San Diego Section track-and-field entries placed in eight of 32 events at the 98^th state track championships in Clovis Saturday.

—About 26 per cent of the entries, out of 96 total at the beginning of Friday’s trials, scored points amid the 102-degree heat of Buchanan High. And with no individual champion for the first time in 14 years.

It wasn’t a total loss.

Fourteen boys and nine girls produced season bests.

UC BATTLER IS REWARDED

University City’s Allen Siegler represented to me what the state meet is all about, competition and the opportunity to improve.

Siegler took a 1600 season best of 4:14.09 into the trials and qualified fourth at 4:12.22. He was eighth in the finals, but Siegler came to compete.

The wiry senior hung tough against a demanding pace and whacked another three seconds off his best to close at 4:09.29, eighth all-time in the San Diego Section.

SIX RACES IN TWO DAYS

Devin Alvarado of Rancho Buena Vista was outstanding in the Friday trials.

Alvarado ran the sixth fastest 110 hurdles in section history, :14.06, clean with no wind.

The Longhorns’ senior an hour later raced to :37.45 in the 300 intermediates, tied for 13^th all time, and contributed strongly  as the Longhorns qualified in a Section season best, 3:18.84 in the 4×400 relay.

Coming back in three events on Saturday took its toll.  Alvarado was fourth in the highs in :14.10, seventh in the intermediates at :38.26, and RBV was well out of it at 3:20.33 in the 4×400.

NIGHTHAWKS EMERGING

The rising and still developing Del Norte program of coach Chris Ruff scored its first points in a state meet since the school opened in 2008.  Michelle Altice was fifth in the discus at 146-3 and fourth in the shot at 45-1 ¼.

Mount Miguel’s Laulauga Tasauga-Collins rallied for second in the shot put at 45-1 ½ after fouling out in the discus, with no measured throw despite coming into the meet with the best sectional qualifying mark, 167-3.

CAP AND GOWN?

Cathedral senior Dani Johnson, whose career was so promising after she set section records of :13.86 in the 100 hurdles and :41.30 in the 300  in 2015,  qualified in both races Friday night.

Johnson, who overcame a bothersome early-season injury, ran :14.11 and :43.10 and then withdrew from the finals sometime after the trials.

There were reports that Johnson returned to Cathedral for graduation on Saturday.

SPIKE DUST
Ruff’s uncle, Bruce Ruff, was the San Diego Section 440 champion for El Cajon Valley, running :48.6 in 1967…The tiny San Francisco Section (17 schools, including several that don’t participate) produced its first winner since 1983…Pamela Amaechi of Lincoln won the discus at 164-1 and was third in the shot put at 45-1 1/2 …so many runners, beaten down by a fast pace at Clovis, lost contact with the leaders, fell back, and turned in performances far below their season  bests…Friday and Saturday results, including leaders and San Diego results:

 SATURDAY FINALS

BOYS

100—Brock, West Hills Chaminade, :10.43.

200—Norman, Vista Murrieta, :20.42.  8. Shaheed, Mt. Carmel, :21.87.

400—Norman, Vista Murrieta, :45.77.

800—Cortes, Temecula Great Oak, 1:50.75. 12. Chinn, Poway, 2:00.47.

1600—Cortes, Temecula Great Oak, 4:04.61.  8. Siegler, University City 4:09.29, Section No. 8 all-time.

3200—28. Boone, Mt. Carmel, 9:33.69.  29.Pope, Torrey Pines, 9:55.14.   30. B.  Prince, Sage Creek, 9:56.55.

110 HURDLES—Anderson, Upland, :13.59.  4.  Alvarado, Rancho Buena Vista, :14.10.

300 HURDLES—Burton, Westminster La Quinta, :36.44.  8. Alvarado, R.B.V., :38.42.

4×100 RELAY—Vista Murrieta, :40.32.

4×400 RELAY—Vista Murrieta, 3:14.97.  7. Rancho Buena Vista, 3:20.33.

HJ—Carbin, Piedmont Hills Mt. Pleasant, 7-0.

LJ—Holmes, Oakdale, 25-5.  3. Battikha, St. Augustine, 23-11.  5. DeRoos, Tri-City, 23-7 ¾.

