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)

“Willson, with two l’s.”

Jimmy Willson had been correcting the spelling of his last name since he was in grade school but that changed when Willson’s family moved from Massachusetts and 11^th grader Jimmy turned out for Coach Glenn Broderick’s track team at San Diego High.

After a “Wilson“ or two, local sports writers got with the program when Willson ran a 10-second 100-yard dash and tied the school record in the first meet of the season.

Willson also won the 220 and anchored the Hilltoppers’ 880-yard relay team in a 74 ½-38 ½, dual-meet victory over Pasadena.

The rout of their Coast League rival was the starting point of one of the greatest seasons in school history, in any sport.

–The Cavemen and Hilltoppers, as they also were known, were 5-0 in dual meets, winning by an average score of 71-42.

–They won team championships in the calendar’s four major events: Southern Counties’ Invitational, Coast League, CIF Southern Section, and State.

Broderick went into the season with just two returning lettermen, including two-time defending state pole vault champion Bill Miller, but the addition of Willson and the development of several others promised a talented, deep squad.

Meet by meet with Broderick’s thinclads:

PASADENA

The last time the Hillers had met Pasadena, in 1927, the Bullpups romped, 80 ½-32 ½.

Willson’s :10 flat century equaled the school mark set by Bill Powell and Harry Holloway in 1925.

Miller cleared 12 feet, 6 inches, two feet higher than the next vaulter, and Evan Dowers was a 4:49 winner in the mile.

San Diego won 10 of 13 events and swept the discus, led by Athos Sada, who waved the platter 109 feet, 6 inches, in between playing third base for coach Mike Morrow’s baseball team.

SAN DIEGO STATE FROSH

Willson ran another 10-second 100, which tied a record for the Aztecs’ oval, but Aztecs freshman Lawrence Petersen tied Willson in a :23-flat 220 and defeated Irvine (Cotton) Warburton in the 440 in :51 4/5, which rounded off to :51.8.  Stop watches eventually would time all races in tenths instead of fifths.

The Hilltoppers won, 72 ½-42 ½.

SOUTHERN COUNTIES’ INVITATIONAL

More than 200 athletes, almost all from south of the Los Angeles County Line, were entered in the eighth annual event on the Huntington Beach High track.  San Diego High was on hand, while other local teams took part in a DeMolay track meet in City Stadium.

Six meet records, including a national-record pole vault of 13 feet, 3 inches, by Bill Miller and a Hilltoppers triumph with 28 1/3 points, were highlights.

Miller bettered the record of 13-2 5/8, but he shared honors with Alvin Koenig of Huntington Beach, who set meet records with a :09.8 100 and a :22 flat 220. Willson was runner-up in each race.

Santa Ana’s Alva Reboin also was a double winner, in the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.4 and his :25.2 in the 220 lows was a record.

Santa Ana  was second in team scoring with 28 points, followed by Huntington Beach (23) and Ontario Chaffee (19 ½).

San Diego clinched the team title with a 1:33.4/5 victory in the 880-yard relay, last event.  A second place by Santa Ana would have given the Saints the championship but they were third, nosed out by Koenig and Huntington Beach.

SAY, AREN’T YOU…?

Imagine how strong this San Diego team would have been had one athlete made the 1.6-mile trolley ride down Park Boulevard from Roosevelt Junior High to the Hilltoppers’ campus.

But Alva Reboin’s family moved North after his ninth-grade year and Reboin starred at Santa Ana in the hurdles and pole vault.

LONG BEACH POLY

The Jackrabbits were state champions in 1928, but not a match.  San Diego won, 69 2/3-43 1/3, and was first in 11 events, all but the 120-yard high hurdles and high jump.

Coach Glenn Broderick trusted the weather man after days of rain and promised the meet would go on “unless the (jumping) pits fill up with water.”

Willson ran his usual :10 flat 100 and his :22.6 in the 220 was two-tenths slower than the school record. Irvine (Cotton) Warburton won the 440 in :51.8 and Evan Dowers took the mile in 4:45.  Without Willson, San Diego won the relay in 1:32.2.

