San Diego and Hoover were not factors in the Coast, Southern Section, and state meets, while Coronado sprinter-hurdler John Fawcett led a strong showing by athletes from the Metropolitan League.

Fawcett set a County record in the 440-yard dash and La Jolla’s Jerry Soule and Jim Tripp and Oceanside’s Bill Huntales were among the best in Southern California.

4/2/37

Clyde Yakel won the 100-yard dash in :10.2 and anchored Hoover to a 1:32.5 victory in the 880 relay, but San Diego took nine of 13 events and scored a 70-43 victory in the teams’ first dual meet as Coast League opponents. Bob Logan high jumped 6-1 1/8 for the winners.

—Jim Tripp was a triple winner in La Jolla’s 61-47 dual meet victory at Sweetwater, winning the 100 in :10.1, 220 in :23, and long jump at 22 feet, 7 inches.

4/6/37

San Diego geared for its big meet later in the week versus Long Beach Wilson with a 64-49 win over visiting Santa Ana. Best marks for the Hilltoppers were Bob Logan’s 6-foot high jump and Bill Vogt’s 12-foot pole vault.

4/8/37

Bob Beckus and Chuck Skidmore tied for first in the 880 in 2:05.3, but Hoover dropped a 63-50 Coast League dual at Santa Ana.

4/9/37

Visiting Long Beach Wilson won nine of 12 events and defeated San Diego, 62-51, virtually assuring the Bruins of the Coast League dual meet championship.

Ed Becker won the shot put competition from Wilson’s heralded Norman Standlee (pre-meet best 50-11) by hurling the 12-pound ball 51 feet, 1 ½ inches, breaking the San Diego school record of 50-10 ½ by Ben Sohn in 1936.

Bob Logan high jumped 6-1 1/2 and Charlie Bell took the broad jump at 22-2 ¼ for other victories by the Hilltoppers.

—Bill Huntales tripled for Oceanside, winning the 100 (:10), 220 (:23) and broad jump (21-11) in what was described as an invitational meet including Metropolitan League teams on the Pirates’ oval.

Oceanside scored 42 points, followed by Coronado (32), La Jolla (27), Escondido (14), and Sweetwater (13).  Point Loma and Grossmont did not participate.

Coronado 440 standout John Fawcett ran :14 in the 120-yard low hurdles and La Jolla’s Jerry Soule won the high jump at 5-11 and 70-yard high hurdles in :09.5.

4/13/37

Bob Hodges and Art Laret scored a combined 24 points and Alhambra defeated coach Glenn Broderick’s host San Diego squad, 68-45.  Laret also nosed out the Hillers’ Herman (Bub) Gatewood as the Moors won the 880-yard relay in 1:32.

San Diego’s Ed Becker hurled the shot 49 feet, 1 inch, Bob Logan cleared 5-11 in the high jump, and Bill Vogt pole vaulted 12 feet.  Louie Pritchard tied for first with an Alhambra runner in a 4:51.1 mile.

—John Fawcett’s :10.2 first place in the 100 led the Coronado varsity to a 63-40 win over an all-star alumni squad.

—Grossmont topped Sweetwater in a Metropolitan League dual, 62 1/2-40 ½, as Clay won the 100 in :10.3 and 220 in :23.3, and Wohlford high jumped 5-8 and pole vaulted 10-3.

— Long Beach Poly’s 9-0 points sweep in the pole vault late in the competition was enough to hold off Hoover in a 58-55 Jackrabbits victory on the Cardinals’ track.

Hoover’s Phil Krutzsch set a school shot put record of 49 feet, 8 inches, bettering the mark of 48-1. Bob Beckus remained undefeated in the mile in 4:47. Alvin Cordray won the high jump at 5-6 and broad jump at 21-5.

4/16/37

SOUTHERN PREP LEAGUE FINALS, @VISTA

The host school scored 77 ½ points, to edge San Dieguito, which had 73, in the first annual league championships.  Fallbrook had 42 ½, Ramona 33, Julian 22, and Mountain Empire 16.

San Dieguito’s Chuck Beckwith had the day’s best marks, :10.5 100 and :24.5 220.

4/17/37

A San Diego foursome of John Boyle, Henry Manley, Jimmy Suzuki, and Fred Gianola won the 880-yard relay in 1:32 and the Hilltoppers escaped with a 61-52 victory in a Coast League dual at Long Beach Poly.

