The Countdown to Clovis begins this week as 16 San Diego Section leagues move through trials and finals with an eye on the state championships May 24-25 at Buchanan High in the Fresno suburb, where competition will be as hot as the weather, guaranteed to offer temperatures close to or at 100 degrees.

At the moment there is no one as hot as Madison’s Kenan Christon, whose foot-scorching :20.67 in the 200 meters at the Escondido Invitational shattered his week-old :20.90 section standard, set at the Mt. San Antonio Invitational.

Christon, now fourth in the U.S. in the 200, also moved up to a tie for second in the section 100-meter standings with a career best of :10.42 on the Escondido High track.

The USC-bound senior tied Helix’ Reggie Bush, who ran :10.42 in 2002 and trails San Diego Southwest’s Riley Washington, who ran :10.30 in 1992.

Christon likely will get another shot in Clovis at Caleb Grubb of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, who has decisioned Christon once in the 100 and twice in the 200 in meets at Mt. Carmel in March and Arcadia in early April.

Grubb leads California with his :10.40 in the 100 and is second with a :20.93 200.

Christon also moved into first place locally with a 24-foot long jump in a triangular meet with Crawford and host Lincoln.  No report on wind activity in that event but Christon’s races at Escondido were well under the 2.0 m.p.h. limit.

The Madison runner could join very elite company should he go on to a California sprint title. Championships in the 100 and 200 are few and far between in San Diego, just five in the 100 and three in the 200 since the first state meet in 1915 (see table below).

There was a conversion from yards to the internationally accepted meters in 1980. The 220-yard race was slightly longer than 200 meters. One-hundred meters is more than nine yards longer than 100 yards.

Electronically-timed races are first noted in David Russell’s 1977 victories.

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	YEAR	TIME
100	Jimmy Willson	San Diego	1929	:09.8
	Elijah Jefferson	Crawford	1974	:09.6w
	Jefferson		1975	:09.8
	David Russell	Patrick Henry	1977	:09.61
100  Meters	Riley Washington	San Diego Southwest	1992	:10.30
220	Willson		1929	:21.4
	Glenn Willis	San Diego	1941	:21.7
	Russell		1977	:20.97w

Four season bests in each of  girls’ and boys’ competition highlighted last week’s activity.  Leaders through April 26 (marks in italics represent new season or new personal bests; those with parenthesis indicate where San Diego Section competitors stand in the state):

w–Wind-aided.

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:11.87 (10T)	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40w
200	Wright, University City	:24.44 (12)
200	Shaheed	:24.46 (13)	Nowling	:23.64
	Rustkovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.51w (16)
400	Wright, University City	:55.64 (15)	Okonkwo, Murrieta Mesa	:54.25
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:11.37 (3)	Tomkinton, Atherton Menlo	2:10.61
	Morales, Scripps  Ranch	2:13.87 (16)
1600	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	4:48.34 (1)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	4:49.14
3200	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	10:15.80 (2)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	10:12.78
	Dorostkar,  Canyon Crest	10:28.14 (8)
	Wallace, Sage Creek	10:35.40 (13)
100 Hurdles	Redon, San Diego	:14.2 (7)	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:13.36
	James, San Diego	:14.68w (15T)
300 Hurdles	Occiano, Mission Hills	:44.64 (20)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:41.21
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (2)	Calabasas	:45.95
4×400 Relay	Olympian	3:56.23 (21)	Eastvale Roosevelt	3:47.17
High Jump	Hickey, Coronado	5-10 ½ (1)	Harris, Bakersfield Golden Valley	5-10
Long Jump	Hickey, Coronado	20-9w (1)	Harris, Upland	20-2 1/2
	Hardaway, Oceanside	19-0¾ (8)
	Scott, Gompers	19-0½ (9T)
Triple Jump	Miller, San Pasqual	39-8 ½ (10)	Shearer, San Jose Silver Creek	41-3 3/4
	Scott, Gompers Prep	39-5 1/2 (11T)
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	45-1 ½ (7)	Franklin, Santa Clarita Golden Valley	47-11 1/2
	Lagoy, Rancho Bernardo	41-11 (16)
	Cardona, El Camino	41-0 ½ (20)
Discus	Cruz, Mission Hills	139-3 (20)	Budwig, Fowler	171-7
Pole Vault	Callahan, Rancho Bernardo	13-6 (2T)	Funk, Clovis West	13-7
	Thomson, Poway	13-3 (4)
	Adamiec, Poway	13-0 (7T)
	Cervantes, Poway	12-9 (9)

