San Diego produced three state champions, the most since 1929.

David Russell of Patrick Henry won the boys’ 100 (:09.61) and 220 (20.97 with 2.2 wind, over the allowable 2.0), and the Crawford girls’ 440 relay squad of Danita Young, Judy Reed, Jewell Lovelady, and Katie Gaston, set a national record, :46.14.

Forty-eight years before San Diego High had won the state championship in the Los Angeles Coliseum with four individual winners:  Jimmy Willson, 100 and 220 (:09.8 and :21.4, and the last time there had been a double sprint champion from the border city); Irvine (Cotton) Warburton, 440 (:49.6), and Bill Miller, pole vault (12-6).

Russell stayed in his blocks through three false starts in the 100 and then raced away from the field and runner-up Ivan Cleveland of Pasadena, who ran :09.74.

Electronic time for sprints is about .24 hundredths slower than hand time, meaning Russell probably covered the distance in :09.4, according to previous methods.

Russell, not ready for prime time, with two disappointing efforts in the 1976 state trials in Berkeley, again jumped the field in the 220 and outpaced Pasadena’s favored James Sanford, who had won the 440 in :46.6 just minutes before but was second in :21.24.

Russell had become a fan favorite among the 16,200 at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.

Gambling is de rigueur at big, or small, track meets and fans showed their appreciation, showering the surprised Russell with a fistful of money as he took a “victory lap” through a section of the stands.

VERY FAST COLTS

Danita Young, Judy Reed, and Jewell Lovelady gave anchor Katie Gaston space in the 440 relay. Compton Centennial, with future (1984) Olympian 4×100 relay member Jeannette Bolden anchoring, closed fast but was second in :46.42.

5/4/77

An anticipated 440 race between Patrick Henry’s David Russell (:49.2) and San Diego’s Danny Stewart (:49.9) didn’t materialize.

Russell won the 100 (:09.7) and anchored a :42.6 440 relay win.  Stewart was headed to a personal best but cramped in the stretch and settled for a :50.6 victory.

The Patriots settled for a 98-36 Eastern League dual-meet win.

5/5/77

—Danita Young of Crawford ran the 100 in :10.8 in the Crawford girls’ 83-21 win over Clairemont. Mike Brown clocked :09.8 in the 100 in a meet the day before in the Colt boys’ 89 ½-46 ½ victory.

5/6/77

—Alex Williams high jumped 6-6 ¾ and triple jumped 44-1 1/2 in El Camino’s 82-54 win over Torrey Pines.

—Howard Wickham of Bonita Vista ran the 300 low hurdles in :38.9, fastest time in the County, and took the 100 in :10.3 in the Barons’ 98-37 cruise against Mar Vista.

—Randy Wagner’s wind-aided :14.5 in the 120 high hurdles took the County lead and Hilltop posted a 73-63 win over favored Castle Park, which found solace in Charles Kathan’s wind-aided :09.7 100 and :22.2 220.

—Randy Wallace’s 6-6 ¾ high jump in Grossmont’s 75-61 win over Santana bettered the school record of 6-6 by Bill Jones in 1961.

5/10/77

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE TRIALS, @SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE

Harlow Naase won 100 and 220 heats in :09.7 and :21.7 and his Castle Park teammate Charles Kathan doubled in :09.8 and :21.9.

Naase was asked by Nick Canepa of the Evening Tribune about a potential race against Patrick Henry’s David Russell, unbeaten this year: “I’m certainly not in awe of Russell.  As far as I am concerned he’s just another guy. Now if he were out running :09.3s and :09.4s I might be in awe.”

—Bonita Vista’s Laura Nagel’s :14.5 was fastest of the year in the 110 hurdles in the City Conference Girls Trials in Balboa Stadium.

Crawford’s Danita Young and Judy Reed tied at :10.9 in the 100.  The Colts ran :47.5 in the 440 relay and Jewell Lovelady led long jumpers at 18 feet, 1 inch.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE TRIALS, @EL CAPITAN

Ken Pole of El Capitan put the shot 59 feet, 2 inches and Matt Gauthier of Valhalla followed at 57-7.

—Marc Keller of Helix ran a 4:21.9 mile.  Carol Keller, Mark’s sister, logged a 5:12.8, with Cheryl Flowers of Valhalla trailing in 5:20.5.

5/11/77

CITY CONFERENCE (EASTERN & WESTERN LEAGUES) TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

David Russell, citing a sore leg, eased to a :09.8 100 but blazed a :21.2 220, while Patrick Henry teammate Kipperr Bell turned in :09.9 and :21.7 times.

—Six ran :50.6 or better in the 440, led by the :49.6 of San Diego’s Danny Stewart and six timed at least 1:59.3 in the 880 led by the 1:56.8 of Morse’s Richard Wheeler.

—Lincoln and Crawford each ran :42.5 in the 440 relay, Morse :42.7, San Diego :43.1.  Morse came in at 3:20.5 in the mile relay, San Diego at 3:23.3.

—James Shine of San Diego ran a :09.9 100 and took the long jump at 23-7 ½.  Nine others made at least 22-0 1/2.

—Team favorite Patrick Henry was disqualified for a lane violation in the 440, keeping with an Eastern League tradition of baton-changing mishaps.

