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

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

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

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

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

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

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

W–Wind aided.

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:11.87	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40
200	Ruskovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.51w	Frost, Gardena Serra	:24.0w
400	Wright, University City	:55.64 (5)	Okonkwo, Murrieta Mesa	:55.42
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:13.54 (7)	Tomkinton, Atherton Menlo	2:10.61
1600	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	4:48.34 (1)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	4:49.14
3200	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	10:34.67 (6)	Ramirez, Chino Hills Ayala	10:19.42
100 Hurdles	Miller, San Pasqual	:14.95	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:13.52
300 Hurdles	Occiano, Mission Hills	:44.79 (10)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:41.21
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (2)	Calabasas	:46.28
4×400 Relay	Scripps Ranch	3:57.86	Eastvale Roosevelt	3:48.12
High Jump	Hickey, Coronado	5-10 ½ (1)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	5-8 1/2
Long Jump	Hickey, Coronado	20-9w (1)	Harris, Upland	20-2 1/2
	Hardaway, Oceanside	19-0 ¾ (5)
Triple Jump	Scott, Gompers Prep	38-3	Shearer, San Jose Silver Creek	40-6
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	42-7	Ramirez, Valencia West Ranch	47-5 ¼
Discus	Cruz, Mission Hills	139-3	Budwig, Fowler	171-7
Pole Vault	Thomson, Poway	13-4 (1T)	Sommers, Westlake Village Westlake	13-4

BOYS

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

w–Wind aided.  *–No wind gauge.

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	MARK	STATE	MARK
100	Shaheed, Madison	:11.87 (4)	Nowling, Calabasas	:11.40
	Hickey, Coronado	:12.09 (T12)
	Ruskovich, Scripps Ranch	:12.10 (15)
	McCormick, Scripps Ranch	:12.18 (20)
200	Ruskovich, Scripps Ranch	:24.51w (3)	Frost, Gardena Serra	:24.0w
400	Wright, University City	:56.48 (8)	Okonkwo, Murrieta Mesa	:55.42
800	Riedman, La Costa Canyon	2:13.54 (6)	Tomkinton, Atherton Menlo	2:10.61
1600	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	4:48.34 (1)	Lowe, Clovis Buchanan	4:49.14
3200	Fahy, La Costa Canyon	10:34.67 (5)	Ramirez, Chino Hills Ayala	10:32.67
100 Hurdles	Miller, San Pasqual	:14.95 (T13)	Shearer San Jose Silver Creek	:14.05
	McCormick, Scripps Ranch	:15.08 (T19)
300 Hurdles	Mayo, Grossmont	:45.03 (7)	Glenn, Long Beach Wilson	:42.31
	Edwards, San Pasqual	:45.32 (10)
	McCormick, Scripps Ranch	:45.42 (13)
4×100 Relay	Scripps Ranch	:46.95 (1)	Calabasas	:47.00
4×400 Relay	Scripps Ranch	3:57.86 (18)	Mission Viejo	3:49.50
High Jump	Hickey, Coronado	5-10 ½ (1)	Three tied	5-8
Long Jump	Hickey, Coronado	20-2 (2)	Cobb, Riverside Poly	21-2
Triple Jump	Miller, San Pasqual	37-8 ¼ (16)	Aguilar, Rancho Cucamonga	47-8
Shot Put	Atuatasi, West Hills	42-7 (10)	Budwig, Fowler	47-4
	Lagoy, Rancho Bernardo	41-4 (14)
Discus	Atuatasi, West Hills	126-5	Budwig, Fowler	158-8
Pole Vault	Thomson, Poway	13-4 (1T)	Sommers, Westlake Village Westlake	13-4

BOYS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BOYS

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

GIRLS

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

 

Vincent W. (Vince) Breddell III, a star sprinter at Kearny in 1969 and ’70, passed recently.

Coach Jim Cerveny’s teams, which battled Clairemont for Western League domination, were built around the swift Breddell.

Breddell was fourth in the state 100-yard dash final at Berkeley in 1970 after winning the San Diego Section championship in :09.7.  He won his heat in the state trials at Berkeley in :09.7.

