Boys All-Time

53 thoughts on “Boys All-Time”

1. I believe Valencia ran a 4:08 in a league meet in the spring of 67. In three consecutive Grossmont leage meets he ran a 1:53, 4:08 and a 9:02…amazing!

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   1. Valencia’s 4:08 was in the National City JC Relays at Sweetwater. A few years later a frustrated Sweetwater track coach Dave Ashley had the track surveyed and measured. It was yards short of regulation 440. Valencia’s career best actually was 4:09.7. Thanks for writing, Chuck.

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2. Dave Blunt was 1961? Not 1971.

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   1. Robin, I don’t doubt you, but when did I write that? I didn’t find that in the 1961 narrative.

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3. I remember practicing sprint starts against Elijah Jefferson way back in 1973. He just vanished, so quick.

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   1. Jefferson was sophomore in 1973 and was running :09.7 and :09.8 100s early in the year. I wondered about the validity of those times, but Jefferson made me a believer when he beat Lincoln’s Lanard Morris and Morse’s Danny Miller in the San Diego Section 220 on the curved Balboa Stadium track. Jefferson’s time was :20.9, Morris’ :21.1, and Miller’s :21.2. Morris challenged in the stretch but Jefferson was in command all the way. The 220 was not his best event. He was a surprise winner the next week in the state meet in Woodland with a wind-aided :09.4 100. You are so correct, Paul. Elijah had a lightning start.

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      1. I ran on Morse’s 4×100 1973 team with Danny Miller. I will never forget Elijah, he was a generational talent. I wonder if he ever ran at college, I never heard anything?

      2. He attended the University of Arizona and ran track. I’ll never forget that 1973 CIF 220. Jefferson ran :20.9, Lanard Morris of Lincoln was second in :21.1,n and Danny Miller ran :21.2, a great time on the Balboa Stadium curve, but couldn’t go to the state meet because the San Diego section was allotted only two entries for each event at that time. I watched that race in the seats on the opposite side of the finish. Morris and Miller made runs at Jefferson down the stretch, but Elijah finished strongly. Jefferson was only a sophomore and went on to a great career. Thank you for writing, Robert.

4. Armando Valencia (El Cajon Valley) ran a 4:07.2 mile in 1967, I think at the National City Relays, is not on the list.

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   1. The Sweetwater track as I recall was maybe two or three yards short of a regulation 440 yards. Marks from those National City Relays at Sweetwater were not recognized beginning a few years later. This was after I believe Sweetwater coach Dave Ashley got the school to survey its layout. There were a couple schools in the Grossmont League that also were short. I can’t name them now. Valencia did run 4:08.8 in the high school mile of the San Diego Invitational in Balboa Stadium on June 10, 1967, according to my records. The San Diego Section was allotted two entries in each event in the state track meet in those days. Valencia, shocking to me, did not qualify. He was third in the San Diego Section mile behind Clairemont’s Thornton Bigley and Lincoln’s Lloyd Apgar, who surprised everyone by entering the mile instead of the two-mile. Then Apgar surprised again, third in the state meet mile behind Bigley’s second. Valencia ran his best mile the following week. I hope this provides some clarity, Jim. Thank you for writing.

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      1. Jim, I just checked my 1971 Evening Tribune Track and Field Guide. Valencia’s mile (I thought it was 4:07.0) and a 4:12.2 by Terry Rogers of Hilltop, plus several marks in various relay races, were erased. The schools in the Grossmont League that were not in 440-yard compliance reportedly were Mount Miguel and El Capitan.

      2. I referenced Armando Valencia’s 1967 time as 4:07.2 since that is how it is listed in the 1969, 1970, and 1971 High School Track and Field Annual. The time was dropped from the All-time list starting with the 1972 publication. High school track was not published in 1968, but Track and Field News, January 1968, which carries that years prep list, also list Valencia’s time as 4:07.2….but its moot, the mark was invalid…..BUT, what about the 4:08.8 that was mentioned and occurred on 6-10-67, why might not that time appear above, on the all-time list? What are the parameters?…. does it not count because it was after the state meet, after graduation?….is there a reason? or was it just missed. Perhaps the 4:07.2 was dropped, and the valid best time was not readily known.