5/13/77

GROSSMONT LEAGUE FINALS, @EL CAPITAN

Sophomore Cheryl Flowers of Valhalla set a County record of 5:01.78 in the mile, defeating Helix’ Carol Keller, who returned the favor, beating Flowers with a record 11:08.2 in the two-mile.

Second-place times were 5:10.4 in the mile for Keller and 11:26.8 in the long race for Flowers.

—Carol Keller’s brother Marc doubled in the mile (4:19.1) and two-mile (9:27.8).

—Matt Gauthier won a shot put battle with El Capitan’s Ken Pole when Gauthier, coming from behind, pushed the 12-pound ball 59 feet, 8 ¾ inches, on his last try. Pole reached 59-5 ½.

Gauthier whirled the discus to the third longest distance in County history, 191-2, behind only Mount Miguel’s Billy Joe Winchester, 195-8 in 1970, and El Cajon Valley’s Mark Malone, 192-6 in 1976.

—Helix’ Mike Durden won the 440 in :50 and El Capitan’s Robert Klemmer pole vaulted 14 feet.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS, @SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE

Harlow Naase won the sprint duel with Castle Park teammate Charles Kathan, running :09.8 in the 100 and :21.9 in the 220.  Kathan was second in :09.9 and :22.3.

—Bonita Vista sophomore Mike (Ace) Adkins won the 440 in :49.8 and Rick Krueger took the 880 in 1:58.4. The Barons won the mile relay in 3:24.6 and were team champions, outscoring runner-up Castle Park, 71-39.

—Billy Wagner of Hilltop doubled in the hurdles, :14.8 in the 120 highs and a County-leading :38.3 in the 330 lows.

—Debbie Wilford of Castle Park long jumped a County-leading 19-2.

5/14/77

CITY CONFERENCE (EASTERN AND WESTERN LEAGUES) FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Glenn Vieira of Madison pole vaulted 14-4 to break a 13-year-old County record of 14-3 ¼ by Lincoln’s Vic Montano in 1964.

—A Morse foursome of Donald Guillory (:49.4), Terrell Williams (50.6), Richard Wheeler (:49.6) and sophomore Tony Banks (:48.4) ran 3:18.0, third fastest mile relay in County history.

Lincoln ran 3:15.5 in 1968 and Morse 3:16.8 in 1974.

—The 9:09.7 two-mile by Kearny’s Ricky Perez bettered the record of 9:11.6 by Kirk Pfeffer of Crawford in 1974.

AVOCADO CONFERENCE TRIALS, @ESCONDIDO

Dokie Williams of El Camino led qualifiers in the long jump at 23-10 ½.  Teammate Craig Montgomery was the triple jump leader at 47-1/2.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE FINALS

Christian won nine of 14 events and repeated as team champion with 190 points.  Army-Navy, with 89, and Mountain Empire, with 84, followed.

5/16/77

AVOCADO LEAGUE FINALS, @VISTA

Vicky Belser was excelling on her home turf.

The Panthers’ senior won the 100-yard dash in :10.8, the 220 in :25, and the discus with a toss of 125-7.

Postponed twice because of rain, league athletes competed on a dry track amid a chilling wind.

“My start has been terrible,” said Belser, who revealed that she competes in the sprints in starting blocks but  from a standing position.

—El Camino’s Craig Montgomery leaped 47-8 ½ to win the triple jump, edging Dokie Williams’ brother Alex, who bounded 47-2 ½.

Dokie Williams, apparently ailing, did not participate and was byed into the San Diego Section trials.

5/21/77

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Crawford girls Danita Young, Judy Reed, Jewell Lovelady, and Katie Gaston stunned the crowd when they blazed the 440 relay.

A few moments later, track announcer Augie Escamilla, uttered his trademark, “Listen to this one, ladies and gentlemen!” and told the gathering that the Colts had just set a national record of :46.6.

Crawford bettered the :46.7, set a couple weeks earlier in the Texas state meet by Fort Worth Trimble Tech.  The Colts also shattered the San Diego Section record of :48.4 by Point Loma in 1976.

Crawford had run :47.6, :47.3, and :47 earlier and Danita Young was asked if the foursome felt the pressure.

“We’re always being pressed—by the clock,” said the 17-year-old junior, who also won a 220 heat in :24.4—The Crawford boys’ :42.4 also was No. 1 in the 440 relay. Morse ran 3:17.6 in the mile relay.

—Patrick Henry’s David Russell, concerned about balky hamstrings, won his 100 trial in :09.8 and then his :21 bettered Russell’s and Elijah Jefferson’s mark of :21.1 in the 220.

5/28/77

Morse, by winning the mile relay in 3:19.7 (“We won it with our passes,” said coach Jim Cerveny), with 27 points, outlasted Patrick Henry (23) and El Camino (23), for the team championship.

Crawford, with 45 points, won the girls’ team championship, topping Vista’s 34.