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Christon, Madison	10.42 (2)	Grubb, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame	:10.40
	Steward, Orange Glen	:10.66 (13T)
200	Christon, Madison	:20.67 (1)	Grubb, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame	:20.93
400	Parker, Helix	:47.99 (7)	Larrier, Elk Grove Monterey Grove	:46.49
	Lippert, La Costa Canyon	:48.54 (14T)
	Salzman, Calvin Christian	:48.54 (14T)
800	Tellez-Velasquez, San Pasqual	1:52.52 (2)	Wingo, Valencia	1:52.11
	Ali, Crawford	1:54.17 (14)
1600	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	4:15.58 (14)	Hibbard, El Monte Arroyo	4:07.25
	J. Stanford, La Costa Canyon	4:16.90 (24)
3200	Velasco, Fallbrook	9:07.27 (8)	Young, Newbury Park	8:40.00
	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	9:09.06 (9)
120 High Hurdles	Sayles, Steele Canyon	:14.69	Marshall, Berkeley St. Mary’s	:13.56
300 Intermediate Hurdles	Solomon, Grossmont	:38.38 (12)	Roberson, Upland	:36.96
	Stewart, Canyon Crest	39.0 (22T)
4×100 Relay	Madison	:42.23 (19)	Long Beach Poly	:40.91
4×400 Relay	Helix	3:23.04	Placentia Valencia	3:13.73
High Jump	Lugo, Canyon Crest	6-6 ½ (12)	Allen, Santa Barbara San Marcos	7-0
	Brownell, San Dieguito	6-6 (13)
Long Jump	Christon, Madison	24-0 (2)	Foster, Clovis North	25-1 1/2
	Yokley, El Capitan	22-11 (19T)
Triple Jump	Mitchell, Point Loma	48-6 (2)	Hemphill, Upland	48-8 1/2
	Cynkin, Torrey Pines	46-5 ¼ (14)
	Brown, La Jolla	46-0 ½ (19)
	Gibbs, Oceanside	45-5 ¾ (25)
Shot Put	Boamah, Scripps Ranch	54-0 (24)	Viveros, Bakersfield Liberty	68-11
Discus	Peterson, Rancho Bernardo	160-3	Elbettar, Newport Beach Newport Harbor	197-4
Pole Vault	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	16-4 (2)	Wright, Lodi	16-8
	Brown, La Costa Canyon	16-0 (4T)
	Volpe, San Marcos	15-6 (12T)
	Jurisoo, Mt. Carmel	15-1 (22T)
	Sperry, Rancho Bernardo	15-1 (22T)
	Clarke, El Camino	15-0 (25)

Madison’s Kenan Christon blasted the San Diego Section 200-meter sprint record, vaulted to No. 1 in California, and into the top 10 in the U.S.

The USC-bound senior lit up the El Camino College track in the 61st Mt. San Antonio Invitational, covering the distance in :20.90 and bettering the section record of :20.98, set in 1997 by Morse’s Ike Okenwa.

Christon, who also won the 100 in :10.66, is ninth in the country in the 200 this season.

Rancho Bernardo’s Ashley Callahan pole vaulted 13 feet, 6 inches, at Mt. Sac to move to second in the state, a tie for fourth in the country, and a tie for first in the San Diego Section with Westview’s Kortney Ross, who cleared 13-6 in 2010.

Callahan’s associate, Jacob Rice is in a tie for seventh all-time locally and currently is 10th in the country with a 16-foot, 4-inch pole vault.

RIEDMAN ROLLS

La Costa Canyon’s Jessica Riedman also covered some ground at the Mt. Sac event, moving to third in the state, 15th in the U.S., and 15th all-time in San Diego with a 2:11.37 in the 800.

Kristin Fahy’s, Riedman’s teammate, is No. 1 in California and sixth in the country with her 4:48.34 in the 1600.  Fahy also is No. 1 all-time in San Diego with her 10:15.80 in the 3200 and currently No. 2  in California, and sixth in the U.S. .

Coronado’s Alysha Hickey is fourth in the U.S. with her 5-10 1/2 high jump and No. 3 all-time in San Diego.  She has an all-time long jump of 20-9 1/2, which would be a San Diego Section record, but is wind-aided.

The Escondido Invitational, which opened years ago as the Orange Glen invite, is scheduled this week and is the last major locally before league trials and the big meets in May.

Marks in italics represent new season bests; those with parenthesis are where San Diego Section competitors stand in the state.

W–Wind aided.

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:11.87 (7)	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40
200	Shaheed	:24.46 (8)	Nowling	:23.64
	Rustkovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.51w (10)
	Wright, University City	:24.71 (17)
400	Wright, University City	:55.64 (13)	Babineaux, Quartz Hill	:54.27
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:11.37 (3)	Tomkinton, Atherton Menlo	2:10.61
	Morales, Scripps  Ranch	2:13.87 (16)
1600	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	4:48.34 (1)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	4:49.14
3200	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	10:15.80 (2)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	10:12.78
	Dorostkar,  Canyon Crest	10:28.14 (8)
	Wallace, Sage Creek	10:35.40 (13)
100 Hurdles	Redon, San Diego	:14.64 (11T)	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:13.36
300 Hurdles	Occiano, Mission Hills	:44.64 (17)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:41.21
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (2)	Calabasas	:46.07
4×400 Relay	Christian	3:56.37 (19)	Eastvale Roosevelt	3:48.12
High Jump	Hickey, Coronado	5-10 ½ (1)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	5-8 1/2
Long Jump	Hickey, Coronado	20-9w (1)	Harris, Upland	20-2 1/2
	Hardaway, Oceanside	19-0 ¾ (7)
Triple Jump	Miller, San Pasqual	39-8 ½ (10)	Shearer, San Jose Silver Creek	41-3 3/4
	Scott, Gompers Prep	39-5 1/2 (11T)
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	42-7 (13)	Budwig, Fowler	47-8
	Lagoy, Rancho Bernardo	41-7 (17)
Discus	Cruz, Mission Hills	139-3 (16)	Budwig, Fowler	171-7
Pole Vault	Callahan, Rancho Bernardo	13-6 (2)	Funk, Clovis West	13-7
	Thomson, Poway	13-3 (4)
	Adamiec, Poway	13-0 (7T)
	Cervantes, Poway	12-9 (9)