Joe Dobbins was the principal figure in a story recounted by Don King in Caver Conquest.

Dobbins was declared broad jump winner in a heated competition with two Poly jumpers.  With teammates cheering, Dobbins apparently had leaped 22 feet when the event judge shouted, “Twenty-two.”

What the judge actually meant was 20 feet, 2 inches.

Apparently no one was the wiser, including Poly coach Norman Barker, Hillers coach Glenn Broderick, and anyone else involved in management of the meet.

The jump went into the books as 22 feet and was a school record until Fred Montpelier went 22-2 ¼ in 1931.

Apocryphal is the first word that comes to mind.

AT SANTA ANA

Bill Miller was nursing sore ankles and did not vault but Wade Potter managed a tie for first with the favored Reboin and his Saints teammate Bill Stiles at 10-6 and San Diego won, 66-47.

Reboin also won both hurdles races, nudging Fernando Ortiz in a :25.8 trip in the 220 lows.

Jimmy Willson, against a strong wind, led a sweep with a :10.2 in the 100-yard dash, won the 220 in :22.6, and ran a leg on the winning relay.

Dobbins did not place in the broad jump, won by Santa Ana’s Norman Paul at 22-4 ½.

Willson scored 11 ¼ points but high point honors went to Reboin with 13.

TEX, TOO

Reboin was not the only transplanted San Diegan.  The Saints were coached by Gerald (Tex) Oliver, former Memorial Junior High mentor.  Oliver also was the Saints’ football coach and eventually was a collegiate boss at Arizona and Oregon.

AT GLENDALE

The once-powerful Dynamiters, no longer stocked with such graduated stars as  Frank Wykoff, Russ Slocum, and Fulton Beatty, who dominated the sprint scene earlier, were easy for the Hilltoppers, who scored a 71 ½-41 ½ victory.

Maybe the groundskeeper was daydreaming about the glory days of the rapid threesome and erred when he rolled the lime markings and lane boundaries for the races.  Either that or the clerk of the course and timers positioned the finish line tape in the wrong location.

The distance for the 100-yard dash would have been more appropriate for the 1928 Olympics.

Willson and others entered were forced to run a reported 110 yards, slightly more than the Olympic 100 meters, with Willson’s winning time announced as a very un-Olympic :11.6.

Maybe they had to run more than 110 yards.

The Hillers could have added to the final score but they lost five points when disqualified for a violation after winning the relay in 1:32.0.

COAST LEAGUE TRIALS

Home team Pasadena surprised by leading with 19 qualifiers, including non-participating field event entries.  San Diego had 18, Long Beach 16, and Santa Ana, 14.  Glendale, South Pasadena, Whittier, and Alhambra brought up the rear.

The top five in each event qualified for the finals, along with one wild card, to be determined by the respective teams.

Jimmy Willson raced to victories of :10.1 in the 100 and 22.6, and was the relay leadoff man as the Hillers ran 1:31.6. Fernando Ortiz also ran a :10.1 century trial and Irvine Warburton and Maurice Staker each won a heat in the 440 in :53.6 and :52.6, respectively.

COAST LEAGUE FINALS

San Diego outlasted dogged Santa Ana for the team title, 44 ½-39 ½.  Pasadena had 19, Poly 17, Glendale 6, South Pasadena 5, Whittier 2, and Alhambra 0.

Bill Miller, who missed three meets with sore ankles, finished second in the pole vault to Santa Ana’s Alva Reboin, who cleared 12 feet and also set a record in the 120-yard high hurdles at :15.6 and won the 220 lows in :25.4.

San Diego offset Reboin with Jimmy Willson’s :10.2 100 and :22.8 220 victories, Cotton Warburton’s :51.4 440, and Evan Dowers’ 4:40 4/5 mile.  Willson, Warburton, and Dowers, along with sprinter-hurdler Fernando Ortiz, would be the Hilltoppers’ wheelhorses in the most important meets to follow.