Breddell had a best time of :21.2 in the 220-yard dash, was a triple winner in the 1970 Western League finals, :09.8 100, :21.4 220, and anchor leg of the winning (:42.3) 440-yard relay with teammates Tony Berg, Greg Jackey, and Michael Cornell.

Breddell won the San Diego Section championship with a :09.8 100 in 1970 and finished first in the 220 in :21.4 but was disqualified because he was outside his lane during the race. Lane inspector Tony Sucec  unpopularly reported that Breddell took four steps on the white line that separated his lane from that of teammate Michael Cornell.

Breddell also won the Western League 100 in 1969 and was a three-year member of Kearny’s championship 440-yard relay teams.

Thanks to Rich Peralta for notification.

The 880-yard relay, a frenetic and often perilous event, provided a wild conclusion to the CIF Southern Section finals at Compton.

San Diego High won the team championship, surviving rush-hour traffic and a near pileup, not unlike a wild main event of a midget auto racing card in Balboa Stadium.

The Hillers’ Charlie Davis, spiked by another runner about 100 yards from the finish line, hung on for a second place that was the difference in the team standings.

San Diego’s 20 points topped Glendale Hoover, which had 19, and Compton, which did not have a relay team and finished with 18.  Fullerton was fourth with 15.

Coach Bill Patten’s seven-man squad and Glendale Hoover, led by sprint ace John Bradley, each had 16 points entering the final event.

Laguna Beach was a “surprise gun-to-tape winner but they went virtually unnoticed,” wrote the Los Angeles Times’ John De la Vega, who captured the moment.

HILLERS VS. TORNADOES

“All eyes were on the two title rivals,” said De La Vega.

“San Diego ran second most of the way while Hoover, the favorite, got two bad passes and trailed the Hillers by nine yards in next-to-last place as the anchor leg started.

“Then came the rousing finish,” wrote De La Vega.

Hillers anchorman Davis survived a cut on his leg when Inglewood’s Jack Hadley crashed in front of the fast-closing Bradley and Hadley’s shoe spikes tore Davis’ flesh.

Bradley, accelerating as he traversed the curve, had closed to within three yards of Davis as the pack turned for home.  Hadley, also charging, suddenly stumbled, nipping Davis, and falling in front of Bradley.

Bradley pulled up and ran around Hadley, according to De La Vega, and then made another challenge but finished two yards behind Davis.

Champion Hilltoppers with perpetual title trophy, front row (from left): Harold Miller, Bob Van Doren, Ernie Smith. Standing (from left): coach Bill Patten, Rudy Graham, Calvin Carter, Charlie Davis, John Davis.  Courtesy, John Dahlem/CIF Southern Section.

IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED?

Three published accounts of that relay race, beginning with De La Vega’s, are not  in agreement.

Wrote Don King in Caver Conquest, the athletic history of San Diego High:

“Sparked by some nifty running and baton passes among Hal Miller, Calvin Carter, and Ernie Smith, the Hillers jumped into an early lead (De La Vega’s Times story said Laguna led all the way) coming into Davis’ anchor leg.  But a rival runner accidentally spiked Davis in the baton exchange (the Times story indicated it happened much later).”

The San Diego Union correspondent, unidentified, reported in a “Special” dispatch:

“The Hiller quartet took an early lead, but on the last lap Davis was spiked by a rival runner. The mishap enabled Laguna Beach to take the lead, but Davis, continuing in spite of the injury, held off his Glendale Hoover rival to finish second.”

THE OTHERS…

Seven San Diego High athletes were among the fifteen from the Coast, Metropolitan, and Southern Prep leagues who qualified for the finals after loop meets and two divisional competitions.

–San Diego’s Harold Miller was not among the top five finishers in the 100-yard dash, won by Howard Bugbee of Redondo Beach Redondo Union in: 09.6.

–Miller and Davis were not among the top five in the scorching 220-yard dash, won by Bradley by less than a foot over Compton’s Bill Fell in: 21.

–Calvin Carter was fourth in the 440-yard dash, won by San Dieguito’s Don Balsley in :51.2, providing two points for the Hillers.

–Bob Van Doren won the shot put at 55 feet ¾ inch and John Davis got up for fourth at 50-10 ¾, giving the Hillers 7 points.