      3. Are you referring to Track and Field News annuals? Armando’s 4:08.8 is listed in my 1971 Evening Tribune Track and Field guide with Tim Danielson on the cover. At that time my list was complete through 1970 and I listed any mark, high school meet or not. My newspaper published two guides in 1965 and ’71. I hope this gives you some clarity. Thanks for writing, Jim.

      4. Hi, what I need clarity on is why the 4:08.8 time by Armando Valencia is not listed on the All-Time San Diego Preps Sports History Track marks list.
         1) I theorized that once the 4:07.2 was dropped a few years later, the “replacement time” for him -the 4:08.8 – didn’t appear on any list. Nobody really revises a yearly list three years later….so Valencia’s true best HS mile was kind of lost for those compiling the all-time list….. or 2) It occurred after the state meet, or after HS graduation, or outside of the HS season….some reason like this.
         Those are the possible two reason why I don’t see his 4:08.8 on the above list. Can you please state the reason, or is it an oversight?-Thank you.

      5. Valencia’s 4:08.8 is listed in the all-time marks in my 1971 Evening Tribune track and field guide. I now use the lists of Steve Brand, who took over the track marks when he came to San Diego in the 1970s. It’s my error, or laziness, why I haven’t used Brand’s latest list. I assume you are referring to Brand’s all-time list in my blog. I just haven’t had an opportunity to get to that. Brand’s lists 1600-meter runners and a separate list for the mile. Times in Brand’s list have been electronically converted. Valencia’s mile 4:08.8 today would be a 1600 4:07.4. My bad for the confusion.

5. Hi, my Name is Tracy Smith class of 1997 I am included in the 300 IH 5th. But I was wandering why my 110 time is not in the books I ran 14.02 at Arcadia invite 1st????

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6. Hey Rick, I was looking at the times and realized I had not been added; my name is Christian Freeman and I ran at Carlsbad High School. Here are my times:
   https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=2004230

   I ran 8:52 at Arcadia and 4:11 at Escondido in 2013. Appreciate you tracking all these times!

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   1. Christian, I pick up that list from Steve Brand, who has covered track for the newspaper since the ‘seventies. I started the all-tine list in the ‘sixties. I will contact Steve. Wow! you smoked that 3200.

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      1. Don’t understand why the #1 high jump is 7-2 while the #7 high jump is 7-3. Does not compute.

      2. No, it doesn’t. I have to contact the guy I get the track lists from and also my webmaster. Thanks for writing. The record is 7-2.

      3. Mike, those goofy high jump numbers should have been: Hollins, 7-0; La Coste, 6-10; Williams, 6-10; Watkins, 6-10; Farmer, 6-10; Staton, 6-10. My webmaster still is working on that list but I’ll posting a list updated through 2019 and later in the summer a complete list through 2021. Thanks for writing.

      4. Mike, those high jump fractions have been updated. Thanks for noticing.

7. In 1955, as a 9th- grader, I out ran Roscoe Cook in a 50 yard dash race. It was not an official race, Roscoe had heard about my 50 yard dash time (5.6, barefooted), and wanted to race me. At the time, I was attending junior high and Roscoe was attending San Diego High School (he was one grade ahead of me). I never outran him since that unofficial race. By the way, my time was 5.5.

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   1. I believe it. I was a student at Lincoln and just getting interested in track. I remember at the start of track season in 1956 the word was Roscoe had run 10 flat the season before. I heard that you ran :10.1 in ’56 and that Willie Jordan may also have had a good time. I think I also heard that you transferred from San Diego High to L.A. Jordan. I think our best sprinter at Lincoln in ’56 probably was J.D. Gibson or David Grayson, both at that time probably :10.2 or :10.3. I knew Bobby Staten when we both lived in the Frontier Housing projects. Bobby looked good when I saw him at Luther Hayes’ funeral in L.A. a couple years ago. Thanks for writing, Essex.

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8. Any records of a Bobby LoveLass from El Cajon valley high school for track & field ? Appreciate any mentions or feed back for years 1976 to 1980 ? Hurdles event or long jump, that was me now living in running springs California in search of my high school records.

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   1. I’m sure i could help, but my resources are the pubic libraries in the area and they are all closed and who knows when they will open. Can you tell me your events, best marks, etc?