The Hillers won 9 of 13 events:  Ricky Roth, 880 in 2:06.4.  Henry Manley, 100 in :10.5, Fred Gianola, 220 in :23.2, Louie Pritchard, mile in 4:50.1, Bill Vogt, pole vault at 11-6, Ed Becker, shot put at 48-5, Bob Logan, high jump at 6 feet, ½ inch, and Charlie Bell, broad jump at 21-8 ½.

—John Fawcett of Coronado ran the fastest 440 in County history at the Chaffey Invitational in Ontario, blazing the one-turn quarter-mile in :49.5, which bettered the record of :49.6 by San Diego’s Irvine (Cotton) Warburton at the state meet in 1929.

Fawcett’s mark stood as the Coronado school record until Scott Knox ran :49.2 in 1961.

4/23/37

Long Beach Wilson and Alhambra completed the dual meet season in a flatfooted tie.  Their dual meet score was 56 ½-56 ½, which created final Coast League standings of each with a 4-0-1 record, followed by San Diego, 3-2, Long Beach Poly, 2-3, Santa Ana, 1-4, and Hoover 0-5.

COAST LEAGUE TRIALS, @LONG BEACH WILSON

San Diego’s Jimmy Suzuki turned a 440-yard dash in :52.5, fastest of three heats. No field events were held and two of the league’s best runners, Hoover’s Bob Beckus and Clyde Yakel, competed with Class B athletes.

Beckus’ 3:24.1 in the 1320 bettered the record of 3:27.9 by a Santa Ana runner in 1936.  Yakel won heats in the 100-yard dash and 220.

4/24/37

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE TRIALS & FINALS, @SAN DIEGO STATE

Oceanside’s Bill Huntales set a meet record with his :09.8 victory in the 100-yard dash, which tied the County record shared by Jimmy Willson (1929) and Morris (Mushy) Pollock (1933) of San Diego High.

Huntales also won the 220 (:22.7), set a record in the broad jump (22-8 7/8), and anchored his team to a 1:33.3 victory in the 880-yard relay.

John Fawcett of Coronado set a meet record with a :53.1 in the 440 and La Jolla’s Jerry Soule of La Jolla bettered the record with a high jump of 6 feet, 2 3/8 inches, won the  200 hurdles in :22.5, and the questionable height or distance 120-yard high hurdles in :15.

The meet, which drew more than 250 athletes in classes A, B, and C, began with trials at 10 a.m. and finals at 1:30, saw team honors go to La Jolla, which scored 41 points to Oceanside’s 35 ½, followed by Coronado, 16, Point Loma, 13, Escondido, 5, and Sweetwater, 3 ½.

5/1/37

SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISIONAL, @SAN DIEGO STATE

Athletes from the Metropolitan, Southern Prep, and Imperial Valley leagues were led by Oceanside’s Bill Huntales, who won the 100 in :10, 220 in :22, and was second in the broad jump at 22-6 5/8, behind La Jolla’s Jim Tripp, who reached 23 feet.

Tripp teammate Jerry Soule led qualifiers with a 5-8 high jump, cleared while jumping in his sweat suit, and winning the 120-yard high hurdles in :16.1.  Rory Tillinghast of La Jolla and Wohlford of Grossmont tied for first with 12-foot pole vaults.  Coronado’s John Fawcett clocked :52.6 in the 440.

COAST LEAGUE FINALS, @LONG BEACH WILSON

Alhambra’s Art Laret won the 440 in :52.3, 220 hurdles in :25.2, set  a meet record in the broad jump with a leap of 23-6 1/8, and ran a leg on the winning relay team (1:36)  as the Moors scored 63 points. Laret bettered the 1928 record of 23-1 12 by Frank Wykoff of Glendale.

Bob Beckus of Hoover set a Class B 1320 record of 3:24.7 and teammate Clyde Yakel won the B 220 in :23.7 and was second in the 100.  No other San Diego-area athlete earned a first place.

Long Beach Wilson was second in team scoring with 48 ½ points, followed by San Diego, 28, Long Beach Poly, 27, Santa Ana, 20, and Hoover, 7.