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Christon, Madison	10.45w (3)	Grubb, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame	:10.40
	Steward, Orange Glen	:10.66 (10T)
200	Christon, Madison	:20.90 (1)	Grubb, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame	:20.93
400	Parker, Helix	:47.99 (7)	Larrier, Elk Grove Monterey Grove	:46.49
	Lippert, La Costa Canyon	:48.54 (13T)
	Salzman, Calvin Christian	:48.54 (13T)
800	Tellez-Velasquez, San Pasqual	1:52.52 (2)	Wingo, Valencia	1:52.11
	Ali, Crawford	1:54.17 (12)
1600	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	4:15.58 (14)	Hibbard, El Monte Arroyo	4:07.25
	J. Stanford, La Costa Canyon	4:16.90 (24)
3200	Velasco, Fallbrook	9:07.27 (8)	Young, Newbury Park	8:40.00
	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	9:09.06 (9)
120 High Hurdles	Sayles, Steele Canyon	:14.69	Marshall, Berkeley St. Mary’s	:13.56
300 Intermediate Hurdles	Solomon, Grossmont	:38.38 (12)	Roberson, Upland	:36.96
4×100 Relay	Madison	:42.23 (13T)	Long Beach Poly	:40.91
4×400 Relay	Helix	3:23.04	Placentia Valencia	3:13.73
High Jump	Lugo, Canyon Crest	6-6 ½ (10)	Allen, Santa Barbara San Marcos	7-0
	Brownell, San Dieguito	6-5 (21T)
Long Jump	Christon, Madison	23-1 (12)	Foster, Clovis North	25-1 1/2
	Yokley, El Capitan	22-11 (18)
Triple Jump	Mitchell, Point Loma	48-6 (2)	Hemphill, Upland	48-8 1/2
	Cynkin, Torrey Pines	46-5 ¼ (14)
	Brown, La Jolla	46-0 ½ (16)
Shot Put	Boamah, Scripps Ranch	54-0	Viveros, Bakersfield Liberty	68-11
Discus	Lologo, Oceanside	153-1	Elbettar, Newport Beach Newport Harbor	197-4
Pole Vault	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	16-4 (2)	Wright, Lodi	16-8
	Volpe, San Marcos	15-6 (10T)
	Brown, La Costa Canyon	15-2 (15T)
	Jurisoo, Mt. Carmel	15-1 (19T)

 

Dave Moore topped with a 51-point game, but Patrick Henry’s Mark Fitzner had the most points and held off “Score” Moore for highest average among players from large schools.

The breezy sobriquet for Moore, courtesy of Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune, fit the San Marcos senior, who scored 594 points in 27 games for a 22.0 average, but Fitzner held sway  with 704 points in 31 games and 22.7 average. Clarence Clark of San Diego Military had a 25.8-point average in 19 games, leading small schools players.

Moore and Fitzner earned rank among the all-time leaders with their individual and seasonal efforts.

Moore became the fourth player in San Diego County history to score at least 50 points in one game.  Fitzner moved to 14^th in all-time season scoring.

Fitzner was an exception in what seemed to be a downward trend in scoring.

There were eight players who accounted for at least 500 points this season, compared with 15 in the Bill Walton-dominated season of 1969-70.   Four players scaled 700 that season and six were at 600 or more.

There were eight over 500 in 1970-71, 12 in ‘71-72, and 10 in ’72-73.

Nine players averaged 20 points or more this year, compared with 12 in 1968-69, 20 in ’69-70, 4 in ’70-71, 11 in ’71-72, and 4 in ’72-73.

Fitzner became the 42^nd in the County to score at least 1,000 career points.

Poway’s 108-79 win over San Dieguito in a Coast League game was the single score at or above 100.

THIS SEASON

NAME	TEAM	GAMES	POINTS	AVERAGE
Mark Fitzner	Patrick Henry	31	704	22.7(1)
Dave Moore	San Marcos	27	594	22.0(2)
Andre Robinson	Morse	28	580	20.7(4)
Ron Thomas	Hoover	32	580	18.2(9)
Art Leahy	Madison	17	547	20.3(5)
Mike Milke	Hilltop	25	533	21.3(3)
Ron Wiggins	St. Augustine	26	518	19.9(7)
Rick Taylor	Kearny	32	505	15.8
Robin Harvey	Mar Vista	24	479	20.0(6)
Dean Miller	Poway	26	470	18.1(10)
Ron McFarlin	Lincoln	31	469	15.1
Joe Sobkowiak	Clairemont	25	462	18.5(8)
Paul Robinson	Poway	28	457	16.3
Gary Walin	Bonita Vista	27	450	16.7
Terry Belsan	Marian	27	446	16.5
Eddie Newell	Crawford	27	446	16.5
Dan O’Neill	Marian	29	438	15.1
Kerman	La Jolla	29	437	15.1
Richard Ridgway	Monte Vista	26	435	16.7
John Frise	Bonita Vista	29	435	15.0
Tom Ford	Granite Hills	25	381	15.2
		CLASS A
Dan Stockalper	Ramona	26	580	22.3
Clarence Clark	San Diego Military	19	490	25.8
Partch	Julian	23	404	17.6
Kyle Spain	La Jolla Country Day	16	363	22.7
Dave Cook	Francis Parker	16	310	19.4
Temple	Army-Navy	16	258	16.1

ONE SEASON

NAME	SCHOOL	YEAR	POINTS	AVERAGE
Bill Walton	Helix	1969-70	958	29.0
Ralph Drollinger	Grossmont	1971-72	868	27.4
Dave Smith	Madison	1969-70	776	26.8
Wilburn Strong	Kearny	1968-69	774	25.8
Phil Edwards	Madison	1968-69	766	23.9
George Evans	St. Augustine	1969-70	748	23.4
Larry Blum	Crawford	1962-63	737	23.8
Tom Shaules	St. Augustine	1957-58	736	28.3
Paul Halupa	Bonita Vista	1968-69	718	28.7
Von Jacobsen	Crawford	1965-66	712	24.6
Cedric (Ric) Reed	Morse	1969-70	711	24.5
Clarence Brown	Lincoln	1969-70	709	24.4
Ron Dahms	Madison	1967-68	706	22.1
Mark Fitzner	Patrick Henry	1973-74	704	22.7

