Madison’s Doton Ogundeji, who made noise in the state meet in 2013, raised the decibel level to a shout at the Sundevil Invitational Saturday at Mt. Carmel.
The all-San Diego Section football linebacker last season took the national lead in the shot put with a 65 foot, 4 ½ inch heave, almost two feet better than the reported 63-7 by Kord Ferguson of Ottawa, Kansas.
Only three other County athletes have bettered Ogundeji’s throw.
Fallbrook’s Brent Noon went 76-2 in 1990, Morse’s Darius Savage 66-3 ½ in 2006, and El Cajon Valley’s Curt Hampton 65-11 1/4 in 1974.
Ogundeji was sixth in the state shot put at 58-11 ¾ last year and was the only double-qualifier from San Diego. He was a nonscoring discus finalist at 175-2.
Meet Director Dennis McClanahan’s annual Sundevil event is usually a barometer of the big meets in late May and early June.
Outstanding marks, including several state Top 10 efforts, were made by section athletes in what was for most the first significant meet of the season.
Hanna Labrie-Smith’s :43.4 in the 300-meter hurdles moved the Cathedral junior into second place in California behind the :43.14, converted hand time of Bakersfield Liberty’s Morganne Hill.
Labrie-Smith in 2013 came within 1/10 of Gail Devers’ 1983 San Diego Section record of :42.26.
A rare dead heat occurred in the Girls’ 3,200-meter run, when favored Sarah Baxter of Simi Valley and Irvine Northwood’s Bethany Knights were inseparable.
Each finished with times of 10:07.52, fastest in the country this year.