SOUTHERN SECTION TRIALS           

The Friday-Saturday virtual carnival necessitated some travel logistics for coach Glenn Broderick.

Don Pearse and Jack Dawson left for Los Angeles on Thursday, accompanied by assistant coach Charlie Church, because they would be required for Friday morning Class B competition in the 120-yard low hurdles and pole vault.

Broderick and the rest of the San Diego contingent took off on Friday for the Saturday competition.

Irving Eckhoff of the Los Angeles Times selected 4 favorites for the team title before trials in the Los Angeles Coliseum.  “Twenty-five points will win the meet,” said Eckhoff, who chose San Diego, Los Angeles High, L.A. Fairfax, and Santa Ana to battle it out.

TIRELESS

“Jimmy Wilson (sic), midget San Diego sprinter, and Alva Reboin, the chunky Santa Ana hurdler, stole the show with spectacular performances,” wrote Eckhoff.

Willson ran 5 races during the long day, winning 4 and running a leg on the relay team, which was the second qualifier in its heat behind the winning 1:31.4 of L.A. High.

The diminutive Hilltopper won his heats in :10 and :22.6 and prevailed in :10 in the 100 semifinals before setting a school record of :21.8, enjoying the 220 straightaway at the Coliseum after running most of his furlongs during the season on the City Stadium curve.

Fernando Ortiz was eliminated in the 100 but was first twice in the 220 low hurdles, running :25.5 in the preliminary race and nipping Reboin in the semifinal in :25.

Cotton Warburton was third in his 440 heat, won by Rogers of Hollywood in :51 flat. The two other 440 heats were won in :50.8 and :51.6.

Miller was one of 10 who qualified at 12 feet in the pole vault. Ed Reed moved on by making 5 feet, 8 inches, in the high jump after not qualifying in the discus.  Evan Dowers advanced, fifth in one of two heats in the mile in 4:39.4, and Ray Russell was a qualifier in the discus.

Al McGlinchy and Maurice Staker did not make it in the 120-yard high hurdles and 440, respectively, and Don Pearse and Jack Dawson were eliminated in their Class B events.

L.A. High led all qualifiers with 9. San Diego, Santa Ana, and Hollywood advanced 8 each.

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS

The Hilltoppers were struggling.

Fernando Ortiz, leading in the 220 low hurdles, crashed into the last barrier, stumbled and did not place, but Evan Dowers, with “leaden feet and iron heart”, came to the rescue and from behind to win the mile, upsetting the field in 4:32.6.

Bowers’ enigmatic pace saw him lead early in the race, fall behind and take the lead again, but he was in third place coming into the final turn.

Irving Eckhoff picked up the action:

…”down the stretch came Dowers, seemingly barely able to drag his feet off the ground with each shortening stride. Ahead of him as he rounded the curve were Baker of Huntington Park and Roberts of El Monte. They had distanced the field.”

(Dowers passed Baker and set sight on Roberts).

“Ten yards from the tape, Roberts was leading the San Diegan by three yards.  But he was tiring fast.  His steps were dragging, even slower than the laboring, towheaded youngster behind him.

“A yard from the tape Roberts collapsed, but a fraction of a second before he stumbled across the finish line, Dowers breasted the ribbon, the winner by scant inches.

“That gave the Hilltoppers five totally unexpected points and won the meet for them.”

San Diego scored 22 ½ points.  Hollywood was second with 14, followed by L.A. High, 13 ½, Los Angeles Jefferson, 11 ½, and L.A. Fairfax, 11.

PILE UP POINTS

Willson won the 100 in :10.1 and was runner-up to Hollister of Carpinteria Cate’s :22 flat 220.  Willson teamed with Ortiz, Maurice Staker, and Warburton in the 880-yard relay. Despite being bumped a couple times in the speedway-like traffic, the group set a school record of 1:30.4, behind Hollywood’s winning 1:29.6 and Jefferson’s second place.

Bill Miller took the pole vault at 13 feet and Warburton was fourth in the 440.  Ed Reed tied for third in the high jump at 5-10.