–Rudy Graham was a surprising second in the high jump at 6 feet, 3 inches, and picked up four points, beating among others San Diego Hoover’s Jack Razzeto, who cleared 6-5 3/4, two Saturdays before in a divisional meet at Balboa Stadium.

–Ernie Smith, the 1947 champion at 22-6 ½, was third in the broad jump at 22-1½, giving the Hillers three points and a total 16 as they awaited the relay sprint.

San Diego was one of the favorites in the relay, having run 1:30.4 and 1:30.7 leading to the finals.  With an accident-free race the Hilltoppers may not have equaled Laguna Beach’s winning time of 1:29.9, but their second place finish was good for 4 points and the winning total of 20.

…AND OTHERS

–Point Loma’s Bob Mahon, usually a triple winner in both hurdles and broad jump during the Pointers’ dual meet season, was disqualified along with Glendale Hoover’s Jack Davis and Beverly Hills’ Bill Storum in the 120-yard highs.

Mahon’s best time of: 15.1 would have had him in the mix in a race in which Bob Boaz of Fullerton won in :15.

–Martin Donahue of Grossmont and Kenny Holly of Escondido were unplaced in the mile.

–Grossmont’s Hal Norris was unplaced in the shot put.

–Jack Razzeto of Hoover cleared 6-2 but lost a coin toss to Dick Brombach of Long Beach Poly in the high jump.  Brombach  became the third qualifier for the state meet the following week in Berkeley.

–Jack Lucas of La Jolla was third in the 880, won by Wilbur Firestone of Compton in 2:00.

–Duane Pusey of Grossmont tied for third with two others in the pole vault but lost a coin toss to determine who would advance to Berkeley.

STATE MEET

–Jack Lucas was third in the 880, won by Firestone in 1:57.8.

–Don Balsley unofficially was timed in: 50.4 and finished fifth in one of two 440-yard dashes.  Luther Butler of Los Angeles Jefferson and Fred Thompson of L.A. Jordan were declared co-champions at :49.2.

–Bob Van Doren’s 54-6 ¼ in the shot put was third to the national record 59-7 ½ by L.A. Washington’s Bob Cameron.

–Rudy Graham tied for third in the high jump at 6-2.  Dick Brombach of Long Beach Poly and Ed Young of L.A. Jefferson were co-champs at 6-3.

–Ernie Smith did not place in the broad jump.

–San Diego was fifth in the 880 relay, behind L.A. Jordan, L.A. Jefferson, Glendale
Hoover, and San Francisco Lowell.  Jordan’s winning time was 1:29.5.

–The Hilltoppers were seventh in the team scoring with 6 ¼ points.  L.A. Jordan led with 22.

RELAY MADNESS

San Diego was 3-1 in dual meets, losing an early-season, 57-47 decision to Grossmont when the Hilltoppers dropped the baton in the 880 relay, depriving them of a 52-52  tie.

Charlie Davis’ strong anchor leg, in which he caught and passed Hoover and Tucson runners, gave the Hillers a triangular meet victory in a night session before 1,200 persons at Balboa Stadium.  The Hillers scored 53 points. Tucson, an Arizona power, 51, and Hoover 25 ½.

A dropped baton in the Class A relay deprived Grossmont of a clean sweep in classes A, B, and C, in the Metropolitan League finals at San Diego State.

Point Loma won the relay and the Class A title with 46 points to the Foothillers’ 42 ¾.  Grossmont coach Jack Mashin dropped six varsity (A) performers into Class B, opening the door for coach Don Giddings’ Pointers.

Grossmont swept dual meet opponents in all but one A, B, and C competition.  La Jolla beat the Foothillers in a Class B dual.

FOOTHILLERS TOP HILLTOPPERS

The dual meet victory over San Diego was Grossmont’s third against the Hilltoppers since 1944, rare achievements by a school not in the San Diego city limits.

Indeed, Grossmont coach Jack Mashin, who retired as football boss after the 1947 season, built a powerful program of deep and talented teams, particularly in the field events.

Grossmont led area schools with 17 ¼ points in the 27^th annual Southern Counties meet at Huntington Beach High.

Three Grossmont pole vaulters cleared 12 feet to tie for first and sophomore Hal Norris topped San Diego’s Bob Van Doren and John Davis in the shot and finished second.