Two boys meet records (*) and seven girls meet records were set or tied (+):

17^TH SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK
100	Russell	Patrick Henry	:09.7
220	Russell		:21*
440	Banks	Morse	:48.1
880	Krueger	Bonita Vista	1:54.8
Mile	Harlan	University	4:18.2
Two-Mile	M. Keller	Helix	9:09.5
120 High Hurdles	Wilford	Castle Park	:14.5
330 Low Hurdles	Brown	Poway	:38
440 Relay		Castle Park	:42.3
Mile Relay		Morse	3:19.7
High Jump	Wallace	Grossmont	6-8
Long Jump	D. Williams	El Camino	22-11
Triple Jump	D. Williams		50-4 ½*
Shot Put	Gauthier	Valhalla	57-10 1/4
Discus	Gauthier		171-8
Pole Vault	Vieira	Madison	14

 4^th GIRLS SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK
100	Young	Crawford	:10.8+
220	Belser	Vista	:24.5
440	Fulton	Bonita Vista	:57.1*
880	Proulx	El Cajon Valley	2:15.8
Mile	Flowers	Valhalla	5:01.1*
Two-Mile	C. Keller	Helix	10:54.8*
110 Hurdles	Alexander	Crawford	:14.9*
440 Relay		Crawford	:46.7
Mile Relay		Bonita Vista	3:55.6*
High Jump	McNeal	Carlsbad	5-9*
Long Jump	Lovelady	Crawford	18-6 1/4
Shot Put	Nunn	Vista	39-6
Discus	Belser	Vista	126-1

6/3/77

59^TH BOYS STATE TRACK TRIALS, DRAKE STADIUM, @UCLA

EVENT	MARK	NAME	SCHOOL	PLACE
100	:09.69	Russell	Patrick Henry	2nd
	—	Bell		—
220	:21.24	Russell		2nd
	Scratched	Bell		—
440	:48.77	Banks	Morse	8th
	:49.02	Stewart	San Diego	10th
880	1:54.4	Krueger	Bonita Vista	7T
	1:56.4	Brown	Poway	16th
Mile	—	Harlan	University	—
	—	Miller	Point Loma	—
120 High Hurdles	:15.07	Wagner	Hilltop	22nd
	—	Wilford	Castle Park	—
330 Hurdles	—	Wagner		—
	—	Brown	Poway	—
440 Relay	—		El Camino	—
	—		Castle Park	—
Mile Relay	3:16.9		Morse	6th
	—		San Diego	15T
High Jump	6-4	Rakestraw	Torrey Pines	18T
	6-4	Wallace	Grossmont
Long Jump	23-8 1/4	D. Williams	El Camino	6th
	21-8 ½	Sivadge	Granite Hills	19th
Triple Jump	47-10	D. Williams		5th
	43-7 3/4	Kiruhi	Grossmont	19th
Shot Put	57-6 ¼	Pole	El Capitan	7th
	56-4 ¾	Gauthier	Valhalla	12th
Discus	160-04	Gosnell	San Dieguito	10th
	159-11	Gauthier	Valhalla	11T
Pole Vault	13-9	Vieira	Madison	14T
	13-3	Kennedy	Fallbrook	18T

3^rd GIRLS STATE TRACK TRIALS, @DRAKE STADIUM, UCLA

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Reed	Crawford	:11.23	9th
	Young		:11.24	10th
220	Belser	Vista	:24.5	4T
	Young		:25.13	8th
440	Eastern	Crawford	:59.7	19th
	Fulton	Bonita Vista	:60.5	25th
880	Gerdes	Chula Vista	2:21.6	16th
	Proulx	El Cajon Valley	2:25.2	20th
MILE	Bohan	Madison	5:04.4	9th
	Flowers	Valhalla	5:04.7	11th
110 Hurdles	Alexander	Crawford	:14.8	10T
	Perkins	Helix	—	—
440 Relay		Crawford	:46.9	1st
		Morse	:48.2	4th
Mile Relay		Crawford	3:55.6	6th
		Bonita Vista	4:00.5	12th
High Jump	McNeal	Carlsbad	5-5	1T
	Stafford	Clairemont	5-2	14T
Long Jump	Lovelady	Crawford	19-1 ¼	2nd
	Wilford	Castle Park	18-8 ¼	8th
Shot Put	Nunn	Vista	38-4¾	18th
	McBride	Vista	36-2	20th
Discus	Herse	Patrick Henry	117-06	10th
	Belser	Vista	117-03	11th

6/4/77

59^th BOYS STATE TRACK FINALS, @DRAKE STADIUM, UCLA

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Russell	Patrick Henry	:09.61	1st
220	Russell		:20.97w	1st
440	Stewart	San Diego	:48.77	6th
880	Krueger	Bonita Vista	1:59.7	9th
Two Miles	Perez	Kearny	9:10.7	8th
	Keller	Helix	9:33.1	18th
Mile Relay		Morse	3:16.4	6th
Long Jump	D. Williams	El Camino	22-9	8th
Triple Jump	D. Williams		51-0 ½	1st
Shot Put	Pole	El Capitan	58-4 ½	8th

6/4/77

4^th GIRLS STATE TRACK FINALS, @DRAKE STADIUM, UCLA

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Young		:10.84w	5th
220	Belser	Vista	:24.67	5th
	Young		:25.54	9th
Mile	Flowers		4:55.7	3rd
Two Miles	Keller	Helix	10:44.6	3rd
	Crumly	Hilltop	—	—
440 Relay		Crawford	:46.14	1st
		Morse	:47.88	3rd
Mile Relay		Crawford	3:53.6	2nd
Discus	Dolsby	Monte Vista	117-05	9th
	Herse	Patrick Henry	112-11	10th

 

 

 

Dallas Evans , who passed away recently, was a star end on the 1953 San Diego High football  team, a sub 49-second quarter-miler at San Diego State, and a coach and teacher more  than 30 years in the South Bay area.

