1972 Track: Outstanding Marks, but Few Medals at State
San Diego Section track and field athletes kept getting better, but so was everyone else.
Excellent marks were posted, some that would have shattered records a few years before, but didn’t earn a mention in this narrative because of ever-increasing volume, i.e., more and more good performances.
With two qualifiers in each event, the section advanced 44 entries to the 54th state meet at Las Plumas High in Oroville.
Eleven of the 44 survived the trials. Only three scored points or finished in the top five of their events in the finals.
Whether it was the two-day grind under a hot sky and the pressure of the great event, or that many marks in San Diego Section meets were made on the blazing fast Balboa Stadium all-weather oval, or that human timers either were too slow starting their watches or too fast shutting them down.
COTTON COMES UP SHORT
Most disappointed was El Cajon Valley’s Terry Cotton, the favorite in the mile who ran a career best 4:05.5 but was upset by Garden Grove’s Mark Schilling in 4:05.4.
Cotton had won his trial in 4:11.4, more than four seconds faster than the next qualifier, and Schilling was ninth, running 4:19.8.
“I just ran out of energy in the last stretch,” said Cotton to Will Watson of The San Diego Union. “I really didn’t tie up in my legs, but I just didn’t have it for that final surge.”
Schilling, whose best had been 4:09.9, took a narrow lead about 60 yards from the finish line, holding on and breaking the meet record of 4:07, by Chula Vista’s Tim Danielson in 1966.
De WHO?
Escondido’s Tom De Julien, who did not win in the Avocado League finals or the San Diego Section meet, was fourth in the pole vault with a career high of 14-6.
De Julien had cleared a lifetime best of 13-9, three inches better than before, in Friday’s trials.
Along the way De Julien caught a break.
“I broke my pole on Wednesday,” said the Cougars’ senior, who earned the fourth place medal with fewer misses than two other vaulters.
De Julien reported that he had to drive to Lo Angeles the next day to get another pole. The new implement was stiff.
“I had trouble getting to the pits on my first couple of run-throughs,” said De Julien. “but I just put my mind to it that I was going to vault with it.”
5/5/72
WESTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @MESA COLLEGE
Point Loma’s John Willson set a Western League record with a :49.0 clocking in the 440-yard dash.
Jimmy Willson, father of John, led San Diego High to the state team championship in 1929, winning the 100-yard dash in :09.8 and 220 in :21.4 in finals at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
John Willson bettered the league record of :49.7 by Larry Godfrey of Clairemont in 1962.
Mike Person of Kearny equaled the meet record in the 120-yard high hurdles that Person set in 1971, running :14.4.
Bruce Girasole of Madison set the pace in the sprints, winning his heat in the 100 in :09.9 and 220 in :22.3.
La Jolla and Point Loma each qualified 11 for the finals and Kearny followed with 9. Madison and Clairemont each had 6, Mission Bay 5, and University 3.
GROSSMONT LEAGUE TRIALS, @EL CAJON VALLEY
Terry Cotton of El Cajon Valley won his heat in the mile in 4:14.7 and El Capitan’s Curt Hampton hurled the shot 54 feet, 8 1/4 inches but Grossmont led with 20 qualifiers.
El Capitan, Helix, and Granite Hills had 14 qualifiers each; El Cajon Valley (13), Mount Miguel (10), Monte Vista (9), and Santana (7) filled out.
EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Lanard Morris’ 09.9 100 and :21.8 220 and Vernon Martin’s :15.3 and :19.9 hurdles victory represented the day’s only double victories but Crawford led with 13 qualifiers to Lincoln’s 11.
Morse was third with nine qualifiers, followed by Patrick Henry, 8; Hoover, 7; San Diego, 6, and St. Augustine, 3.
Hoover’s Phil Eisenhart won his 880 heat in 1:57.1.
Avocado and Metropolitan League team wrapped their dual meet seasons.
Bob Caulk of Coronado got off the 11th best shot put in area history, 59-6 ¾, in a 61-53 loss to Chula Vista.