ONE GAME

NAME	SCHOOL	YEAR	POINTS
Tom Shaules	St. Augustine	1957-58	60
Rob Petrie	Julian	1969-70	60
Shaules			53
Dave Moore	San Marcos	1973-74	51
Bill Walton	Helix	1969-70	50
Shaules		1956-57	49
Jody Schmitz	Fallbrook	1972-73	49
Ken Leininger	Morse	1963-64	49
Bill Flohr	Julian	1960-61	48
Frank Petersen	Clairemont	1967-68	48
Paul Lockridge	Fallbrook	1950-51	47
Bill Froehling	Army-Navy	1960-61	47
Tim Doerr	Granite Hills	1968-69	47
Blaine Bundy	El Capitan	1965-66	46
Earl May	San Dieguito	1967-68	46

The season and game scoring tables above are historically complete through 1973-74.

TOURNAMENTS

Three local events, the 27^th Kiwanis, ninth University, and fourth Baron-Optimist, took the pre-league spotlight.

KIWANIS

Hoover or San Diego won the event 8 times in the first 10 years of the event and usually was a finalist in years they didn’t win.

The Cardinals and Cavers were dropped into the Limited Division this year because of declining enrollment and recent years of mediocrity.

No matter. San Diego whipped El Cajon Valley, 74-27, and Hoover mashed Orange Glen, 70-45, in opening-round games.  San Diego defeated Hoover, 61-58, for the division championship.

Patrick Henry extended its winning streak to 26 games, including 1972-73, and rocked Santana, 68-38, in the Unlimited Division final. Mark Fitzner had 22 points, 14 rebounds and made 55 per cent of his shots from the floor.

The Cavers’ James Pipkins was spotted wearing a Bonita Vista wrestling shirt after an 86-64 win over Bonita Vista.  “My collection includes a shirt from almost every school in the County,” said Pipkins.

Lincoln topped Brawley, 55-45, for the Classified championship.

Grossmont claimed fifth place in the Limited Division, 76-66, over Hilltop despite 36 points by the Lancers’ Mike Milke, whose total was a tournament high for one game.

COVINA

Poway lost to Long Beach Millikan, 68-60, beat Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe, 57-37, beat Pasadena Blair, 67-63, and lost to West Covina, 78-55, in the consolation bracket semifinals.

EL CENTRO ELKS

Dave (Score) Moore made 21×29 field goal attempts and 9×11 free throw attempts to score 51 points in a 78-42 San Marcos win over Imperial. Moore’s total was the highest since St. Augustine’s Tom Shaules scored 60 in 1957-58 and Rob Petrie of Julian scored 60 in 1969-70.

The Knights dropped the Limited Division championship game to Calipatria, 35-33.  Coronado beat Antelope, Arizona, 83-58, for third place. San Pasqual topped Orange Glen, 57-47, for the Limited consolation title.

BRETHREN

Christian’s trip to the Huntington Beach was short-lived.  The Patriots were defeated by Cerritos Gahr, 100-54, and Montebello Cantwell, 77-56.

CHINO

Escondido was chased out in the first round by Claremont, 67-47, and in consolation play by Montclair, 78-55

RIVERSIDE RUBIDOUX

After a 66-61 loss to Colton, Vista rebounded to defeat Bloomington, 61-43, and Riverside Norte Vista, 49-39, for consolation honors.

TRACY

Mount Miguel traveled 450 miles to the community east of Oakland and lost to the host school, 81-74, and defeated Stockton Franklin, 80-61. We’re still looking for the Matadors’ next-game result.

POST-NEW YEAR

Thirty-one teams entered the University and Baron Optimist tournaments, which began after the first of the new year for the first time. Seedings for both tournaments were done before the season.

The seeds held up at Uni, as Kearny was ranked No. 1 and Patrick Henry No. 2, with Lincoln 3 and Hoover 4.  The Baron-Optimist seeds, not so much.  Monte Vista, with a 5-4 record, was ranked ahead of 9-2 Morse and 11-1 San Diego, with the host Barons seeded fourth with a 4-6 record.

UNI

Kearny topped Patrick Henry in the Kiwanis rematch, 49-47.  Hoover edged El Capitan, 53-52, for third place.  Lincoln beat Santana, 52-45, for fifth, and Granite Hills won consolation by outscoring La Jolla, 45-41.

BARON-OPTIMIST

Bonita Vista lived up to its seeding and even upset No 2 Morse, 64-62, in the semifinals, while unseeded Helix beat Marian, 58-47, pitting two surprising clubs in the finals, the finish of which veered from usual script.

Helix led, 67-66, and had the ball with 22 seconds remaining in the game, at which time the Highlanders signaled for a time out.

Oops.

The Scots did not have any time outs, as was pointed out by the official scorekeeper.

The Barons’ Gary Walin stepped to the line and converted the technical free throw to tie the score at 67.

Bonita Vista then took possession of the ball at side court and worked the ball to Bart Helms, who drilled a 15-footer with 6 seconds left and the Chula Vista squad escaped with a 68-67 victory.

FIRST ROUND PLAYOFFS

Hoover’s 13-1 run at the end of the second quarter led to a 37-29 halftime lead in a 71-55 victory over Marian (21-8). San Diego walloped San Marcos (15-12), 76-58.  Kearny conquered Chula Vista (16-13), 60-45.  Lincoln edged University (13-14), 68-64.  Helix beat Poway (21-7), 76-71.  Henry nipped Mount Miguel (16-12), 62-59, and Grossmont ousted La Jolla (15-14), 46-35.