STATE MEET

Dowers went out too fast in the mile, falling out of contention on the last lap after leading early, and Baker of El Monte and Roberts of Huntington Park, vanquished by Dowers in the Southern California meet, ran 1-2.

While Dowers’ failure to place was a stunner, a bigger surprise came when Warburton, running in lane 1, jumped the field early, led by three yards coming out of the Coliseum tunnel, gained the pole position in the one-turn race, and raced to a record-tying :49.6 440.

Miller defended his pole vault championship with a 12-foot, 6-inch effort.  Ed Reed tied for fourth at 5-8 in the high jump.

Willson won the 100 in a school record :09.8 and equaled Frank Wykoff’s state meet record with a :21.4 220.

San Diego’s 22 ½ points once again outdistanced Hollywood, which had 16 1/2, followed by Santa Ana, 11, and L.A. Jefferson, 10 ½.

Sixty-one schools, including 40 from the South, were represented.

CINDER DUST

The seven-man San Diego contingent, leaving at 10 a.m. Friday, traveled to the state meet on a Los Angeles Steamship Company vessel to San Pedro and then rode a Pacific Electric Trailways “Red Car” to their hotel…they were accompanied by team manager Bill Tinker, as coach Glenn Broderick traveled by automobile later…Jimmy Willson’s victory in the 100-yard dash at the Southern California meet was the first by a Hilltopper and the first time a Hilltopper had scored a point in the event…Willson’s son, John, ran the 440 in :48.5 for Point Loma in 1972…Lawrence Carr, future track and basketball coach at Hoover and principal at San Diego High, was San Diego State’s leading scorer with a 10-point average in seven Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball games…Escondido High fielded its first track team…coach Harry Wexler greeted almost 50 candidates…Wallace set an Army-Navy pole vault record of 11-3 7/8 against the San Diego “Seconds”, who defeated the Cadets, 79-34…Bill Miller’s winning vault in the Southern Section was accompanied by continued jeering from L.A. High students, who favored Romans schoolmate Limeburger, second at 12-6…Coliseum patrons, thinking Willson had won the 220 in the same meet, were heard “razzing” the finish judges…Gordon Jones of Sweetwater won 5 events in the Southern Prep League finals at the soggy (from recent rain) San Diego State oval…Jones won the 100 (:10.8), 220 lows (:28.0), 120 high hurdles (:18.8), shot put (41-11), and discus (99-11 ½) for the Red Devils, who claimed their fifth league title in 10 years…Everett Thurber and George Hoaglund won 6 events for Sweetwater in previous SPL finals.…

Authentic.com the go-to, on-line entity for all things track and field, posted several outstanding marks from the Mt. Carmel invitational two weeks ago and then deleted them last week.

Dennis McClanahan, the retired coach of the Sun Devils and the meet director for the invitational and honcho at the San Diego section trials and finals, is attempting to get the marks returned.

No real reason was given for the deletions.  Someone apparently convinced the on-line service that several results were not legitimate.

We’re leaving the marks from Mt. Carmel in until we hear further.

It may be a moot point, because many of the San Diego Section’s leading performances and those from throughout the state will be in trouble when more than 700 athletes, a few hundred coaches, and thousands of fans clog old U.S. 66 and surrounding venues as they make their way toward Arcadia High Friday and Saturday for the annual Arcadia invitational, a midseason event that generally is considered the official start of the track season.

Action was light in the San Diego Section last week, save for the Willie Banks Invitational and the usual menu of dual meets. A few athletes competed in the Stanford Invitational and at the annual Texas Relays in Austin.

Marks below in parenthesis are where the San Diego Section competitors stand in the state.

W–Wind aided.