Bill Harvey of Vista whirled the discus 160-2 in the Panthers 88½-38½ win over Carlsbad, whose Marquez ran the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.
5/9/72
AVOCADO LEAGUE TRIALS, @OCEANSIDE
The host Pirates advanced 15 entries to the finals, ahead of Vista’s 10, and 9 by Carlsbad, 8 each by San Marcos and Escondido, 5 each by Orange Glen and San Dieguito, and 4 each by Poway and Fallbrook.
Oceanside’s Kevin Muldoon, the top quarter miler, was given an injury bye into the finals. Teammate Kevin Cochran posted a :50.8 440.
METROPOLITAN LEAGUE TRIALS, @SWEETWATER
Gusty winds kept marks in the margins.
Mar Vista’s Marty Hauck clocked :50.8 in a 440 heat.
Mar Vista led with 12 qualifiers, followed by Castle Park, 8, Bonita Vista, 6, Chula Vista, 5, Coronado, Hilltop, Montgomery, and Sweetwater, 4 each.
The records for the Class B 880 was broken three times:
Manuel Monroy of Sweetwater ran 2:06.4 in the first heat. Ocheltree of Chula Vista ran 2:04.8 in the second heat, and Bracamontes of Sweetwater finished with a 2:03.5 in the third heat.
5/12/72
LEAGUE FINALS
Instead of the first three finishers in each event qualifying for the CIF Trials the following week, the County Coaches’ Association voted to advance the first five in the following:
100, 220, 440, 120-yard high and 180-yard low hurdles, and 440 and mile relay teams.
In addition, more competitors than the top three finishers will be allowed to move on in the 880, mile, and two-mile races, plus field events if qualifying standards were met.
Standards included 1:59 880, 4:28 mile, 9:40 two mile, 6-foot, 2-inch high jump, 22-foot long jump, 51-foot shot put, 140-foot discus, and 13-foot pole vault.
Southern League trials and finals will be at Ramona on May 13.
EASTERN LEAGUE, @BALBOA STADIUM
Lincoln outscored Morse, 66-57, for the team championship and the Tigers’ James Milton was star of the show.
Milton’s :09.5 in the 100-yard dash bettered the record of :09.6 by Vernus Ragsdale of Lincoln in 1962 and Charles Sanford of San Diego in ’63.
Milton returned to run :21.2 in the 220 on the Stadium curve for another record, although timers were thought to have been fast on their stopwatch thumbs.
There had been allowable wind in the 100 and more than allowable wind in the 220, although no wind gauge, usually available for big Stadium track meets, was not on the grounds.
Milton had been slowed by a pulled muscle in his leg three weeks before in the dual meet with Lincoln and had been byed into the league finals.
Lincoln runners David Lamar Leonard Moore, Wally Henry, and Lanard Morris ran the second fastest 440 rely in the state, their :41.6 second to Compton Centennial’s :41.4.
Morse was second in the relay in :42.3, Crawford third in :42.5.
Vernon Martin if Lincoln was a double winner in the hurdles in :14.9 and :19.6 and Hoover’s Brad Davis set a record of 57-8½ in the shot put, erasing the 56-9¾ by Lincoln’s Mike Lee in 1969.
Class B high jumper Charles Edwards of San Diego cleared 6 feet, 3 inches, to top the record of 6-2 ¾ shared by Morse’s Arnie Robinson and Lincoln’s Doug Jones in 1964 and ’66, respectively.
WESTERN LEAGUE, @MESA COLLEGE
Bruce Girasole of Madison ran :09.7 to break the record of :09.8 by Kearny’s Vince Breddell in 1970. Girasole also won the 220 in :22.4.
Mike Person of Kearny bettered his league record of :14.2 in the 120-yard high hurdles with a :14.1 effort and won the 180 lows in :19.7.
Mark Perry of La Jolla nosed out Mission Bay’s Rory Trup in the 880, 1:56.3 to Trup’s 1:56.4.
Madison outscored Kearny, 50-47, for the team title. Point Loma had 43, Clairemont 34, La Jolla 25, Mission Bay 17, and University 8.