QUARTERFINALS

Charles McLemore scored all of Lincoln’s overtime points to eliminate San Diego (24-6), 70-69.  The teams were deadlocked, 64-64, after regulation play.  Patrick Henry retired Grossmont (20-9), 56-48.  Kearny dumped Vista (16-10), 76-47, and Hoover, which went to a press against Marian, continued pressing and beat Helix, 55-43.

SEMIFINALS

Hoover topped Lincoln (25-5), 77-63.  Kearny again beat Patrick Henry (23-8), 73-57.

FINALS

Kearny dispatched Hoover (24-8), 71-50 (Search 1973-74: Kearny’s Double Unbeaten Komets).

SWEET IT IS

Sweetwater would finish 1-23 this season and took special delight in its only win, which snapped the Red Devils’ latest losing streak at 22.  Coach Gary Zarecky’s battlers knocked off blood rival Chula Vista, 9-2 in league play and 15-10 overall, 49-46.

HIS BEST

Evening Tribune writer and basketball maven Bill Finley picked his favorite players: 1—Mark Fitzner, Patrick Henry. 2—Donald Page, Kearny. 3—Rick Taylor, Kearny. 4—Mike Milke, Hilltop. 5—Mark Hoaglin, Kearny, 6—Terry Belsan, Marian

MILITARY TRAVEL

Clarence Clark of San Diego Military Academy, which had an enrollment of 200 students, averaged 25.8 points and had been the Southern League player of the year in baseball as well as basketball.

During the summer Clark played for the Los Angeles High Romans near his home. Clark’s father, a retired Army major, sent his son to the military school in Del Mar.

“Let’s face it,” said Eagles coach Rick Stewart.  “The teams in this league aren’t world beaters, but he could play anywhere.  People ignore Clarence because he plays at San Diego Military, not Kearny.”

JUMP SHOTS

Poway’s 108-79 win over San Dieguito bettered the Titans’ record, which had come in a 90-50 win over Orange Glen in December, 1971…San Dieguito (10-17) got even with the Titans in the rematch, 66-63, with a 21-11 fourth quarter…winless Poway Christian after a series of blowouts suspended its program and forfeited the remaining three games on its schedule…Jeff Worley’s two free throws with 5 seconds left got Coronado past Vista, 45-44…Marian’s Terry Belsan was 8×8 from the floor and 9×9 from the free throw line for 25 points and had 21 rebounds in an 88-53 win over Point Loma…Mike Milke scored 24 of his 33 points in the first half as Hilltop ran away from Montgomery, 76-59…St. Augustine’s Ron Wiggins scored 17 of his 33 points from the free throw line but Patrick Henry held on for a 79-74 victory…Wiggins scored 15 fourth-quarter points and the Saints won the quarter, 27-15, but couldn’t overcome Henry’s 67-47 lead….

The Mt. San Antonio Relays, for decades hosted on campus in the community of Walnut, moved west about 30 miles to El Camino College in Inglewood a couple years ago and will headline the menu this week.

Mt. Sac at one point was supposed to be the probable site of the 2020 Olympic Trials and the 50 years-plus layout was to undergo a makeover in preparation.  The trials now will be beld in Eugene, Oregon.

Outside of Washington, D.C., nowhere are politics as pungent as you’ll find in track and field.

The Escondido Invitational takes place April 26, followed by league trials and finals, San Diego Section trials and finals, and the state meet in Clovis May 24-25.

The Valley Center and Jim Cerveny invitationals were the featured meets last week.

Including dual meets and the 2 invitationals, five boys and one girls season bests were recorded.  Madison’s  :42.23 4×100 relay and Jacob Rice’s 16-foot, 4-inch pole vault led the way.

Marks in italics represent new season bests; those with parenthesis are where San Diego Section competitors stand in the state.

W–Wind aided.

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:11.87 (7)	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40
200	Shaheed	:24.46 (7)	Nowling	:23.64
	Rustkovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.51w (9)
400	Wright, University City	:55.64 (12)	McCall, Bakersfield	:54.61
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:13.54 (11)	Tomkinton, Atherton Menlo	2:10.61
1600	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	4:48.34 (1)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	4:49.14
3200	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	10:15.80 (2)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	10:12.78
	Dorostkar,  Canyon Crest	10:28.14 (8)
100 Hurdles	Redon, San Diego	:14.64 (10T)	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:13.36
300 Hurdles	Occiano, Mission Hills	:44.64 (16)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:41.21
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (2)	Calabasas	:46.07
4×400 Relay	Scripps Ranch	3:57.86	Eastvale Roosevelt	3:48.12
High Jump	Hickey, Coronado	5-10 ½ (1)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	5-8 1/2
Long Jump	Hickey, Coronado	20-9w (1)	Harris, Upland	20-2 1/2
	Hardaway, Oceanside	19-0 ¾ (6)
Triple Jump	Miller, San Pasqual	39-8 ½ (9)	Shearer, San Jose Silver Creek	41-3 3/4
	Scott, Gompers Prep	38-3 (19)
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	42-7 (12)	Ramirez, Valencia West Ranch	47-5 ¼
	Lagoy, Rancho Bernardo	41-4 (16)
Discus	Cruz, Mission Hills	139-3 (16)	Budwig, Fowler	171-7
Pole Vault	Callahan, Rancho Bernardo	13-4 (3)	Funk, Clovis West	13-7
	Thomson, Poway	13-3 (4)
	Adamiec, Poway	13-0 (7T)
	Cervantes, Poway	12-9 (9)