Dallas earned all-City Prep League honors on the 7-3 San Diego team that won the CPL championship.  Evans scored six touchdowns, tied for third on the team in scoring  to Horace Tucker’s 40, Ermon Johnson’s 38, and with Floyd Robinson’s 36.

The Hillers lost to Anaheim, 21-7, in the 1953 Southern Section playoffs.

The jovial Evans was head track coach at St. Augustine High in 1962, when the Saints featured James Moore, one of the San Diego Section’s top 440 runners, with a best time of :49.5.

Dallas coached many years with Ed Teagle at Mar Vista, which dominated Metropolitan League dual meet teams.

Brother Steve Evans, was a star on the Hoover basketball and baseball teams from 1955-57.

There were many good marks during the season, but it remained for Poway’s Kathy Middleton to bring home the only gold medal for the San Diego Section in the 58th State Track meet at Edwards Field in Berkeley.

Middleton had a winning discus throw of 134-5, topping Susan Springer of Salinas (132-11) after Middleton’s 131-6 in the Friday trials set the pace.

To win the first-ever girls state discus, Middleton battled back twice in the finals after falling behind Springer and “showed tremendous poise and determination,” wrote Steve Brand of The San Diego Union.

After tying for first at 5 feet, 5 inches in the high jump in the trials, Chris Remmling of San Dieguito was sixth in the final at 5-4.

Hildria Newell of Chula Vista had the best Boys performance, third in the 100 in :10.1 as the field was running into a strong head wind.

Most personally satisfying performance probably was that of Helix discus thrower Kris Lettow, whose throw of 182-9 was a career best and he defeated the usually favored Mark Malone of El Cajon Valley, who finished ninth at 163-7 and who had one of the best marks in the country at 192-6.

5/11/76

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS

Ramona (Coast), Monte Vista (Grossmont), Balboa Stadium (Eastern), Castle Park (Metropolitan), and Mesa College (Western) were hosts for the preliminaries.

—Kris Lettow of Helix won a shot put qualifier in which five Grossmont weight men bettered 50 feet.

Lettow (56-1 ½) topped Mark Malone of El Cajon Valley (55-11 ¼), Ken Pole of El Capitan (54-4 ¾), Matt Gauthier of Valhalla (53-11 ½), Ricondo of El Cajon Valley (52-1 ¾), and Kirk Drummond of Helix (50-2 ¼).

Malone (186-0) bested Lettow (172-1) in the discus.

—Kevin Dorrell of Helix was the leader in the long jump (21-6) and triple jump (44-10 ¾).

—David Russell of Patrick Henry doubled in :09.8 and :21.5 in the sprints at Balboa Stadium. Jimmy Hooker of Morse also was a double winner in :10.1 and :22.

—Chula Vista’s Hildria Newell, a transfer from Oklahoma, paced Metropolitan League sprinters with wins in :09.8 and :22.

—Pursal of Point Loma won Western League sprint heats in :10 and :22.2.

5/13/76

—Cheryl Flowers, 14-year-old Valhalla runner, offered a distinctive perspective on what it would mean to earn a berth in the state track meet:

“The whole thing will be fun if I make it, but the airplane ride with all the other athletes from this area will be the highlight,” she told Steve Brand of The San Diego Union.

Flowers’ 5:16.9 mile was almost 10 seconds faster than any other runner in the Girls’ San Diego Section Quarterfinals at Madison, with entries from the Grossmont, Metropolitan, and Western leagues.

—Point Loma’s Karen Taylor won an 80-yard low hurdles race in :11.2, long jumped 17-4, and ran a leg for the winning Pointers’ 440 relay, which was timed in :49.6.

5/14/76

EASTERN LEAGUE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM.

Amid a routinely controversial 4×100 relay race, Patrick Henry’s David Russell logged a San Diego Section-leading :09.7 100-yard dash, Richard Woodson of Hoover long jumped 23 feet, 5 ¾ inches, Harry Cash of Crawford set a meet record of 45-6 in the triple jump, and Lincoln ran 3:22.5 in the mile relay.

Lincoln also won the short relay in :42.5 but was disqualified for a passing zone violation and Morse was out of it after a dropped baton.

Lincoln protested, noting that starter George Schutte made the decision from across the field on the other side of the track and that there was no judge watching passing lanes.

Similar misfortunes often had happened before in these Eastern showdowns, but on this occasion coaches raised the bar to the absurd, determining Lincoln and Morse could enter the San Diego Section trials as non-scoring relay squads.

Only four teams–also Crawford and Patrick Henry– were in the race and by rule the Eastern League was allotted four entries to the trials.

A peevish San Diego Section commissioner Don Clarkson chided the coaches, pointing out that anyone or any team entered would be competing and not “non-scoring.”

“If the coaches start playing games that they’re not going to count this and not counting that we’re going to have a mess,” Clarkson told Nick Canepa of the Evening Tribune.

—By winning the shot put at 55-2 ½, Milton Wiggins of St. Augustine completed three seasons unbeaten in dual and league competition.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS, @CASTLE PARK

Chula Vista’s Hildria Newell enjoyed the breezes essentially native to the Trojans track, running a wind-aided 100 in :09.6 and then doubling back to win the 220 in :21.9, and anchored the Spartans to a :42.6 win in the 440 relay.