GROSSMONT LEAGUE, @MONTE VISTA.
Terry Cotton’s 4:10.1 mile shattered the record of 4:13.4 by El Cajon Valley’s Tom Davidson in 1968, when Cotton was an eighth grader waiting to enroll the following year at El Cajon Valley.
El Cajon Valley won the team championship with 49 ½ points to Grossmont’s 48. Trailing were Granite Hills, 37, Helix 32, El Capitan 31½, Mount Miguel 27, Santana 19, and Monte Vista 12.
METROPOLITAN LEAGUE, @SWEETWATER
Mark Kreisher of Mar Vista set the meet’s only record with a 6-5 1/4 high jump that topped the 6-4 1/4 by Grossmont’s Bill Jones in 1961.
Tom Schutte, Kreisher’s teammate, was second at 6-4-1/2.
The Mariners’ Marty Hauck raced to a 1:56 clocking in the 880 and doubled back to win the 440 in :51.1.
Mar Vista outscored Chula Vista, 59-42, for the team title.
SOUTHERN LEAGUE, @RAMONA
Donald Tavie of San Diego Military won the 100 in :10.4 and 220 in :23.5 and led San Diego Military Academy to the team championship.
The Eagles had 47 points to Christian’s 41, and Ramona’s 40. La Jolla Country scored 35, Julian 20, Army-Navy 14, Mountain Empire 13, San Miguel 8, and Francis Parker 6.
Mitchell of Ramona logged a 2:01.7 in the 880 that broke the 2:03.5 record by McMullen of Brown Military in 1946.
King of Ramona ran :51.6 in the 440 to better the record of :52.4, set in 1967 by Burton of La Jolla Country Day, and Arthur of Julian ran 4:48.1 in the mile, better than the 4:51.8 by Darrough of Ramona in 1955.
AVOCADO LEAGUE, @ESCONDIDO
No team scores were kept, but Oceanside had to feel good, especially Robert Mosley, who won the 120-yard high hurdles, 180-yard lows, broad jump, and anchored the winning 440-yard relay team. Mosley’s times were :14.8 and :19.7 in the hurdles. He jumped 22-10 ¾, and the Pirates’ :42.9 easily won the baton race.
Oceanside Sophomore and future world triple jump champion Willie Banks was fourth in the high hurdles in :15.1 and second in the broad jump at 21-11 ¼.
Vista’s Vic Scimo was second in :50.3 to the 50.1 of Oceanside’s Kevin Muldoon in the 440 and set a meet record of 1:55.7 in the 880, better than the 1:56.4 the Panthers’ Stan Leonard logged in 1971.
5/18/72
SAN DIEGO SECTION DISCUS TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Greg Baer of Grossmont led with a throw of 157 feet, 1 inch, beating favored Bill Harvey and Haskell Hallmark of Vista.
5/20/72
SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Madison’s Bruce Girasole, who won the class C 180-yard dash for Southern Section team champion Costa Mesa Estancia in 1971, logged a :09.8 100 and :21.6 220. Morse’s James Milton also ran :09.8 in his 100 heat but pulled up with recurring muscle soreness in his leg in the 220.
Oceanside’s Robert Mosley, the County leader with a broad jump of 23-11 ¼, couldn’t reach 20-11 3/4, which would have qualified, and barely advanced after running :15.3 in the 120-yard high hurdles.
El Cajon Valley’s Terry Cotton won his mile heat in 4:10.3, beating Armando Velasco of Fallbrook. Velasco, who’d given Cotton problems during the cross country season, ran his all-time best, 4:14.7.
Nine runners timed :50.8 or faster in the 440, led by Point Loma’s John Willson at :48.6.
Nine runners ran 1:58.2 or faster in the 880, led by Vista’s Vic Scimo at 1:55.
5/27/72
SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Madison’s Bruce Girasole won the 100-yard dash in 09.6 and 220 in :21.4, both meet records.
“I just kept looking ahead (in the 100),” said Girasole. “because I thought (Lanard) Morris would make a charge.
“I would have been more psyched up if (James) Milton had been in there. I knew he’d make an effort because he was No. 1 all year.