 

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Christon, Madison	10.45w (3)	Grubb, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame	:10.41
	Steward, Orange Glen	:10.66 (7T)
200	Christon, Madison	:21.32* (T6)	Roberson, Upland	:21.28
400	Parker, Helix	:47.99 (7)	Strader, Valencia West Ranch	:46.49
	Lippert, La Costa Canyon	:48.54 (12T)
	Salzman, Calvin Christian	:48.54 (12T)
800	Tellez-Velasquez, San Pasqual	1:52.52 (2)	Wingo, Valencia	1:52.45
	Ali, Crawford	1:54.17 (11)
1600	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	4:15.58 (14)	Hibbard, El Monte Arroyo	4:08.69
	J. Stanford, La Costa Canyon	4:16.90 (23)
3200	Velasco, Fallbrook	9:07.27 (8)	Strangio, Sacramento Jesuit	8:47.97
	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	9:09.06 (9)
120 High Hurdles	Sayles, Steele Canyon	:14.69 (25)	Marshall, Berkeley St. Mary’s	:13.61
300 Intermediate Hurdles	Solomon, Grossmont	:38.45 (10T)	Roberson, Upland	:36.96
4×100 Relay	Madison	:42.23 (13T)	Long Beach Poly	:40.91
4×400 Relay	Helix	3:23.19 (21)	Placentia Valencia	3:13.73
High Jump	Lugo, Canyon Crest	6-6 (9T)	Allen, Santa Barbara San Marcos	7-0
Long Jump	Christon, Madison	23-1 (11)	Hemphill, Upland	23-11
Triple Jump	Mitchell, Point Loma	48-6 (2)	Hemphill, Upland	48-6 1`/4
Shot Put	Boamah, Scripps Ranch	54-0	Viveros, Bakersfield Liberty	68-11
Discus	Lologo, Oceanside	153-1	Elbettar, Newport Beach Newport Harbor	197-4
Pole Vault	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	16-4 (2)	Wright, Lodi	16-8

 

Kearny High became the second school (after Grossmont in 1971-72) in the 14-season history of the San Diego Section to win football and basketball championships in the same school year.

The Komets took the Grossmont accomplishment a giant step further.  They were undefeated in both sports, football, 12-0-1, basketball, 32-0.

No team has come close since.

Tying it together was Mark Hoaglin, a 6-foot, 8-inch, 230-pound tight end in football and a husky presence in basketball, the only Birt Slater-coached gridder to also be a regular starter for hoops coach Wayne Colborne.

How the Komets won 32 straight:

1—Kearny 74, Oceanside 46.  Poway transfer Rick Taylor, the son of Komets baseball coach Jack Taylor, scored 17 points.  The balanced Komets also received 19 from Alan Rhodes, 13 from Donald Page, and 10 from Greg Ashbaugh.

2—Page, with 20, and Taylor, with 18, were joined by seven others who scored in a 74-47 victory over a second Avocado League foe, Vista.

3—The Komets continued their run through the Avocado League, racing to a 40-14 halftime lead and easing to a 74-38 win over Orange Glen.

4—Hoaglin still was involved in football (he caught a pass for 25 yards and punted 4 times for 36 yards in Kearny’s 34-0 playoff victory over Sweetwater, reversing a 6-6 tie in the first game) and Grossmont, which would mount a championship bid in the Grossmont League, did not take advantage, never out of it but never really in it as Kearny moved on, 69-57.

5—Perennially tough Helix couldn’t penetrate a tough defense, which guided the Komets to a 53-28 victory.

6—Poway, which would win 21 games, tested the Komets’ resolve, leading, 37-35, into the fourth quarter before the Linda Vistans put together a 20-8 final eight minutes to win a 27^th annual Kiwanis Tournament opening game, 55-44.

7—Hoaglin, after celebrating the football championship, made his debut and matched Donald Page’s 19 points in a 73-45 win over San Dieguito.

8—The Komets flexed some muscle against Madison, their former Western League antagonist, scoring the first 16 points and cruising, 74-61.

9—Morse was 8-1, fresh from a 69-52 win over Helix, but the Tigers were run off the floor, 82-54, and trailed by 36 points at the end of three quarters.  Hoaglin scored 18 and three other starters, Alan Rhodes, Rick Taylor, and Donald Page scored at least 13.

10—Matchup of the year brought two teams together with a combined 18-0 record for the Kiwanis Tournament Unlimited Division title. Patrick Henry was defending San Diego Section champion and had won 25 in a row, including 64-53 over Kearny in the 1972-73 championship game.

The Patriots socked the Komets with a 14-0 run that erased a 39-30 Kearny advantage and put Henry in front, 44-39, with four minutes left in the game.

Staggered, Kearny regrouped, taking back the lead and separating with two free throws by reserve Phil Thompson with 55 seconds left in 52-48 barnburner.

The last of the County’s unbeaten teams, the Komets were rewarded with a week off before the New Year.  They led the CIF, averaging 68 points on offense and holding opponents to 46.8.

11—January began with Page scoring 17, Rhodes 16, and Hoaglin 15 in a 74-52 victory over St. Augustine in the University Tournament.

12—Santana came with a deliberate offense, the polite term for a semi stall.  Kearny eased, 45-29.

13—Alan Rhodes’ 18, Rick Taylor’s 16, Donald Page’s 12, and Mark Hoaglin’s 11 were enough keep Hoover at a distance, 64-56.

