University of Oregon, set a nother County record of 53-1/4 in the National Junior Championships on Aug. 15 in Eugene, Oregon.