5/8/37

SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISIONAL, @GLENDALE

Clyde Yakel of Hoover set a Class B record when he covered the 220 straight in :21.6, erasing the record of :22.1.  Bob Beckus of Hoover set another B record when he ran the 1320 in 3:21.4.

San Diego’s Edward (Red) Becker set a school record of 51-8 ½ to qualify in the shot put.  Louie Pritchard passed his test, second to a 4:46.6 mile.  Bob Logan high jumped 6-1 7/8. Bill Vogt was among advancers with a 12-foot pole vault.

5/15/37

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS, @LONG BEACH WILSON

It was a banner day for Metropolitan League track-and-field athletes.

Bill Huntales of Oceanside won the 100-yard dash in :10.  John Fawcett of Coronado won the 440 in :51.2.  Jerry Soule of La Jolla tied for first in the high jump, clearing 6 feet, 3 inches.  Soule teammate Jim Tripp was second at 22-8 in the broad jump.

San Diego’s Ed Becker broke the school record for the second consecutive week and won the shot put with a toss of 53-1.  Louie Pritchard of San Diego was fourth in the mile, won in 4:40.2.

Hoover was fifth in Class B with 12 points.  Bob Beckus was beaten for the first time in the season by Bigley of Norwalk Excelsior, who won the 1320 in 3:19.  Clyde Yakel of Hoover was third in the 100 and second in the 220, both races won by freshman Eddie Morris of Huntington Beach with a record-tying :10 in the short race and a record :22 in the long sprint.  Bernie Carroll of Hoover was fifth in the 70-yard high hurdles.

Long Beach Wilson won the Class A championship with 29 5/6 points.  La Jolla was sixth with 8 ½.

5/22/37

23^RD STATE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS, @LONG BEACH WILSON

Oceanside’s Bill Huntales, La Jolla’s Jim Tripp, and San Diego’s Ed Becker earned medals in a soft showing by local athletes.

Huntales was fourth in the 100-yard dash, Tripp third in the broad jump at 22-3 ¾, and Becker third in the shot put at 52-9.  Los Angeles Jefferson’s Bryant Allen won the 100 in :09.8.  Bill Bugbee of Montebello was first in the broad jump at 23-1, and Wilbur (Moose) Thompson of Modesto took the shot put at 55-8 ¾.

Jefferson won the team championship with 23 ½ points.

El Camino High, three years removed from opening its doors and splitting from Oceanside High (taking many outstanding athletes and football coach Herb Meyer), became the first San Diego County team since San Diego High in 1938 to win a state team championship.

The Wildcats scored 16 points, edging Gardena and Pasadena, which had 15 each.

Darrell (Dokie) Williams completed a brilliant career with victories in the long jump (25-1 ¼) and triple jump (50-4 ¼), but it was Williams’ fourth place in the 100-yard dash and a late-in-the-competition fourth in the triple jump by Craig Montgomery which pushed the Wildcats over the top.

ELECTRONIC WAYS TO DO IT

San Diego Section track was awash with great marks, with multiple outstanding performances in many events, some not noted.

But races in which times were by stopwatches and the human hand were on their way out.  Fully electronic times were used for most races in the state meet since 1976 and would be favored in big events in the years to come.

Even blazing wind-aided efforts by Williams, Patrick Henry’s Kipper Bell and Point Loma’s Milton Weaver, and the girls’ Judy Reed in the local meets did not carry over to the state meet in Bakersfield.

But it still was a banner year for the boys and girls.

5/5/78

Matt Gauthier of Valhalla concluded the dual meet season with a 61-foot, 10 ½-inch shot put and 170-11 ½ discus throw in the Norsemen’s 75-41 win over Santana.

–McFadden of Crawford turned a :49.9 440, Mike Durden of Helix a :50, Mike (Ace) Adkins of Bonita Vista a :50.4, and Tony Banks of Morse a :50.6.

—La Jolla’s Jeff Woodland doubled with a 2:00.0 half mile and 9:20.9 two-mile in La Jolla’s 91-44 win over Mira Mesa.

–San Diego, trailing, 67-66, won the final event mile relay in 3:24.3 for a 71-67 squeaker over Madison.

—Point Loma’s Milton Weaver doubled in :09.9 and :21.8 in the 100 and 220 and Kipper bell of Patrick Henry doubled in :10 and :21.9.