Compton won the team championship at Huntington Beach with 29 points, riding the rapid wheels of Bill Fell, who won the 100-yard dash in :09.6, 220 on the straightaway in :20.8 and broad jump at 22 feet, 6 inches.

5/1/48

Grossmont was deprived of  championships in Classes A,B, and C in the Metropolitan League meet when the Foothillers botched a baton exchange in the final event 880-yard relay.

A dropped baton did in the Foothillers an Point Loma won the relay in 1:33.9 and Class A with 47 points to the Foothillers’ 42.7/10.

 

SPIKE DUST

Future pro golf champion Gene Littler was one of La Jolla’s shotputters…St. Augustine fielded A, B, and C teams for the first time in the school’s 26-year history…Bob Van Doren set a San Diego school shot put record with a heave of 55-2 ¾ in the Balboa Stadium divisional meet…Van Doren unofficially bettered the mark at 55-7 1/8 in an extra trial after the shot put competition in the state meet…Van Doren also was first at Berkeley with a 46-10 3/4 toss in the non-counting 16-pound shot competition…Ernie Smith didn’t repeat as Southern Section broad jump champion but had a career-best 22-9 in the Coast League triangular dual meet with Pasadena and Pasadena Muir…Hoover’s Bill McColl, all-Southern California in football, basketball and baseball, also found time to run the hurdles for coach Raleigh Holt’s track team….

It was a remarkable spring.

San Diego High won its first outright, state  championship since 1929 and the Hilltoppers and Hoover Cardinals finished 1-2 in the team race in the CIF Southern Section finals.

It stood to reason that since San Diego also was team champion in the five-star Southern Counties’ meet at Huntington Beach in March and had come up strong in the Coast League Relays that coach Glenn Broderick’s squad would win the dual meet championship.

But San Diego, Hoover, and Long Beach Wilson tied, each with a 5-1 record. San Diego topped Wilson, 66-56, after Wilson had edged the Cardinals, 62 ½-59 ½, in the first night meet in city history.  Wilson and Hoover baseballers had occupied the Cardinals’ stadium in the afternoon.

UPSET FOLLOWED BY SURPRISE

Hoover stunned the Hillers by winning their dual-meet showdown, 63 ½-58 ½, in a sensational battle replete with outstanding performances, including the Cardinals‘ meet-clinching, school-record 1:30.7 victory in the 880-yard relay, final event of the day.

Two days after Bob Beckus, Clyde Yakel, and Alvin Cordray had led Hoover to its first win over the Hillers, San Diego principal John Aseltine announced that track coach-head football coach Glenn Broderick had resigned.

Broderick would remain with his squad through the upcoming Coast League championships, CIF divisional and finals competition, and the state meet in Hollister.

No reason was given for Broderick’s departure, much less the timing.  There were rumors of health issues.

I first met Broderick in the early ‘sixties when the retired coach, who had worked in the defense industry at Consolidated Vultee Aircraft during and after World War II, was a regular at any meet of importance in San Diego, serving as a finish judge or timer for years.

Broderick left a strong coaching legacy on the hilltop.   The Hillers were 56-18-1 in dual meets from 1927-38, including a run of 40-6 from 1929-35.  Broderick was 15-8-2 in three seasons, 1935-37, in football and his Class B gridders won the 1929 Southern California championship.

IT’S HOOVER’S TIME

Hoover had not beaten the Hilltoppers in five dual meets since 1933, losing by scores of 76-37, 73-29, 88-15, 82-31, and 70-43.

With Beckus, an outstanding half-miler and hop-step-and-jumper; Yakel, the Southern Section record holder in the Class B 220 in 1937, and the versatile Cordray, one of the state’s best in the broad jump and high jump, coaches Ralph Young and Lawrence Carr liked their chances.

Anticipation was such that Mitch Angus of The San Diego Union began writing about the meet an unusual five days before the first sound of the starter’s pistol.

It was a home meet for the Hilltoppers, but officials from both schools toyed with the idea of moving the competition to Friday night, under the lights at Hoover.  A decision was made to hold the meet in City Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

A midweek story was headlined “Hoover Track Hopes Pinned on Strategy of Coaches”. Rumors floated that Cardinals coaches were considering a move of Beckus into the 220-yard low hurdles in hopes of picking up additional points.