Lincoln’s Lenard Morris was second in :09.8 in the 100 but Milton, with leg problems all year, scratched after anchoring Morse to fourth in the 440 relay.
Girasole had traveled to Norwalk the night before to watch the Southern Section finals. “I was in bed by 1, though. I still like to keep track of those guys.”
Vista’s Vic Scimo ran the 10th fastest 880 in County history, 1:53.5 and teammates Jay Semensow and Bill Harvey won the shot put and discus, respectively, at 59-2 ¾ and 164-9.
Kearny’s Mike Person tied the high hurdles record of :14.1, shared by Lincoln’s David Edwards (1966), Doug Jones (’68), and Wes Babcock (’71).
Oceanside sophomore Willie Banks won the broad jump with a leap of 23-4 ¼.
Best mark of the day was by El Cajon Valley’s Terry Cotton.
Cotton ran laps of :60.1, :62.4, 65.6, and :60 that got Cotton home in 4:08,1.
Pre-meet favorite Lincoln was fifth with 13 points as Vista (32) and Oceanside (30) formed a powerful, North County 1-2. Madison was third with 21.6.
6/2/72
54TH STATE TRACK TRIALS, @LAS PLUMAS HIGH, OROVILLE
| EVENT | NAME | SCHOOL | MARK | PLACE |
| 100 Yards | Girasole | Madison | :09.9 | T6th |
| Morris | Lincoln | :10.2 | — | |
| 220 Yards | Girasole | :21.7 | 6th | |
| Finn | La Jolla | :22.6 | — | |
| 440 Yards | Willson | Point Loma | 49.2 | 7th |
| Haynes | Mission Bay | :50.8 | — | |
| 880 Yards | Scimo | Vista | 1:53.9 | 8th |
| Trup | Mission Bay | 1:55.3 | — | |
| Mile | Cotton | El Cajon Valley | 4:11.4 | 1st |
| Velasco | Fallbrook | 4:18.4 | 5th | |
| 120-yard high hurdles | Person | Kearny | :14.4 | 9th |
| Mosley | Oceanside | :14.9 | — | |
| 180-yard low hurdles | Henry | Lincoln | :19.7 | 12th |
| Mosley | — | |||
| High Jump | Green | Oceanside | 6-4 | T1. |
| Walker | Morse | 6-2 | 14th | |
| Long Jump | Banks | Oceanside | 22-4 ½ | 14th |
| Baldwin | Patrick Henry | 22-0 | 15th | |
| Shot Put | Caulk | Coronado | 59-7 | 5th |
| Semensow | Vista | 59-0 ½ | 8th | |
| Discus | Hallmark | Vista | 159-9 | 12th |
| Harvey | Vista | 153-6 | 15th | |
| Pole Vault | De Julien | Escondido | 13-9 | T1 |
| Kurtz | Madison | — | — | |
| 4×110 Relay | Crawford | :42.8 | 17th | |
| 4x440Relay | Oceanside | :43.2 | 18th |
TWO-MILE RUN FINALS
| NAME | SCHOOL | MARK | PLACE | |
| Close | Monte Vista | — | — | |
| Dick | San Dieguito | — | — |
6/3/72
54TH STATE TRACK MEET, @OROVILLE LAS PLUMAS HIGH
| EVENT | NAME | SCHOOL | MARK | PLACE |
| 100 Yards | Bruce Girasole | Madison | :09.9 | 7th |
| 220 yards | Girasole | :21.7 | 5th | |
| 880 yards | Vic Scimo | Vista | 1:54.4 | 8th |
| Mile | Terry Cotton | El Cajon Valley | 4:05.5 | 2nd |
| Alberto Velasco | Fallbrook | 4:17.5 | 6th | |
| 120-yard high hurdles | Mike Person | Kearny | — | — |
| High Jump | Ed Green | Oceanside | 6-0 | 13th |
| Shot Put | Jay Semensow | Vista | 56-10 1/2 | 11th |
| Pole Vault | Mike DeJulien | Escondido | 14-6 | 4th |