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      1. Bobby LoveLass
         El Cajon Valley High School, Track – JV and Varsity, 1974 to 1976
         Long jump, 110 Low Hurdles,v330 High Hurdles
         I have original track program with my times winning at Grossmont intramural finals setting record of 32.6 in High Hurdles in my possession to this day. Inside the El Cajon Valley High School museum on campus is a pair of my shorts with medal up on wall. They never updated the records back then and I beat Leroy McGee’s track record that later played for the Buffalo Bills. I don’t know or understand why no one at El Cajon Valley High didn’t update the “Hall of Fame “ records. Can you please confirm me at my email? soulsurfer62@yahoo.com
         Thanks

9. Also is it possible to locate a copy of the all metro team if 1967 track and field document that was provided to us then. Thanks

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   1. The list on my website is courtesy of Steve Brand, who suceeded me in the early 1970s as the keeper of best marks. When you mention document, are you referring to the Breitbard Athletic Foundation awards? Danielson, as noted in my 1971 Evening Tribune track book, had best marks of :50.2, 1:53.2, 3:59.4, and 8:55.4 from the 400 to the two-mile run in 1966. You might try contacting Steve Brand at the San Diego Hall of Champions in regard to the all-Metro team.

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10. Don’t see mention of Tim Danielson for mile run but did note he has a line for 3200 m and yds

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11. Terry Cotton ran the mile in 4:05.5 in the 1972 State Meet

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12. On another subject, does anyone know about Oceansides ” consecutive dual meet wins” streak of the 60’s and 70’s?
    Some say it might been National Record. I ran on 1970 team (with Jerry Culp -7′ in high jump). I believe we were at 59 straight wins at the end of 1970 season). I’m not sure how many more wins, but I believe Vista ended the streak in 1971.

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    1. Tom Shields (Oceanside) and Jungle Jim Downs (Vista) put North County track and field on the map, showing city elites that outstanding athletes also resided in the faraway suburbs. The 1968 Oceanside team would have contended for a state team championship had not Ed Johnson, their great hurdler and relay anchorman, been injured after the Pirates decisively whipped Lincoln in the short and long races at the San Diego Relays. I also remember some Lincoln teams that won 31 varsity dual meets in a row in the middle ‘sixties. I’m not aware of the record you mentioned. Perhaps the Varsity, Class B, and C teams or junior varsities at the schools ran up that many victories.

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       1. Rick, Thanks for all the memories over the years. Yes, we did win 58 straight dual meets when I was at Oceanside. Prior to that, my last year at Vista we won seven dual meets.

       2. Thanks! Wondering if you might have Tom Shields e-mail address. – Ray Smith
          resmithqual@gmail.com

       3. Ray, I apologize for taking so long to reply. Last I heard Tom still was with us and lived in Vista. I don’t have an email address or telephone number for him.

    2. The Oceanside dual meet record ended at Vista High in 1971. That year Escondido High (my team) beat Vista High but we lost to Oceanside. Vista High beat Oceanside at Vista. I think that when we met Oceanside they had won 67 straight dual meets and then a week or two later they traveled to Vista so the record must be 68 or 69 meets. The 1971 team was led by Bernard Juarez (a pole vaulter and hurdler ), the Mosley brothers Robert and Johnny, and a young freshman named Willie Banks!

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13. What is the fastest recorded hand timed 220yd dash? in San Diego County?

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    1. I don’t have an answer. Quick guess, the 21.0 220s by Roscoe Cook (1956) and Dave Blunt (1971), which were converted to :21.14. David Russell (1976) and Kipperr Bell (1978) also ran 21.0’s that converted to :21.14. But Russell and Bell ran their races on the Olympic curve, which most people agree made Russell and Bell faster than Cook and Blunt. Then, when the U.S. converted to the metric system, the 220 became the 200, which is about one yard shorter than the 220. All of the sub-21s since Darron Norris’ :21.09 in 1984, were at 200 meters and fully electronic. The evolution of all things track and field has made for a greater sport but confusion when comparing the old and the new, at least for me.

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       1. I should have mentioned that a 200-220 comparison would be about 0.12 different, i.e. Norris’ :21.09 likely would be a :21.22 220.

    2. Dave Blunt’s 220 was on a straight.

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       1. And it was the only flat race that day at Kearny that was not wind-aided. He won the 100 in :09.7. I don’t think Blunt had run track before his senior season at Escondido, but he continued on to become an outstanding sprinter at Oregon.