Beckus normally competed in the 880, in which he several times bettered the school record, was the outstanding hop-step-and-jump athlete in the state, a reliable broad jumper, and one four members of the relay team.

Beckus would have a better chance of scoring vital points or upsetting the Hillers’ Johnny Biewener in the long hurdle race than he would in the broad jump, which featured two of the state’s best, Hoover’s Alvin Cordray and San Diego’s Bob Logan.

Broderick worried because his best HSJ competitor, Zeno Berger, was nursing a charley horse.

HOW HE SEES IT

Kearney Johnson, a composing room employee for The San Diego Union, was known as “Dopey,” because Johnson loved to dope track meets, especially those involving his beloved alma-mater, San Diego High.

(Twenty-thee years later when I began doping/handicapping the San Diego Section championships for the Evening Tribune, Johnson and I would compare notes).

“Dopey’s” dope sheet favored San Diego by a score of 66-56 and also noted that seven meet records were in jeopardy. Eight meet records actually would be broken and another tied.

Beckus rewarded his coaches’ strategy by getting up for second in the low hurdles; won the hop, step, and  jump, set a school record of 1:59.1 in the 880, and ran a leg on the relay.

Beckus and Cordray, who won the broad jump at 22 feet, 1 ½ inches and upset Bob Logan in the high jump at 6-2 1/2, were outstanding, but it was a trio of Hoover pole vaulters, identified only by their last names, Hart, Cole, and Smith, who cleared a minimal 11 feet.

The 9-0 points sweep in the vault midway in the afternoon allowed the Cardinals to stay close to the Hillers and gave them a chance to win the meet as the favored relay squad.

The teams were tied, 58 1/2 points each, when they lined up for the half-mile race, in which San Diego was in the lead at the final baton exchange.

Yakel caught San Diego anchorman Leonard Black and brought the Cardinals home two seconds faster than they had run all season.  San Diego, two yards back, ran 1:31.

THE BIGGER MEETS

San Diego and Hoover would be favored in the upcoming all-Coast finals, the Divisional meet at Glendale, and in the Southern Section finals at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Form played out and San Diego got some late-season help from Logan, who had slumped following his school-record, 6-5 1/4 high jump in March against Alhambra.

ALL-COAST

San Diego was first with 67 points, followed by Hoover, 56, Wilson, 53 ½, Long Beach Poly, 17 ½, and Alhambra, 16.

San Diego’s George Franklin won his 440 race in :51 flat and Ed Becker scored a double victory in the weights, reaching 52-3 ¼ in the shot put and 128-11 ½ in the discus.

GLENDALE QUALIFIER

Action moved on to the divisional meet at Glendale, where the Cavers scored 36 ½ points and Hoover 28 ½ to outdistance a field that included athletes from the Bay, Prep, San Gabriel, and Foothill leagues.

Beverly Hills’ Gil LaCava, son of a Hollywood movie producer, bettered the national high jump record with a leap of 6-6 ½.  Logan rallied to clear 6-4 for second and was second in the broad jump.

The first-place finishers in the four Divisional meets plus the next 4 best performers would qualify for the finals.

SOUTHERN SECTION

Coaches awaited the call early in the week from Southern Section commissioner Seth Van Patten, who would announce which competitors moved on to the finals.

San Diego went into the meet with seven individuals entered in 10 of the 13 events.  Hoover had six, plus its relay team.

Twenty-five athletes from San Diego plus 11 from the Imperial Valley were among those from the 123 schools represented.   San Diego scored 24 points and Hoover 20 1/3.  Santa Ana was third with 13.

Johnny Biewener, unbeaten in the high hurdles all year, was second.  Biewener also was second in the lows, won by La Jolla’s Jerry Soule in :24.2.

The Hilltoppers’ only winner was Ed Becker, who pushed the shot 54 feet, ½ inch.  Logan tied for second in the high jump and was second in the broad jump at 22-8 ½.

Beckus set a Southern Section record by soaring 46-1 ¾ in the hop, step, and jump and helped the Cardinals finish second to Compton’s 1:29.3-winning relay squad.

Yakel was second and Point Loma’s George Abel third in the 220. San Diego‘s Rickey Roth was fifth in the 880.