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:11.87	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40
200	Ruskovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.51w	Frost, Gardena Serra	:24.0w
400	Wright, University City	:55.64 (5)	Okonkwo, Murrieta Mesa	:55.42
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:13.54 (7)	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	10:34.67 (6)	Ramirez, Chino Hills Ayala	10:19.42
100 Hurdles	Miller, San Pasqual	:14.95	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:13.52
300 Hurdles	Occiano, Mission Hills	:44.79 (10)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:41.21
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (2)	Calabasas	:46.28
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 (5)
Triple Jump	Scott, Gompers Prep	38-3	Shearer, San Jose Silver Creek	40-6
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	42-7	Ramirez, Valencia West Ranch	47-5 ¼
Discus	Cruz, Mission Hills	139-3	Budwig, Fowler	171-7
Pole Vault	Thomson, Poway	13-4 (1T)	Sommers, Westlake Village Westlake	13-4

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Christon, Madison	10.45w (3)	Grubb, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame	:10.41
200	Christon, Madison	:21.32* (3)	Roberson, Upland	:21.28
400	Parker, Helix	:48.37	Strader, Valencia West Ranch	:47.27
	Lippert, La Costa Canyon	:48.54
	Salzman, Calvin Christian	:48.57
800	Tellez-Velasquez, San Pasqual	1:52.52 (1)
1600	Niednagel, La Costa Canyon	4:15.58 (7)	Hibbard, El Monte Arroyo	4:08.69
3200	Velasco, Fallbrook	9:07.27 (4)	Strangio, Sacramento Jesuit	8:47.97
120 High Hurdles	Jackson, El Camino	:14.95
300 Intermediate Hurdles	Solomon, Grossmont	:38.45 (6)	Roberson, Upland	:36.96
4×100 Relay	Madison	:42.69	Long Beach Poly	:40.91
4×400 Relay	Helix	3:26.69	Placentia Valencia	3:13.73
High Jump	Lugo, Canyon Crest	6-6 (T10)	Allen, Santa Barbara San Marcos	7-0
Long Jump	Luck, Mission Vista	22-5 1/2	Hemphill, Upland	23-11
Triple Jump	Mitchell, Point Loma	48-6 (2)	Hemphill, Upland	48-6 1`/4
Shot Put	Watson, Fallbrook	53-5	Viveros, Bakersfield Liberty	68-11
Discus	Lologo, Oceanside	153-1	Elbettar, Newport Beach Newport Harbor	197-4
Pole Vault	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	15-9 (3)	Wright, Lodi	16-8
	Volpe, San Marcos	15-1 (T10)
	Sperry, Rancho Bernardo	15-1 (T10)

 

 

A raft of marks, including a United States-leading 4:48.34 in the 1,600-meter run by Kristin Fahy of La Costa Canyon, punctuated the 40^th annual Mt. Carmel Invitational.

Fahy’s four-lap sizzler topped three Southern Section runners, whose chase of Fahy resulted in the nation’s No. 2, 3, and 4 best performances.  No. 5 is a 4:52.4 effort by a runner from Pine Crest, Florida.

Fahy, now ninth all-time in the San Diego Section 1,600, joined two other girls entries who, in preceding weeks, took state leads.

The Scripps Ranch 4×100 relay team is No. 1 in California at :46.95, although the Falcons’ girls have been beaten by Long Beach Poly and Calabasas, Poly for the second time at Mt. Carmel.

Coronado’s Alysha Hickey leads state high jumpers at 5-feet, 10 ½ inches, and is tied for third all-time in the San Diego section.  Her 20-foot, 2-inch long jump is second in the state and fourth to Gail Devers’ 20-7 in 1984.

Noah Tellez-Velasquez of San Pasqual took the boys state lead in the 800 after running 1:52.56 in a meet at Azusa Pacific.

Madison’s Kenon Christon was second in the 100 meters to Christian Grubb of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.  Grubb ran :10.42 and Christon :10.45 but both marks were aided by a 2.8 wind, over the allowable limit of 2.0.  Grubb was clear of any breeze as he ran :20.93 to Christon’s :21.5 in the 200.

Marks below in parenthesis are where the San Diego Section competitors stand in the state.

w–Wind aided.  *–No wind gauge.