COAST LEAGUE FINALS, @ESCONDIDO

Mike Brajevich won the 120-yard high hurdles in :14.8 and Poway outlasted Mt. Carmel for the team championship, 66-60.

Best event was the 440, won by Scott Stine of Poway in edging Rudolph of La Jolla, each with the same time, :50, followed by Ramirez (:50.2) and Lines (:50.9) of Torrey Pines.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE FINALS, @MONTE VISTA

Paul Nevue of Grossmont won a hot 880 in 1:54.6 (Helix’ Nick Claccio followed in 1:54.9 and three others shaded two minutes) and edged Matt Throneberry of El Capitan in the 1600 by one tick of the clock in 4:19.6.

El Cajon Valley’s Mark Malone won the shot put at 57-8 ½ and the discus at 186-6, beating Helix’ Kris Lettow, who maxed out at 55-5 ¾ and 172-1.

—Helix’ Mike Durden, son of Chargers running backs coach Earnel Durden, won the 440 in :49.9.

AVOCADO LEAGUE FINALS, @VISTA

Dokie Williams doubled for Oceanside, winning the long jump at 22-8 ½ and triple jump at 48-1.

Blair Clausen of Escondido trailed Williams in the jumps at 22-7 ½ and 45-1 ¾.

Three high jumpers cleared 6-6, led by Greg Rackley of Escondido at 6-6 ¾.

WESTERN LEAGUE FINALS, @MESA COLLEGE

Chris Powell of Point Loma, byed into the final after a poor showing in the trials because of a hip injury,  qualified third in the 880 at 2:01, behind the 1:58.4 by Williams of Madison.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE FINALS, @CARLSBAD

Christian won 11 of the 15 events and outscored Mountain Empire, 212-124 for the team championship.

5/21/76

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Patrick Henry’s David Russell anchored a 440 relay victory of :42.9 and tied Elijah Jefferson’s County records of :09.5 and :21.1 in the 100 and 220.

Russell’s great day was marred when he bobbled and dropped the baton on the last leg of the mile relay, in which the Patriots were favored.

—Battling a sore groin muscle, Oceanside’s Dokie Williams was unplaced at 19-10 ½ in the long jump but managed the day’s best 46-8 ½ in the triple jump.

—Thom Hunt of Patrick Henry, national leader at 4:06.8 in the mile but coming off strep throat, qualified at 4:24.2, second in his heat to the 4:21.2 of Valhalla’s Mark Floyd.

—El Cajon Valley’s Mark Malone mused about dropping the shot put after leading qualifiers at 57-11¾  but reinjured his back on an unnecessary throw after he had clinched.

Malone made 163-2 in the discus, second to the 167-0 of Helix’ Kris Lettow, below.

Helix’ Kris Lettow affected hirsute style of the day and was consistent scorer in shot put and discus.

5/28/76

16^TH SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Lincoln’s Michael Patrick made up 20 yards on the last lap with a :47.5 anchor leg that got the Hornets to third place and a championship-clinching 26 points to 25 for Helix in a battle for the team championship.

—Patrick Henry, the consensus favorite and a pick to win five events by Steve Brand of The San Diego Union, was shocked when Greg LaCoste, who had cleared 6-10 in the high jump, was unplaced after clearing only 6-4.

Thom Hunt’s 4:14.7 mile was the Patriots’ only first place.  David Russell was beaten by Hildria Newell of Chula Vista in :09.8 and :21.6 sprints, and Hunt, who had a career best of 8:45.7 in the two-mile, was third in 9:16.3.

—Patrick staggered to the end in the mile relay and collapsed at the finish line—“I just pooped out,”—he told Nick Canepa of the Evening Tribune,  although Lincoln’s 3:21.6 matched that of the 1-2 teams, Morse and Crawford.

Lincoln, reinstated in the 440 relay, was first in :41.6, and Morse, another second-chancer, was second in :41.9.

—El Cajon Valley’s Mark Malone withdrew from the shot put but set a  meet record of 182-5 in the discus.

Individual champions:

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK
100	Newell	Chula Vista	:09.8
220			:21.6
440	Stine	Poway	:48.8
880	Powell	Point Loma	1:54.3
Mile	Hunt	Patrick Henry	4:14.7
Two-Mile	Hughes	Monte Vista	9:09.7
120 High Hurdles	Santos	Lincoln	:14.6
330 Low Hurdles	Calloway	Hoover	:38.1
4×110 Relay		Lincoln	:41.6
4×440 Relay		Morse	3:21.6
High Jump	Sivadge	Granite Hills	6-8
Long Jump	Dorrell	Helix	22-2 1/4
Triple Jump	Williams	Oceanside	48-4
Shot Put	Wiggins	St. Augustine	57-8 1/2
Discus	Malone	El Cajon Valley	182-5
Pole Vault	Sisson	Bonita Vista	14-0

2^ND GIRLS SAN DIEGO SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS, @BALBOA STDIUM

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK
100	Belser	Vista	11.3
220	Gaston	Crawford	:24.6
440	Thompson	San Diego	:57.2
880	Howell	San Dieguito	2:15.8
Mile	Flowers	Valhalla	5:07.5
80 Hurdles	Karen Taylor	Point Loma	:11.2
4×100 Relay		Point Loma	:48.4
4×440 Relay		San Diego	4:02.5
High Jump	Remmling	San Dieguito	5-8 1/4
Long Jump	Karen Taylor		17-4
Shot Put	Middleton	Poway	38-1
Discus	Middleton		129-1

6/3/76

58^TH  BOYS  STATE TRACK TRIALS, @EDWARDS FIELD, BERKELEY.

