A decidedly thin year in San Diego Section track and field ended on a promising note in the 99th state meet at Clovis over the weekend.
Sophomore Karson Lippert, who came into the season with a best of: 49.77 as a freshman in the 400, crashed the big stage and will be billed as one of the state’s premier runners entering 2018.
Lippert caught fire into the second turn Saturday night at Clovis, ran down a couple rivals and his strong finish earned Lippert second place behind Zach Shinnick of Pomona Damien.
Startling was Lippert’s :46.91 clocking, second fastest in County history.
Junior Jalyn Jackson of Eastlake quietly posted a solid double, fourth in the long jump at 23 feet, 4 inches, and second in the triple jump at 48-5 1/4.
Junior McKenna Brown of La Costa Canyon was fifth in the 1600 meters and did not approach her Friday career best of 4:51.72, but Brown showed that she is a tough, savvy runner.
SPIKE MARKS
It was a sweltering 100 degrees with winds gusting to 20 miles an hour when the gun for the first race was heard at 6 p.m…Veterans Stadium at Buchanan High was close to full, with hundreds more spectators lined in the end zones, bringing the crowd total to almost 10,000…the Clovis school will be host again for the next three years…Vista’s Alia Scott (300 hurdles), LCC’s Jessica Riedman and Kristin Fahy (distances), San Dieguito’s Kevin Ward (pole vault), and El Camino’s Nu’u Tuilefano (weights) all have another year….
Allowable wind, 2.04 meters per second.
BOYS
100—Guidry, Vista Murrieta, 10.13w. Wind, 3.8 m.p.s.
200—Cunningham, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde, 21.07w. 3. Ellis, Mt. Carmel, 21.25w. Wind, 2.7 m.p.s.
400—Shinnick, Pomona Damien, 46.12.  2. Lippert, LCC, 46.91, San Diego Section No. 2 all-time to 46.85, Lydell Burston, Morse, 1996.
800— Charvet, Heritage, 1:51.07
1600—Grijalva, Fairfield Armijo, 4:08.62. 10. Chinn, Poway, 4:19.42.
3200–Bolger , San Luis Obispo, 8:53.91. 13. Prince, Sage Creek, 9:18.90.  15. Suzara, Otay Ranch, 9:22.85. 27. Paul, Mt. Carmel, 10:14.66.
110HH—Anderson, Upland, 13.33, fastest in U.S. this year, betters state record 13.39, Craddock Union City Logan, 2004.
300IH—Anderson, Upland, 36.02.
4×100 RELAY—Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 40.95.
4×400 RELAY—Moreno Valley Rancho Verde, 3:14.46.
HJ—Lee, Trabuco Hills, 6-11. 9T. Marquez, El Centro Central, 6-3.
LJ—Kettels, Berkeley St. Mary’s, 24-3 ¾. 2. DeRoos (Tri City), 24-2w.  4. Jackson, Eastlake, 23-4.
SP—Wilson, Clovis, 66-2 3/4. 11. Harris, San Diego, 53-2 1/4.
TJ—Stevenson, Temecula Great Oak, 49-7 ¾. 2. Jackson, Eastlake, 48-5 ¼. (Section No. 15 all-time).
PV—Curran, Redondo Beach Redondo, 16-10. 9. Ward, San Dieguito, 14-10. 11T. Winters, RB, no height..
DISCUS—Joyner, Pittsburg, 203-8.
GIRLS
100—Augustine, L.B. Poly, 11.58.
200—Augustine, L.B. Poly, 23.41w.
400—Anderson, Norco, 52.91.
800—Brewer, San Ramon California, 2:07.07. 5. Sa. Roberson, La Jolla, 2:09.38 (Section No. 8 all-time). 9. McCarthy, Carlsbad, 2:12.43.
1600—Denner, El Dorado Oak Ridge, 4:44.89. 5. Brown, LCC, 4:54.39. 11. Riedman, LCC, 4:56.66.
3200—Lane, Malibu, 10:07.33. 10. Fahy, LCC, 10:33.27. 18. Loren, Canyon Crest, 11:01.15.  23. Barrett, W’view, 11:17.68 .
100H—Davis, Agoura, 12.83w, fastest ever by high school girl. Wind 3.7 m.p.s. 9. Smith, Miss. Hills, 14.60.
300H—Anderson, Norco, 40.31. 9. Scott, Vista, 45.28
4×100 RELAY—Gardena Serra, 46.04.
4×1600 RELAY—Oakland Bish. O’Dowd, 3:46.33.
HJ—Burke, Riverside Poly, 5-8.
LJ—Davis, Agoura, 22-1 /14w. Wind 3.2 m.p.s.
SP—Amaechi, S.F. Lincoln, 47-5 ¼. 8. Tuilefano, E Cam., 41-11 ¼.
PV—Baxter, Anaheim Cyn., 14-0. 10. Myers, Poway, 12-0.
TJ—Davis, Agoura, 42-11 ¾.
DISCUS—Anumba, Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos, 177-8.
Rick, what’s the scuttlebutt on where (or IF) the State Meet might relocate in 2021? While it’s true that there are no longer onlooking throngs of 10,000 strong, the facility at Cerritos College pales in comparison to Buchanan!
What I heard was that no other section or facility has applied to host the meet. Clovis Buchanan is a marvelous facility, but I miss Cerritos, although much older and not as well-kept. My favorite state meet site was Edwards Field in Berkeley. Beautiful setting. I don’t think the meet has been there since the early ‘eighties. Bakersfield College also was nice. Hughes Stadium in Sacramento was okay. Balboa Stadium in ’67 and ’75 was great because it was local but not a very attractive venue. They must have held the discus on San Diego High’s upper field or before the regular meet. I saw state meets in Woodland and Oroville in the ‘seventies. Basically high school layouts. All the best in track, Matt.
Rick, what does the asterisk (next to George Harris’ shotput mark) denote? Hope you enjoy the upcoming summer!
Good catch, Matt. The asterisk showed that he had qualified on Friday. He finished 11th on Saturday with a throw of 53-2 1/4. My error. I’ll fix in the results.
RBV’s Collin Sample overcame a late-season quadriceps injury to place 9th in Fresno. Over the course of this, his senior season, the Longhorn long jumper “flew under the radar” on his way to a respectable 17¾-inch improvement on his personal-best effort from 2016. His wind-legal 23′ 1½” leap at CIF Prelims broke Von Ware’s 1994 school record — and would’ve been several inches further if I hadn’t been so conservative, positioning his approach mark on the Mt. Carmel High runway!
Bigger the risk, bigger the reward. Long jump is a quirky event. Like many in the singular sport of track and field, an athlete might get trapped by too much thinking. Who knows how far Sample may have gone if he wasn’t worried about that thin takeoff board and said the hell with it, I’m going for it? An almost foot an a half improvment still is very good.