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:11.87 (4)	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40
	Hickey, Coronado	:12.09 (T12)
	Ruskovich, Scripps Ranch	:12.10 (15)
	McCormick, Scripps Ranch	:12.18 (20)
200	Ruskovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.51w (3)	Frost, Gardena Serra	:24.0w
400	Wright, University City	:56.48 (8)	Okonkwo, Murrieta Mesa	:55.42
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:13.54 (6)	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	10:34.67 (5)	Ramirez, Chino Hills Ayala	10:32.67
100 Hurdles	Miller, San Pasqual	:14.95 (T13)	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:14.05
	McCormick, Scripps Ranch	:15.08 (T19)
300 Hurdles	Mayo, Grossmont	:45.03 (7)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:42.31
	Edwards, San Pasqual	:45.32 (10)
	McCormick, Scripps Ranch	:45.42 (13)
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (1)	Calabasas	:47.00
4×400 Relay	Scripps Ranch	3:57.86 (18)	Mission Viejo	3:49.50
High Jump	Hickey, Coronado	5-10 ½ (1)	Three tied	5-8
Long Jump	Hickey, Coronado	20-2 (2)	Cobb, Riverside Poly	21-2
Triple Jump	Miller, San Pasqual	37-8 ¼ (16)	Aguilar, Rancho Cucamonga	47-8
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	42-7 (10)	Budwig, Fowler	47-4
	Lagoy, Rancho Bernardo	41-4 (14)
Discus	Atuatasi, West Hills	126-5	Budwig, Fowler	158-8
Pole Vault	Thomson, Poway	13-4 (1T)	Sommers, Westlake Village Westlake	13-4

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
B100	Christon, Madison	:10.45w (2)	Grubb, Sherman OaksNotre Dame	:10.41
200	Christon, Madison	:21.32* (2)	Moore, Westlake Village Oaks Christian	:21.28
400	Parker, Helix	:48.37 (7)	Larrier, Elk Grove Monterey Trail	:48.06
	A. Lippert, La Costa Canyon	:48.54 (9)
	Salzman, Calvin Christian	:48.57 (11)
800	Tellez-Velasquez, San Pasqual	1:52.56 (1)	Coleman III, Vista Murrieta	1:53.19
1600	Stanford, La Costa Canyon	4:16.90 (12)	Hubbard, El Monte Arroyo	4:07.25
	Ali, Crawford	4:17.82 (17)
	Velasco, Fallbrook	4:17.91 (20)
3200	Velasco, Fallbrook	9:07.27 (4)	Strangio, Sacramento Jesuit	8:47.97
	Niednagel, Las Costa Canyon	9:13.3 (9)
110 High Hurdles	Jackson, El Camino	:14.95	Williams, Tracy West	:14.08
300 Intermediate Hurdles	Solomon, Grossmont	:38.45 (6)	Roberson, Upland	:36.96
4×100	Madison	:42.69 (16)	Long Beach Poly	:41.45
4×400	Helix	3:26.69	Placentia Valencia	3:13.73
High Jump	Lugo, Canyon Crest	6-6 (T8)	Allen, Santa Barbara San Marcos	7-0
	Brownell, San Dieguito	6-4 (T18)
Long Jump	Luck, Mission Vista	22-5 ½ (16)	Hemphill, Upland	23-11
Triple Jump	Mitchell, Point Loma	48-6 (2)	Hemphill, Upland	48-6 1/4
Shot Put	Watson, Fallbrook	53-5 (16)	Viveros, Bakersfield Liberty	66-1 /12
Discus	Lologo, Oceanside	153-1	Johnson, Clovis Buchanan	190-0
Pole Vault	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	15-7 (3)	Wright, Lodi	16-4

Kenon Christon of Madison, Altan Mitchell of Point Loma, Alysha Hickey of Coronado, and Camryn Thomson of Poway are state track-and-field leaders from the San Diego Section, which got down to some serious competition last week after a few February and early-March meets.