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Newell	Chula Vista	:09.8	4T
	Russell	Patrick Henry	:09.9w	12T
220	Newell		:22.2	9T
	Russell		:22.2	9T
440	Stine	Poway	:52.31	20th
	Priest	El Cajon Valley	:52.5	21st
880	Powell	Point Loma	1:54.8	4T
	Krueger	Bonita Vista	2:02.8	23rd
MILE	Neveu	Grossmont	4:15.2	2T
	Hunt	Patrick Henry	4:16.5	9T
120 High Hurdles	Santos	Oceanside	:14.6	16T
	Brajevich	Poway	:15.1	25T
330 Low Hurdles	Calloway	Hoover	:38.7	16th
	Dowden	Mar Vista	:39.2	18T
4×110 Relay		Lincoln	:42.4	8T
		Morse	—	DQ
4×440 Relay		Lincoln	—	—
		Morse	—	—
High Jump	Ridgeway	Monte Vista	6-7	13T
	Sivadge	Granite Hills	6-2	15T
Long Jump	Woodson	Hoover	20-2	19th
	Dorrell	Helix	—	—
Triple Jump	Williams	Oceanside	48-3	6T
	Naylor	Oceanside	—	—
Shot Put	Wiggins	St. Augustine	56-9	11T
	Pole	El Capitan	55-3 ¾	15th
Discus	Lettow	Helix	178-5	4th
	Malone	El Cajon Valley	170-10	5th
Pole Vault	Bisson	Bonita Vista	13-9	12T
	Harris	Helix	—	—

1st GIRLS STATE TRACK TRIALS, @EDWARDS FIELD, BERKELEY

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Belser	Vista	:11.4	13T
	Taylor	Clairemont	—	—
			:25.7	7T
	Gaston	Crawford	:25.8	10T
440	Thompson	San Diego	:59.8	18T
	Kim Taylor	Point Loma	:60.5	22nd
880	Howell	San Dieguito	2:20.0	9th
	Bohan	Madison	2:21.0	10th
Mile	Flowers	Valhalla	5:09.7	11th
	Keller	Helix	—	—
80 Hurdles	Karen Taylor	Point Loma	:11.1	11T
	Williams		:11.8	22nd
4×110 Relay		Crawford	:49.6	9th
		Point Loma	:49.7	10th
4×400 Relay		San Diego	4:05.3	13th
		Mount Miguel	—	—
High Jump	Remmling	San Dieguito	5-5	1T
	Stafford	Clairemont	5-4	11T
Long Jump	Karen Taylor	Point Loma	18-1	4th
	Dancy	Oceanside	16-8 ½	15th
Shot Put	Middleton	Poway	37-7 ½	15th
	Nunn	Oceanside	32-2	20th
Discus	Middleton		131-6	1st
	O’Brien	Torrey Pines	120-6	8th

6/4/76

58^TH BOYS STATE TRACK FINALS, @EDWARDS FIELD, BERKELEY

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Newell	Chula Vista	:10.1	3rd
880	Powell	Point Loma	1:54.9	5th
Mile	Hunt	Patrick Henry	4:23.2	7th
Two Miles	Hughes	Monte Vista	9:14.0	8th
	Sadler	La Jolla	—	—
Discus	Lettow	Helix	182-9	4th
	Malone	El Cajon Valley	163-7	9th
Triple Jump	Williams	Oceanside	44-9 1/4	9th

2^ND GIRLS STATE TRACK FINALS, @EDWARDS FIELD, BERKELEY

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
220	Gaston	Crawford	:26.5	8th
880	Howell	San Dieguito	2:25.5	8th
Mile	Flowers	Valhalla	5:14.8	9th
4×110 Relay		Crawford	:49.4	8th
Discus	Middleton	Poway	134-5	1st
	O’Brien	Torrey Pines	106-11	9th
High Jump	Remmling	San Dieguito	5-4	6T
Long Jump	Karen Taylor	Point Loma	18-10	4th

 

I’ve seen at least 40 state meets since my first in 1957 at Edwards Field in Berkeley and they evolve each year, becoming arguably one of the best high school events in the country.

Buchanan High in Clovis has been the venue since 2009 and the site of some of the San Diego Section’s finest moments, especially in 2024 as 10 individuals won gold medals, a record for the section and the most since there were seven in 2019.

PARTING OBSERVATIONS

Brandon Arrington, Jr. became the fifth San Diego Section runner to win the sprint double since the first state meet in 1915 and the second since 2019.

Arrington’s grace and power that resulted in two dynamic 100 (:10.33) and 200 (:20.55) victories were more impressive in that the tall Mount Miguel runner is in the 10^th grade and will be a favorite when he takes to the starting blocks in 2025.

Tables include previous state winners.