    3. I believe Sophomore Elijah Jefferson ran 20.9 hand in Balboa Stadium, 1973? *Lanard Morris from Lincoln was 2nd at 21.2, and Morse’s Danny Miller 3rd at 21.4? On a curve, in a stadium, declared wind assisted.
       http://sdtrackmag.com/TrackGuideBooks/Boys_All-Time_2019.pdf

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       1. I was there. Great race. Jefferson ran a hand-timed, wind-aided :20.9 on stadium curve. Lanard Morris tried but couldn’t run down Jefferson in the stretch and finished in :21.1. Danny Miller wax third in :21.2 and did not qualify for state meet. Are you looking at the best marks list in my blog? I’m having trouble updating them but all marks from 1972 forward were compiled by Steve brand and I use his list. I published a couple track books in 1965 and ’71. I haven’t looked in a while but Steve generally doesn’t include windy marks, i.e., Roscoe Cook’s :09.4 at Chaffey in ’57 and others. Most of the hand-timed marks have been converterd to electronic times.

       2. I was there. Great race. Lanard Morris made a good bid in :21.1 for second and Danny Miller of Morse ran :21.2. The San Diego Section at that time was qualifying only two in each event for the state meet. Miller was out. Steve Brand’s book, from which I run best marks, converted a lot of those good sprint marks to electronic times. In my original note to Mr. Bowles I overlooked the hand time of Jefferson, who, by the way, got screwed in the stadium at the state meet in ’75. Kevin Williams from San Fernando got a rolling start and won the 100 in :09.4. I published a couple record books in 1965 and ’71 but had left the Evening Tribune and Steve Brand took over in 1973. Thanks for writing. always good to talk about track.

       3. No my father Danny Miller of Morse 1973
          Ran 20.4 beat Elijah Jefferson of Crawford I have the clips

       4. I was at that 1973 CIF track finale. The 220 was a great race. Jefferson won in a wind-aided :20.9, which I thought was bogus because the race was on a curve and there seldom was wind in Balboa Stadium. Lanard Morris of Lincoln was second in :21.1 and Danny Miller of Morse missed going to the state meet, placing third in :21.2. I don’t think we’ve ever had three guys from San Diego smoke those kind of times in the same race. Thanks for writing, Hakeem.

14. Rick, by any chance do you still have a link to the San Diego Evening Tribune’s 1969 high school track and field guide? As I recall, it was printed in dark green ink and listed (as of that date) the county’s all-time boys marks. Thank you and have a pleasant week!
    ~ Matt
    Ps: San Diego visits Kearny this coming Thursday in a league championship showdown for both girls and boys. :-)

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    1. I compiled two track books, 1965 and 1971. The ’65 book had Bill Miller of San Diego High (in a Stanford photo) on the cover and the ’71 featured Tim Danielson of Chula Vista. The books were destroyed in our house fire in ’03 but I have managed to retrieve originals. I saw one of the ’71s on eBay recently…the guy wanted $21! Anyway, a friend at the CIF Southern Section made a few copies for me. You’re welcome to what I can spare. San Diego-Kearny used to be a pretty good meet. Complete results of dual meets were in the newspapers then. Now dual meets barely get a line. I may show up at Kearny on Thursday. Thanks for writing.

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       1. I am looking for any film of Doyle Steel long jumping in 1966, SDCIF at Balboa stadium, Cal State meet in Berkeley,Ca. Or Golden West meet in Sacramento,Ca.

       2. My only guess would be the CIF state office. They might have old film or be able to give you a lead. They’re located in the Bay Area and you can get a number or address from Google. I was at both of the meets. I wasn’t in Sacramento. That meet is no longer. You were dominant but you almost incurred a foul on the big jump at Balboa Stadium, walking back through the pit after the 25-5 1/4. Didn’t you jump after Lewis King? He had gone 24-5 1/4, I think, before you on his first jump. Good luck in your search. Thanks for writing, Doyle.

    2. Matt, I’m saving a copy of my track books for you. Let me know if you’re interested.

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15. Steven Fahy (La Costa Canyon)
    http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=2459741
    2 miles: 8:55.24a Jun 21,2014 Brooks PR Invitational
    (converts to 8:52.24 for 3200m)

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