5/9/78

EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @PATRICK HENRY

Point Loma’s Milton Weaver and Patrick Henry’s Kipper Bell each raced to :09.8 clockings in the 100-yard dash and Morse’s Tony Banks ran :09.9.

All three also won heats in the 220 and Banks added a :49.7 victory in the 440.  Morse’s Ron Roberts doubled with a 1:59.5 in the 880 and 4:24.9 in the mile.

WESTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @SERRA

Hoover’s Jeff Mays raced to a :21.6, the County’s fastest in the 220; his best had been :22.2.  Mays also won a heat in the 100 in :9.9.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE TRIALS, @HELIX

Matt Gauthier of Valhalla and Ken Pole of El Capitan wowed a mob of spectators in the shot put area, where Gauthier went 61 feet, 4 ¼ inches, and Pole 61-4.

Helix’ Mike Durden ran :49.5 in the 440 and Marc Keller 4:19.2 in the mile.

Helix led Valhalla in qualifiers 25-17.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE TRIALS, @CASTLE PARK.

Bonita Vista’s Mike (Ace) Adkins won a 100 heat in :10.3 and a 440 try in :51.5.

Hilltop’s Randy Wagner (:14.9, :39.4) and Castle Park’s Jon Wilford (:15.0, :39.6) set up an anticipated duel later in the week in finals of the 120-yard high hurdles and 330 lows.

5/12/78

EASTERN LEAGUE FINALS, @PATRICK HENRY

Kipper Bell of the host school was a double winner, :09.6 in the 100 and :21.7 in the 220.  The 100 time was wind-aided, also reflected in the :09.6 by runner-up Milton Weaver of Point Loma and the :09.7 by third-place Tony Banks of Morse.

Judy Reed of Crawford smoked a windy :10.6 in the 100, with teammate Danita Young posting :10.8.  Reed and Young teamed with Kari Alexander and Vanessa Williams for a blazing :47.2, reported fastest time in the country, to Morse’s :48.1 in the 440 relay.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE FINALS, @HELIX

Ken Pole and Matt Gauthier engaged in another outstanding shot put competition, Pole winning at 63 feet, 4 inches, second best in California this season.  Gauthier was close at 62-7 ¼.

—Mike Durden led a 1-2-3 Helix finish in the 440 at :49.0, followed by Green and Bartzak at :50.2 each.  The Highlanders won the mile relay in 3:23.2.

—Butch Schroll of Granite Hills high jumped 6-6 and Cameron Gary of Helix reached 23-4 ½ in the long jump. Tim Nash of Santana won the 880 in 1:56.7.

—Valhalla’s Cheryl Flowers won her third consecutive mile championship in 5:00.2 and added the two-mile in 11:13.2.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS, @CHULA VISTA

Mike Adkins doubled with a :10.1 100 and :49.8 440 for Bonita Vista.  Teammate Fred Doane set a record of 9:30.2 in the two-mile and came back later to take the mile in 4:28.8.

Randy Wagner, running without competition from Castle Park’s Jon Wilford, who was byed into the CIF trials, was a :15.0 and :38.4 winner in the 120 highs and 330 low hurdles.  Kenny Blinsman of Mar Vista won the 880 in 1:56.7.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE FINALS

All races were measured in meters, a preview of what would take place when state track and field fully embraced the metric system in 1983.

Covington of La Jolla Country Day won the high jump at 6-6 and pole vault at 11 feet.

AVOCADO WEST TRIALS, @VISTA
El Camino’s Dokie Williams turned in a seemingly routine triple, winning his 100 heat in :09.8 and leading in the long jump (23 feet, 6 inches) and triple jump (48-2 ½).

AVOCADO EAST TRIALS, @MT. CARMEL

Poway’s Dave Brown and Escondido’s Pat Nash previewed a battle in the 300 hurdles.  Brown ran :39 in his heat and Nash rambled to the same clocking a few minutes later.

5/20/78

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @MT. CARMEL

BOYS

El Camino’s Dokie Williams was frustrated.

“It seems like every time I do something good it’s followed by a little ‘w’,” Williams told Steve Brand of The San Diego Union after winning a 100-yard dash heat in :09.4 with a 7.60 wind, over the allowable 04.47 miles per hour.