DOUBLE 100 & 200 

NAME	SCHOOL	TIME	TIME	YEAR	SITE
Jimmy Willson	San Diego	:09.8*	:21.4*	1929	L.A. Coliseum
Janice Wiser	La Jolla	:10.8*	:24.2*	1974	Bakersfield College
David Russell	Patrick Henry	:09.61*	:20.97*w	1977	UCLA Drake Stadium
Kenon Christon	Madison	:10.30w	:20.69w	2019	Clovis Buchanan High
Brandon Arrington, Jr.	Mount Miguel	:10.33	:20.55	2024

*—Race at 100 yards, others at 100 meters. w—Over allowable wind assistance of 2.0 kilometers.

TOUGHING IT OUT

—La Jolla’s tiring Payton Smith determinedly held off a  stretch run by Hannah Rutherford of Mountain View to join Monique Henderson and University City’s Katrina Wright as a 400 winner:

NAME	SCHOOL	TIME	YEAR	SITE
Monique Henderson	Morse	:53.41	1998	Norwalk Cerritos College
Henderson		:52.87	1999	Sacramento Hughes Stadium
Henderson		:50.74	2000	Cerritos
Henderson		:51.34	2001	Sacramento
Katrina Wright	University City	:53.93	2019	Clovis Buchanan High
Payton Smith	La Jolla	:53.39	2024

—Poway’s Tessa Buswell, a savvy state meet veteran, was the ninth of 12 qualifiers in the 800 at 2:12.39 in the Friday trials but bided her time before cueing a :60.85 last lap to overtake Carlsbad’s Makenna Herbst and Keaton Robar of Newport Beach Newport Harbor in a San Diego Section-record 2:06.51.

Buswell refused to be pushed over the cliff, beating back challenges down the stretch to become the first from the area to earn an 800 gold medal.

—San Diego’s Anisa Bowen Fontonot overcame slow starts in the trials and finals but grinded through the rounds to win the 100 hurdles in :13.59 and joining former Cavers champ Charlize James, who won at :13.95 in 2022:

NAME	SCHOOL	TIME	YEAR	SITE
Gail Devers	Sweetwater	:13.41*	1984	L.A. Coliseum
Charlize James	San Diego	:13.95	2023	Clovis Buchanan High
Anisa Bowen-Fontonot	San Diego	:13.59	2024

*Devers won when the height of the hurdles was 30 inches; they have been 33 inches since 1993.

—Cain Evans of Carlsbad lurked in the middle of the pack as the 800 runners approached the final 200 and then opened up on the curve and won in 1:50.21, fighting off fast-closing Wyland Obando of Long Beach Wilson, who ran 1:50.25.

NAME	SCHOOL	TIME	YEAR	SITE
Jim Cerveny	Mission Bay	1:52.7*	1957	Edwards Field, Berkeley
Bob Hose	Madison	1:51.7**	1964	L.A. Coliseum
Terry Rogers	Hilltop	1:51.5**	1966	Berkeley
Mark Senior	Mount Miguel	1:51.37	1988	Norwalk Cerritos College
Charles Jock	Mission Bay	1:51.83	2008
Alexander Monsivaiz	Army-Navy	1:51.34	2012	Clovis Buchanan High
Cain Evans	Carlsbad	1:50.21	2024

*Race at 880 yards and three turns, starting with 15 others from a chute.
**Race at 880 yards.

WHAT ABOUT MONIQUE?

The future Olympic gold medalist  as a member of the 2004 4×400 relay team, achieved probably the most impressive pair of victories in County history.

Monique won the 200 in :23.19 and the 400, a virtual sprint, in :50.74, in 2000 at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

There were three competitors, hurdlers Anisa  Bowen-Fontenot and Morgan Herbst, and distancer Jaelyn Williams, with No. 1 rankings, and 15 performances that ranked in the top five, as compiled by Athletic.net.