14—A Kiwanis Tournament championship game encore, this time the Komets administering the big punch. Trailing, 29-26 at halftime, Kearny whacked Patrick Henry with a 10-0 blitz at the start of the third quarter and they pulled away to lead, 43-32, before going into a slowdown.

Henry never got closer than 4 points in the last period, although they scored with 13 seconds left to make the final 49-47.

15—Coach Wayne Colborne’s club was living dangerously.  They opened Western League play with a 63-60, overtime victory at 13-3 San Diego, which moved to the West this season after 13 years in the Eastern loop.

Kearny trailed, 38-29, in the third quarter before jumping in front, 41-40.  They trailed again, 48-47, with 4:34 left but tied the Cavers, 56-56, at the end of regulation.  Rick Taylor’s seven free throws during the extra session pulled out the win.

Taylor was 9×10 from the charity stripe and Kearny shot 49 per cent from the field.  Alan Rhodes led the second-half comeback and had 23 points.

16—Nine players, led by Taylor’s 18, scored in a 75-39 rout of Madison.

17—Morse didn’t give up without a struggle, staying close almost all the way before bowing, 66-58, as Taylor scored 21 and Page 20.

18—It wasn’t getting easier.  Kearny finished with a 21-8 fourth quarter to shake the pesky University Dons, 51-38.  Uni held the Komets to four points in the third quarter and defended strongly, forcing a number of off-balance shots.

19—Kearny shot 56 per cent from the floor, Point Loma 28 per cent.  The Pointers fell, 60-32. Page led with 16 and backup Ed Simpson had 14.

20—Hoaglin (23), Page (22), and Taylor (22) combined for 67 points and Clairemont was left behind, 86-64.

Kearny might have approached the school record of 97, set in 1968-69 versus Granite Hills, but the Komets just maintained in a 19-19 fourth quarter as reserves got some minutes.

21—A 25-6 first quarter was all that was needed in an 85-47 romp over St. Augustine.

22—Mark Hoaglin scored 21 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, the Komets’ shot 55 per cent from the floor, and dominated the rematch with San Diego, 80-55, before a capacity crowd of 1,000 in the Komets’ gym. Kearny’s 1-3-1 zone defense swarmed the Cavers, who shot 38 per cent from the field.

“We’re coming on,” said Colborne.

San Diego coach Gary Todd:  “To fast break you have to get some defensive rebounds. There weren’t any rebounds.  Everything they shot was going in.  Then, when we came down against their zone, we couldn’t move fast enough to get good shots.”

Kearny made 28 free throws to the Cavers’ four.

23—67-57, Hoover. The Cardinals were behind by four points with 1:30 left in the game and had the ball, having run off eight points in a row to close to 60-56.  A 16-6 run had brought the Cardinals back after they lagged, 54-40, after three quarters.

Rick Taylor scored 14 points, including six of the last seven; Donald Page had 17 and Alan Rhodes 21.

24—72-60 over Madison, which scored the last 11 points against reserves.  The Warhawks officially stepped down from the Western League throne, on which they sat for seven straight seasons.

25—The third game, matching No. 1 and No. 2, brought no charm for Henry.  Mark Fitzner’s late, 20-foot looper forced an overtime, but the Komets prevailed, 59-55. Donald Page’s three-point play got separation for Kearny

26—Taylor’s 20, Hoaglin’s 18, and Page’s 16 were the difference in an 81-62 victory over University.  The Dons wilted under a 22-10, third quarter run.

27—77-45, Point Loma.  Ten players scored for Kearny, which was assessed only 5 personal fouls in 32 minutes.  The Pointers were only slightly more aggressive, being whistled for 11 infractions.

28—A perfect, 10-0 Western League season concluded with a 58-45 victory against Clairemont.  The Linda Vistans led, 48-25, after three.

Kearny became the fifth team in County history to end the regular season undefeated, joining Hoover (25-0) in 1959-60, La Jolla (26-0), 1963-64, Mount Miguel (28-0), 1967-68, and Helix (29-0), 1969-70.

29—Chula Vista (16-14) trailed, 40-35, at halftime of the first-round playoff.  The Spartans then affected a stall strategy for the first four minutes of the third quarter.  The stall led to a turnover, which Kearny turned into an 8-0 spurt, and the Komets put away the Spartans, 69-45.

Chula Vista took three shots in the third quarter and was blanked, 6-0, for the period. Rick Taylor led the winners with 29 points.

30—Shooting 58 per cent from the field to Vista’s 37 per cent, the result was a 76-47 victory over the Panthers (17-11).  The Big Four, Hoaglin (17), Rhodes (16), Taylor (14), and Page (12) were in sync.

31—One more time and Happy Trails, Patrick Henry.

It is rare to beat the same opponent 4 times in one season, especially one with a 25-8 record, but Kearny again measured the Patriots, 73-57, in the playoff semifinal before 3,630 at the Sports Arena, Taylor had 24 points and Page 22.

32—Beating the same opponent three times in a season isn’t easy either. Hoover, which finished 24-8, had more wins than any Cardinals team since the 24-3 club of 1960-61.

After defeating Hoover by 8 and 10 points in previous meetings, Kearny pulled away before 5,143 persons in the Sports Arena to a 71-50, championship game victory.

“They were much more aggressive on defense than when we played them before,” Cardinals coach Hal Mitrovich said to Will Watson of The San Diego Union.

“We had hoped to stay close…and then go to the press in the second half and make a run at them, but they just wouldn’t let us do it.”

Kearny led, 39-24, at the half.

Colborne didn’t play a we-were-disrespected card, but he may have been thinking along those lines.  “I don’t know if we made believers of people or not,” he said in answer to a question. “It seemed that all we heard most of the season was that somebody could beat us.”