Patrick Henry’s Kipper Bell equaled Williams’ run with another :09.4, aided by a 5.59 breeze. Morse’s Tony Banks had a push of 10.28 m.p.h. in his :09.6 heat win.

Point Loma’s Milton Weaver was timed in :09.5 in Williams’ race, followed by Sam Jackson of Lincoln in :09.7.

“The :09.4 felt the same as a :09.7 and having Milton right there helped, but it was wind-aided,” said Williams.  “I just hate W’s.”

Bell weighed in: “I’d rather it be legit, but it’s hard to push yourself when there’s no one with you. It might have been a :09.2 if Dokie had been in my heat.”

—Weaver’s :21.2 in the 220 was fastest in the state this season, but also was trailed by excessive wind.

—Williams also paced the field with a 23-8 1/4w long jump and 48-11 3/4w triple jump, plus anchoring the Wildcats to :42.5, the day’s fastest 440 relay.

Jim Brennan of El Camino ran the season’s fastest 880 in 1:54.5.

—El Captain’s Ken Pole, one of the favorites, did not qualify in the discus but hit a career high 62-4 ½ in the shot put.  Nine others competitors did at least 52 feet.

El Camino, quietly positive/hopeful of its team chances in the upcoming state meet, sustained a big loss when Dokie’’s brother, Alex Williams, failed to qualify in the high jump at 6 feet 6 inches, below his best of 6-10 as Williams labored with a sore heel.

El Camino (16), Morse (10), Helix (9), Lincoln (7), and San Diego (6) led qualifiers.

GIRLS

Morse’s Judy Reed blazed to wind-aided :10.7 and :23.6 100 and 220 victories. Reed also was a member of the Colts’ winning 440 (:48.2) and mile (4:00.6) relays.

Morse led qualifiers with 12, followed by Crawford (10), Vista (8), and Mt. Carmel (7).

5/26/78

BOYS SAN DIEGO SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS, @MT. CARMEL

Dokie Williams had a hand in 22 of the 41 points El Camino scored as the Wildcats survived a scary moment. before rolling to the team title.

Williams fouled on his first two attempts in the triple jump.  One more misstep and he would be out. Competitors get three jumps in the trials and three more if they move to the finals.

Williams stared down the long, asphalt approach as he stepped on the runway for a third and final try to be one of six finalists.

“All I thought about was hitting the line. I told myself, ‘Just don’t foul,’ “ said Williams who soared a state-leading 51 feet, ¾ inch on his last try to qualify, breaking the Section record of 50-4½ he set the season before.

Williams also won the long jump at 24-6 ½ and emerged after a tense duel with Patrick Henry’s Kipper Bell in the 100. There were three false starts, including one by Bell, before Williams, sitting patiently in his blocks, exploded for a :09.4 victory which was aided by a 6.71 wind, over the allowable 4.447.

Bell returned and had no wind as he tied the meet record of :21.0 in the 220.

Anchor man Williams also almost made up eight yards on winning Morse in the 440 relay, with both teams timed in :41.9.

Overshadowed was a second place in the triple jump at 47-4 1/2 by El Camino’s Craig Montgomery.  Craig’s effort would prove important the following week as the Wildcats geared for a state team championship bid.

GIRLS SAN DIEGO SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS, @MT, CARMEL

Judy Reed’s spectacular :10.5 win in the 100 was aided by an 8.95 miles an hour wind, short circuiting a record, but Reed and her teammates won the team title with 35 points to Morse’s 30.

Reed set a meet record of :24 in the 220 and Crawford’s Kari Alexander set a meet record of :14.4 in the 110 low hurdles and the duo teamed with Danita Young and Vanessa Williams for a :47.4 in the short relay to Morse’s :47.8 and a winning 3:57.2 in the mile relay to Morse’s 3:57.6.