EVENT	MARK	NAME, SCHOOL	STATE	OTHER	NAME	SCHOOL
100	:11.50w	Shaheed, Madison	4th	:11.38w	Wright	Temecula Chaparral
	:11.64w	Gilhooly, Coronado	14th
	:11.83	Smith, La Jolla	22T
200	:23.52	Shaheed	2nd	:23.48w	Wright
	:23.67w	Smith	5th
	:24.36	Gilhooly
400	:53.39	Smith	2nd	:53.17	Mosby	Inglewood St. Mary’s
	:54.38	Burkhardt, Steele Canyon	7th
	:55.94	Arciaga, Westview	24th
800	2:06.51	Buswell, Poway	3rd	2:03.48	Engelhardt	Ventura
	2:07.23	Makenna Herbst, Carlsbad	5th
	2:07.32	Arciaga	6th
	2:09.87	Williams, Eastlake	10th
	2:11.89	Dailey, La Jolla	20th
	2:12.53	Scuba, Sage Creek	25T
		Aguirre, Patrick Henry	25T
1600	4:40.29	Williams	3rd	4:29.86	Engelhardt
	4:42.26	Dailey	3rd
	4:50.61	Lopizzo, La Costa Canyon	22nd
3200	9:57.11	Williams	1st	9:59.81	Thomsen	Santa Rosa Montgomery
	10:05.65	Lopizzo	4th
	10:09.78	Dailey	7th
100H	:13.59	Bowen-Fontenot, San Diego	1st	:13.81	Holden	South Pasadena
	:14.24w	Cook, Steele Canyon	10th
	:14.42	Gates, Point Loma	15T
300H	:41.26	Morgan Herbst, Carlsbad	1st	:42.0	Edwards	L.B. Wilson
	:42.27	Bowen-Fontenot	4th
	:43.27	Cook, Steele Canyon	13th
	:43.40	Mack, Otay Ranch	14th
4×100 Relay	:47.00	Steele Canyon	11th	:45.67		Westlake Village Oaks Christian
4×400 Relay	3:51.20	Carlsbad	12th	3:41.40		L.B. Wilson
	3:55.18	Del Norte	21st
	3:55.31	Steele Canyon	23rd
4×800 Relay	9:10.51	Cathedral	8th	8:57.21		Ventura
	9:13.90	Del Norte	12th
High Jump	5-6	Schroeder, Otay Ranch	10T	Five at 5-8
		Stein, Patrick Henry
	5-5	Lopez Valenzuela, Poway	21T
Long Jump	18-10	Frith, La Costa Canyon	12th	20-9 1/2	Webster	Long Beach Wilson
	18-8	Hoagland, Rancho Bernardo	14th
	18-4	Jones, Oceanside	24T
Triple Jump	38-11 1/2	Jones, Oceanside	10th	40-11	Alumbres	Vista Murietta
Shot Put	42-2	Colon Gipson, Otay Ranch	12th	48-5	Schnayer	Moraga Campolindo
	42-0	Ford, Helix	13T
	39-8	Lauifi, Helix	23rd
Discus	157-11	Driscoll	2nd	158-10	Johnson	Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
	139-8	Williams, Cathedral	17T
	138-6	Frankel, Sage Creek	19th
Pole Vault	13-5	Echsner, Del Norte	2nd	14-4	Muhammad	Pittsburg
	12-10	Downing, La Costa Canyon	5th
	12-9	Humer, Rancho Bernardo	6T
	12-8	de Jong, Maranatha	11th
	12-3	Khieu, Del Norte	17T

 

Twice No. 1-ranked Brandon Arrington, Jr., of Mount Miguel was a double winner in the 100 and 200  at the 104th State meet and seven other performances by San Diego Section thinclads made the California top 25 as compiled  by Athletic.net.  Those not in first 25 below are indicated by asterisk:

EVENT	MARK	NAME, SCHOOL	STATE	OTHERS	NAME, SCHOOL
100	:10.27w	Arrington, Jr., Mount Miguel	1st	:10.34w	Ford, Bakersfield
200	:20.40w	Arrington, Jr.	1st	:20.83w	Coleman, L.A. Granada Hills
400	:47.89	Slaughter, Mt. Carmel	12th	:46.79	Ricks, L.B. Poly
	:48.02	Jones, Mount Miguel	16th
800	1:50.21	Evans, Carlsbad	2nd	1:49.91	Morales, San Juan Capistrano JSerra
800	1:52.02	Cordero, Eastlake	10th
	1:52.67	Bowman, Sage Creek	15th
1600	4:15.10	Bowman	—*	4:04.02	Noonan, Dana Point Dana Hills
3200	9:02.96	Hicks, University City	—*	8:40.47	Perez, L.A. Cathedral
110HH	:13.72w	Martin, Helix	3rd	:13.59w	McFarland, Elk Grove Cosumnes Oaks
	:13.88w	Tseko-Biffle, El Capitan	6th
	:14.22w	Reese, San Marcos	19th
	:14.28	Atilano, Cathedral	22nd
300H	:37.42	Atilano	4th	:37.06	Roberson, Eastvale Roosevelt
	:37.45	Tseko-Biffle	5th
	:37.58	Martin	8th
	:38.34	Reese	22nd
4×100 Relay	:41.70	Rancho Bernardo	—*	:40.29	L.A. Granada Hills
4×400 Relay	3:18.60	Helix	11th	3:12.54	L.B. Wilson
	3:19.03	Mt. Carmel	14th
	3:19.31	Mount Miguel	16th
	3:20.59	Eastlake	24th
4×800 Relay	7:51.29	Carlsbad	20th	7:38.07	San Clemente
High Jump	6-10	Cheeks II, Mission Bay	3T	7-0 1/2	Banks, L.A. Lake Balboa Birmingham
	6-8	Carmona, Fallbrook	6T
		Gross, Torrey Pines
	6-7	Doctor, Valhalla	13T
	6-6	Martin, Helix	16T
	6-6	Stokes, Bonita Vista
Long Jump	23-11 ¼	Cheeks III	6th	24-7 3/4	Rogers, Lafayette Acalanes
	23-4	McCotter, Cathedral	17th
	23-2 ½	Martin	20T
Triple Jump	47-8 3/4	Reichenberg, Mission Bay	5th	48-6 ¾	Carter, Elk Grove Vista del Lago
	47-7 3/4	Daley, El Camino	7T
	46-1/2	Gouvalaris, Torrey Pines	23T
Shot Put	57-9	Gash, Helix	16th	65-0 1/4	Bitter, Clovis North
	57-1/2	Telemaque, Sage Creek	19th
Discus	181-11	Gash	10th	206-11	Smith, Clovis North
	176-9	Telemaque	14th
Pole Vault	16-8	Anderson, University City	3rd	17-0	McKee, Riverside King
	16-0 1/2	Yarbrough, San Dieguito	7th
	16-0	Weisman, Torrey Pines	8T
	15-6	Sbuttoni IV, St. Augustine	17T