STATE

Broderick and a four-man squad of qualifiers Logan, Becker, Roth, and Biewener headed to Hollister 425 miles North along U.S. 101, and some 90 miles south of San Francisco.

The contingent left on Thursday and overnighted in Santa Barbara, also able to get in a workout before the 250-mile push to the host site the next day.

San Diego’s 18 ½ points outdistanced the 11 ½ each by Sacramento and Santa Ana.

Biewener, beaten the previous week for the first time, rebounded to win the high hurdles in :15.3 and was fourth in the lows.  Logan was second in the broad jump with a school-record 23-6 3/4 and tied for second in the high jump.

Roth, slotted into the 880 when a Ontario Chaffey runner withdrew, was fifth and Becker set a school record with a second-place effort of 54-2 ½ in the shot put.

Beckus was shut out, stumbling when hit by another runner and finishing unplaced in the 880 and unable to compete in the hop, step, and jump, because it was not contested in the state meet.

La Jolla’s Jerry Soule was second in the 220 low hurdles and Yakel was fourth in the 220.

Logan and Hoover’s Alvin Cordray  tied for second in the high jump at 6-1, behind the national record 6-7 1/8 cleared by Beverly Hills’  Gil La Cava.

RISING METRO

Oceanside clinched the Metropolitan League dual meet title with a 57 ½-46 ½ win over Point Loma, but it was the Pointers and La Jolla who had the marquee performers.

George Abel, a husky Point Loma sprinter who  competed in the 100, 220, and shot put, set school records with a :09.8 century and :21.5 furlong.

Abel was fourth in the Southern Section 100 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Jerry Soule won three events in the Chaffey Invitational: high and low hurdles and high jump.  Coronado’s Ralph Mitchell was a 23-foot long jumper.

Abel won the 100 and 220, finished second in the shot put, and anchored a Point Loma relay victory and 54 ½-49 ½ win over La Jolla in a dual that was washed out early in the competition and resumed the following Wednesday, five days later.

Soule countered Abel with wins in his usual three events, 70-yard high hurdles (:08.9), high jump (6-4) and broad jump (21-4).

Although they were unbeaten in league dual meets, concluding with the  win over Point Loma, Oceanside was not among the 16 schools and 280 athletes who convened at San Diego State for the Divisional.  The Pirates  bailed and sent a contingent to the West Coast Relays in Fresno.

SPIKE DUST

The :24.2 in the 220-yard low hurdles by La Jolla’s Jerry Soule at the Southern Section finals was the nation’s leading mark in that event and earned Soule a place on the interscholastic honor roll as cited by the National Federation of High Schools…San Diego’s Bob Logan was third nationally in the high jump with his 6-5 1/2, which stood as the school record until Doyle Steele cleared 6-6 in 1966…Logan’s 23-6 3/4 broad jump was not bettered until John Parker went 23-9 1/2 in 1951…it wasn’t until the 1950s that times and performances other than those for first place finishers became common knowledge…many good marks over the years either were unknown or unreported because of concentration only on first place; lack of stopwatches, or timers…Hoover did not enter the Southern Counties meet at Huntington Beach, instead opening Coast League competition with three school records in an 83-39 win over Alhambra…top mark was Alvin Cordray’s 22-6 ¾ broad jump…Cordray set a school record with a 6-3 1/2 high jump in a 71-51 win over Long Beach Poly…San Diego surpassed the century mark for the first time in its dual meet history with a 101-21 win over Alhambra…Hoover’s Clyde Yakel won dual-meet sprints over Long Beach Wilson’s Bill Van Leuvan, whose :09.7 100  against Long Beach Poly was the fastest ever run by an athlete from the beach city…Yakel tied Van Leuvan in the Coast League 100, but Van Leuvan was the Southern Section champion at :09.8…San Diego was host for the Coast League championship meet for the first time since 1924…San  Diego’s Bob Logan bombed in the broad jump in the Coast meet but was “byed” into the divisional…Hoover attempted to enter baseball ace Felix Aguirrre in the Coast broad jump but was denied…Aguirre could have entered had his ball season been completed … part of the San Diego contingent motored to Glendale on Friday for the 10 a.m. opening of the Divisional…rest of the squad and a Hoover group drove up early Saturday….