Colborne wouldn’t be drawn into any what-ifs.  His team had made its statement.  The Komets were balanced and consistent to the end.  They led the County with a 68.1 average on offense and their 49-point defense average was third.

San Diego Section runners and jumpers warmed to the competition in the Arcadia Invitational, turning in season highs in five girls events and three boys events; the young men brought the total to 9 in a City League triangular meet between Madison, Clairemont, and Christian.

Christin Fahy was third in the 3200-meter run at Arcadia, but her 10:15.80 race elevated her to No. 1 all-time in San Diego.  She is second in the state and fourth in the U.S. and continues as the state leader in the 1600 and fourth in the country.

Fahy’s teammate, McKenna Brown, held the 3200 record at 10:15.97 in 2018.  Fahy ran 10:16.44 in 2018.

Eric Parker of Helix became the 21^st 400-meter runner to break 48 seconds when he moved into a tie for 20^th with his :47.99 and also anchored Helix to its best time of the season, 3:23.1 in the 1600 relay.

Madison’s Kenon Christon long-jumped 23 feet, ½ inch against Clairemont and Christian and was fourth in the 100 meters at Arcadia with a time of :10.62, one-tenth slower than his best non-wind aided time.

Marks in italics represent new season-leading bests; those with parenthesis are where San Diego Section competitors stand in the state.

W–Wind aided.

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Christon, Madison	10.45w (3)	Grubb, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame	:10.41
	Steward, Orange Glen	:10.75w (T14)
200	Christon, Madison	:21.32* (3)	Roberson, Upland	:21.28
400	Parker, Helix	:47.99 (5)	Strader, Valencia West Ranch	:46.49
	Lippert, La Costa Canyon	:48.54 (12T)
	Salzman, Calvin Christian	:48.56 (14)
800	Tellez-Velasquez, San Pasqual	1:52.52 (2)	Wingo, Valencia	1:52.45
	Ali, Crawford	1:54.17 (11)
1600	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	4:15.58 (7)	Hibbard, El Monte Arroyo	4:08.69
	J. Stanford, La Costa Canyon	4:16.90 (18)
	Ali, Crawford	4:17.82 (25)
	G. Stanford, La Costa Canyon	4:18.15
3200	Velasco, Fallbrook	9:07.27 (8)	Strangio, Sacramento Jesuit	8:47.97
	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	9:09.06 (9)
120 High Hurdles	Jackson, El Camino	:14.95
300 Intermediate Hurdles	Solomon, Grossmont	:38.45 (T10)	Roberson, Upland	:36.96
	Stewart, Canyon Crest	:39 (16)
4×100 Relay	Madison	:42.69	Long Beach Poly	:40.91
4×400 Relay	Helix	3:23.19 (21)	Placentia Valencia	3:13.73
High Jump	Lugo, Canyon Crest	6-6 (T9)	Allen, Santa Barbara San Marcos	7-0
Long Jump	Christon, Madison	23 ½ (T9)	Hemphill, Upland	23-11
	Luck, Mission Vista 22-5½ (23)
Triple Jump	Mitchell, Point Loma	48-6 (2)	Hemphill, Upland	48-6 1`/4
Shot Put	Watson, Fallbrook	53-5 (22)	Viveros, Bakersfield Liberty	68-11
Discus	Lologo, Oceanside	153-1	Elbettar, Newport Beach Newport Harbor	197-4
Pole Vault	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	16-1 (3)	Wright, Lodi	16-8
	Brown, La Costa Canyon	15-2 (T9)
	Volpe, San Marcos	15-1 (T14)
	Sperry, Rancho Bernardo	15-1 (T14)
	Dudley, Poway	14-9 (T21)
	Elamparo, Poway	14-9
	Jurisco, Mt. Carmel	14-9

 GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:11.87 (6)	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40
200	Shaheed	:24.46 (6)	Nowling	:23.64
	Rustkovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.51w (8)
400	Wright, University City	:55.64 (10)	McCall, Bakersfield	:54.61
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:13.54 (11)	Tomkinton, Atherton Menlo	2:10.61
1600	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	4:48.34 (1)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	4:49.14
3200	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	10:15.80 (2)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	10:12.78
	Dorostkar,  Canyon Crest	10:28.14 (9)
100 Hurdles	Redon, San Diego	:14.64 (10)	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:13.36
300 Hurdles	Ames, Christian	:44.71 (17)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:41.21
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (2)	Calabasas	:46.07
4×400 Relay	Scripps Ranch	3:57.86 (26)	Eastvale Roosevelt	3:48.12
High Jump	Hickey, Coronado	5-10 ½ (1)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	5-8 1/2
Long Jump	Hickey, Coronado	20-9w (1)	Harris, Upland	20-2 1/2
	Hardaway, Oceanside	19-0 ¾ (6)
Triple Jump	Miller, San Pasqual	39-8 ½ (9)	Shearer, San Jose Silver Creek	41-3 3/4
	Scott, Gompers Prep	38-3 (18)
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	42-7 (12)	Ramirez, Valencia West Ranch	47-5 ¼
	Lagoy, Rancho Bernardo	41-4 (17)
Discus	Cruz, Mission Hills	139-3 (14)	Budwig, Fowler	171-7
	Atuatasi, West Hills	134-9 (25)
Pole Vault	Callahan, Rancho Bernardo	13-4 (2)	Sommers, Westlake Village Westlake	13-5
	Thomson, Poway	13-3 (4)
	Cervantes, Poway	12-9 (7)
	Adamiec, Poway	12-6 (9)