6/2/78

60^TH STATE TRACK TRIALS, MEMORIAL STADIUM, BAKERSFIELD

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE*
100	Williams	El Camino	:09.98	6th
	Bell	Patrick Henry	:10.02	14th
220	Bell		:21.77	T2
	Weaver	Point Loma	:22.38	16th
440	Banks	Morse	:48.60	9th
	Durden	Helix	:50.02	15th
880	Brown	Poway	1:54.0	3rd
	Brennan	El Camino	1:54.73	7th
Mile	Keller	Helix	4:13.09	8th
120 High Hurdles	Nash	Escondido	:14.89	14th
	Wagner	Hilltop	:14.8	15th
330 Low Hurdles	Nash		:38.4	16th
	Johnson	San Diego	:38.88	18th
4×110 Relay	B. Ervin, W. Ervin, Becton, Banks	Morse	:42.74	18th
		El Camino	—	—
4X440 Relay	Hawkins, Godwin, W. Ervin, Banks	Morse	3:14.8	3rd
High Jump	Schiefer	Madison	6-6	13th
	Younger	Mira Mesa	—	—
Long Jump	Hamilton	Castle Park	24-0	1st
	Williams		22-9 ¾	7th
Triple Jump	Williams		50-2 ¾	1st
	Montgomery	El Camino	47-6¾	8th
Shot Put	Pole	El Capitan	60-5¼	4th
	Gauthier	Valhalla	59-4¼	8th
Discus	Esquibel	Valhalla	161-02	12th
	Gauthier		145-01	19th
Pole Vault`	Reid	El Cajon Valley	—	—
	Kennedy	Fallbrook	No Height	—

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Reed	Crawford	:11.01	6th
	Herring	Morse	:11.51	16th
220	Reed		:24.57	5th
	Herring		:25.69	15T
440	Fulton	Bonita Vista	:57.6	14th
	Thomas	Morse	:58.8	17T
880	Hawks	San Dieguito	2:19.4	17th
	Proulx	El Cajon Valley	2:21.9	23rd
Mile	Flowers	Valhalla	4:55.8	8T
	Spencer	Bonita Vista	—	—
110 Hurdles	Alexander	Crawford	:15.10	14th
	Perkins	Helix	:15.13	15th
4×100 Relay	Alexander, Reed, Williams, Young	Crawford	:47.33	1st
	Herring, Millsap, Reed, Bullard	Morse	:48.13	6th
4×400 Relay	Alexander, K. Williams, V. Williams, Reed	Crawford	3:53.3	3rd
	Bullard, M. Thomas, Millsap, Herring	Morse	3:53.9	4th
High Jump	McNeal	Carlsbad	5-4	1T
	Lapp	Ramona	5-2	17T
Long Jump	Whitlow	Vista	—	—
	Grauf	La Jolla	—	—
Shot Put	McBride	Vista	41-0¾	10th
	Herse	Patrick Henry	37-11 1/2	18th
Discus	McBride		118-03	14th
	Herse		117-05	16th

6/3/78

60^TH BOYS STATE TRACK FINALS, MEMORIAL STADIUM, BAKERSFIELD

100	Williams	El Camino	:10.1	4th
220	Bell	Patrick Henry	:21.85	6th
880	Brown	Poway	1:52.64	5th
	Brennan	El Camino	1:53.6	8th
Mile	Doane	Bonita Vista	4:18.5	6th
Two Miles	Rose	Helix	9:10.8	7th
	Woodland	La Jolla	9:12.4	10th
4×400 Relay	Hawkins, Goodwin, W. Ervin, Banks	Morse	3:19.1	8th
Long Jump	Williams		25-1¼	1st
	Hamilton	Castle Park	23-7½	5th
Triple Jump	Williams		50-4 1/4	1st
	Montgomery	El Camino	48-8 ¼	4th
Shot Put	Pole	El Capitan	60-9¼	5th
	Gauthier	Valhalla	60-7 1/4	6th

60^TH GIRLS STATE TRACK FINALS, MEMORIAL STADIUM, BAKERSFIELD

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
220	Reed	Morse	:24.52	5th
Mile	Flowers	Valhalla	4:54.5	6th
Two Miles	Keller	Helix	10:59.1	9th
	Brown	San Pasqual	—	—
4×110 Relay	Herring, Millsap, Reed, Bullard	Morse	:48.37	6th
	Alexander, Reed, Williams, Young	Crawford	—	9th
4×400 Relay	Alexander, K. Williams, V. Williams, Reed	Crawford	3:51.93	2nd
	Bullard, M. Thomas, Millsap, Herring	Morse	3:55.74	4th
High Jump	MacNeal	Carlsbad	5-10 ¼	1st

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

*—Races at yards, others at 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 Hughes Stadium
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.