TJ—Osling, Lancaster Antelope Valley, 48-9 ¼. 8. DeRoos, Tri City, 46-6 ½.  Battikha, S.A., 46-5 ¾.

SP—Osborn, Anaheim Esperanza, 69-10 ¾. 5. Lenford, Oceanside, 58-5.   9. Clark, Poway, 55-6 ¾.  10.  Miller, El Camino, 53-5.

PV—Gordon, Huntington Beach Marina, 16-8.  3T. Brown, La Costa Canyon, 15-8.  7. Hamson, Poway, 15-8.

DISCUS—Osborn, Anaheim Esperanza, 200-10.

GIRLS 

100—Rain Williams, Westlake Village Oaks Christian, :11.39.  8. Patterson, Rancho Bernardo, :11.85.

200—Barnes, Ventura St. Bonaventure, :23.23.  7. Patterson, R.B., :24.06.

400—Roberts, Carson, :52.28.

800—Brewer,  San Ramon California, 2:06.86.  12. Akins, R.B., 2:13.60.

1600—Gehrich, Las Flores Tesoro, 4:45.51.

3200—O’Keefe, Davis, 10:12.02.  20. Moran, Mt.Carmel, 11:02.83.  22. Loren, Canyon Crest, 11:06.86.  24. Barrett, Westview,  11:13.13.

100 HURDLES—Davis, Agoura, :13.38.  Johnson, Cath., scratched.

300 HURDLES—Woodward, Vacaville, :40.62.  7. Bell, Steele Canyon, :42.89. Johnson, Cathedral, scratched.

4×100 RELAY—Carson, :45.06.

4×400 RELAY–Carson, 3:42.80.

HJ—Palka, Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 5-9.  Snow, Carlsbad., no height.

LJ—Foster, Clovis North, 20-7 ½. 10. Stallman, Ramona, 18-2 ½.

TJ—Davis, Agoura, 42- 5 ½.  8. Nash, Calvin Christian, 38-2.

SP—Bruckner, San Jose Valley Christian, 49.5 ¾.  2. Tausaga-Collins, Mount Miguel, 45-1 ½. 4. Altice, Del Norte, 45-1 ¼.

PV—Baxter, Anaheim Canyon, 14-2.

DISCUS—Amaechi, S.F. Lincoln, 164-1.  5. Altice, Del Norte, 146-5.

FRIDAY TRIALS

BOYS

100—Brock, West Hills Chaminade, :10.54.  Others:  Morgan, Poway, :10.87; Goodwin, Christian, :10.89. Stokes, Del Norte, :10.94.

200—Diego-Willams, Gardena Serra, :21.13.  7. Shaheed, Mt. Carmel, 21.84.  Others, Goodwin, Christian, :22.04. Ellis, Bonita Vista, DQ, lane violation.

400—Norman, Vista Murrieta, :47.26.  Others: Shaheed, Mt. Carmel, :48.52.  Gunter, Del Norte, :48.92.  Ellis, Bonita Vista, :48.95.

800—Hall, Davis, 1:53.33.  4. Chinn, Poway, 1:53.46. Others: D. Prince, Chula Vista High Tech, 1:55.37.  Page, Eastlake, 1:58.8

1600—Janes, Riverside M.L. King, 4:10.86.  9. Siegler, University City, 4:12.22. Others:  Martinez de Pinollos, Cathedral. 4:16.97. Johnson, La Costa Canyon, 4:17.53.

110 HURDLES—Anderson, Upland, :13.78.  7. Alvarado, Rancho Buena, :14.06, Section No. 6 all-time. Others:  Thomsen, Calvin Christian, :14.61.  Kleppe, Rancho Bonita Vista, :15.0.

300 HURDLES—Burton, Westminster, La Quinta, :36.61.  5. Alvarado, RBV, :37.44, tie Section No. 13, all-time. Others:  Adams, Granite Hills, :39.36. Carter. Torrey Pines, :40.07.

4×100 RELAY—Vista Murrieta, :41.33. Others:  Mt. Carmel, :41.82.  Rancho Bernardo, :42.50. Del Norte, :42.61

4×400 RELAY—Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 3:16.76.  Rancho Buena Vista, 3:18.84. Others:  Mira Mesa, 3:21.61.  Mt. Carmel, 3:28.95.