Christon ran a personal best :10.52 in the 100 meters at the Elmer Runge excercise, moved to West Hills because the Patrick Henry track is being rebuilt.  There was no wind reading on Christon’s 100 or his :21.32 200, second best in the state.

Thomson cleared 13 feet, 4 inches in the girls’ pole vault at the first University City “Classic”, and Hickey took the state lead in the high jump at 5-10 1/2 and moved to second in the long jump at 20-2.

Mitchell went 48-6 in his home jumping pit in a Western League dual meet against Mira Mesa.

The annual Mt. Carmel Invitational will be held Saturday on the campus of the Rancho Penaquitos school, where Dennis McClanahan stepped down after 40-plus years as head coach but still will coordinate the meet, as well as the San Diego Section finals in May.

Mt. Carmel and Arcadia, a couple weeks later, are two of the premier attractions for area competitors before the big meets in May.

San Diego Section and State leaders, with Top 10 rankings in parenthesis:

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
B100	Christon, Madison	:10.52 (1)	Moore, Westlake Village Oaks Christian	:10.54
200	Christon, Madison	:21.32 (2)	Moore, Westlake Village Oaks Christian	:21.28
400	Parker, Helix	:48.72 (7)	Larrier, Elk Grove Monterey Trail	:48.06
800	Tellez-Velasquez, San Pasqual	1:57.95	Steward, Long Beach Poly	1:54.84
1600	Velasco, Fallbrook	4:22.41	Grover, Capistrano J Serra	4:16.51
3200	Velasco, Fallbrook	9:07.27 (3)	Herold, Capistrano J Serra	9:02.53
110 High Hurdles	Jackson, El Camino	:14.95	Marshall, Berkeley St. Mary’s	:14.32
300 Intermediate Hurdles	Solomon, Grossmont	:38.45 (4)	Roberson, Upland	:36.96
4×100	St. Augustine	:43.14	Long Beach Poly	:41.45
4×400	Helix	3:26.69	Placentia Valencia	3:13.73
High Jump	Brownell, San Dieguito	6-6 (6T)	Allen, Santa Barbara San Marcos	7-0
	Lugo, Canyon Crest	6-6
Long Jump	Bainer, San Marcos	22-4 3/4	Hemphill, Upland	23-11
Triple Jump	Mitchell, Point Loma	48-6 (1)	Ruotolo, Santa Ana Mater Dei	47-8.
Shot Put	Watson, Fallbrook	53-5	Duensing, Anaheim Esperanza	65-7 1/2
Discus	Lologo, Oceanside	153-1	Johnson, Clovis Buchanan	190-0
Pole Vault	Rice, Rancho Bernardo	15-7 (3)	Wright, Lodi	16-4

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:12.02 (5)	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40
200	Ruskovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.97 (7)	Sanchez, Oxnard Hueneme	:24.03
400	Wright, University City	:56.67 (8)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:55.45
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:14.12 (3)	Tomkinton, Atherton Menlo	2:10.61
1600	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	5:02.29	Suarez, Pasadena Mayfield	4:55.53
3200	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	10:34.67 (2)	Ramirez, Chino Hills Ayala	10:32.67
100 Hurdles	Miller, San Pasqual	:14.95	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:14.05
300 Hurdles	McCormick, Scripps Ranch	:46.11	Weidinger, Walnut Creek Las Lomas	:43.91
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (2)	Moreno Valley Rancho Verde	:45.64
4×400 Relay	Scripps Ranch	4:00.20	Mission Viejo	3:49.50
High Jump	Hickey, Coronado	5-10 ½ (1)	Harper, Fresno Central	5-8
Long Jump	Hickey, Coronado	20-2 (2)	Cobb, Riverside Poly	21-2
Triple Jump	Heckman, Point Loma	37-1	Shearer, San Jose Silver Creek	40-6
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	42-7	Budwig, Fowler	47-4
Discus	Atuatasi, West Hills	126-5	Budwig, Fowler	158-8
Pole Vault	Thomson, Poway	13-4 (1T)	Sommers, Westlake Village Westlake	13-4