HJ—Six tied at 6-8.  Others:  Nelson, Del Norte, 6-6.  Rokach, Rancho Bernardo, 6-4. Heid, St. Augustine, no height.

LJ—Holmes, Oakmont, 24-3.  8. DeRoos, Tri City, 23-0 ¾.  9. Battikha, St. Augustine, 23-0 ¼.

TJ—Thompson, Stockton Stagg, 48-5 ¾.  11.  Battikha, St. Augustine, 46-9 ¼. 12.  DeRoos, Tri city, 46-6  Other: Riggins, Olympian, 42-3.

SP—Osborn, Anaheim Esperanza, 69-3. 8.  Clark, Poway, 56-3.  9.  Lenford, Oceanside, 55-7.  12.  Miller, El Camino, 54-0 ¼.

DISCUS–Osborn, Anaheim Esperanza, 194-10.  Others: Clark, Poway, 169-5.  Miller, El Camino, 166-10.  Anderson, Ramona, 161-9.

PV—Ten, including Brown, La Costa Canyon, and Hamson, Poway, qualified at 15.2.  Other: Thomsen, Calvin Christian, 14-8.

GIRLS

100—Rain Williams, Westlake Village Oaks Christian,, :11.49.  6. Patterson, Rancho Bernardo, :11.75.  Others:  Fletcher, Scripps Ranch, :12.11. Stallman, Ramona, :12.14.

200—Rain Williams, Westlake Village Oaks Christian, :23.0  8. Patterson, R.B., :24.17.  Others:  Simpson, Morse, :25,01.  Fletcher, S.R., :25.09.

400—Roberts, Carson, :53.15.  Others:  Kaseberg, Torrey Pines, :57.97.  Ornelas, Olympian, :58.16. White, Valhalla, :59.01.

800—Brewer, San Ramon California, 2:08. 10.  Akins, Rancho Bernardo, 2:10.14. Others:  McCarthy, Carlsbad, 2:11.37.   Robinson, La Jolla, 2:12.25.

1600—Gehrich, Las Flores Tesoro, 4:50.14. Others: Brown, La Costa Canyon, 5:03.32; Donnelly, Torrey Pines, 5:04.93. Bernd, Canyon Crest, 5:18.09.

100 HURDLES—Davis, Agoura, : 13.50.  6. Johnson, Cathedral. :14.11. Others:  Nealis, Valley Center, :14.57.   Bell, Steele Canyon, :14.64.

300 HURDLES—March, Reedley, Immanuel, :42.34.  4. Bell, Steele Canyon, :42.51. 9.  Johnson, Cathedral,  :43.10.  Others, Nealis, V.C., :46.16.

4×100 RELAY—Carson, :45.16.  Others:  Torrey Pines, :48.42.  San Diego, :49.53.  La Costa Canyon, :49.61.

4×400 RELAY—Calabasas, 3:44.71.  Others:  La Jolla, 3:53.03.  Olympian, 3:55.52.  Torrey Pines, 3:59.22.

HJ—4 tied at 5-7.  5T, Snow, Carlsbad, 5-5. Others:  Hickey, Coronado, 5-3.  Dixon, Morse, no height.

LJ—Longmire, Rancho Verde, 20-7.  8.  Stallman, Ramona, 18-10. Others: Barnes, Olympian, 17-6. Campbell, Mt. Carmel, 17-0 ¾.

TJ—Davis, Agoura, 41-1.  11.  Nash, CalvinChristian, 38-2 ¼.  Others:  Barnes, Olympian, 37-2 ¾.  Joseph, San Diego, 36-8 ¾.

SP—Bruckner, San Jose Village Christian, 51-9.  4.  Altice, Del Norte, 43-10.  8. Tausaga-Collins, Mount Miguel, 42-0.  Other:  Tuilefano, El Camino, 40-3 ¼.

DISCUS—Bruckner, San Jose Valley Christian, 165-6.  4—Altice,  Del Norte, 146-8.  Others:  Wagenfeld, Calvin Christian, 132-4. Tausaga-Collins, M.M., no distance, 3 fouls.

POLE VAULT—2 tied at 12-6.  Others:  Wagenfeld, Calvin Christian, 11-6.  Becker, Canyon Crest, 11-6.  Myers, Poway, 11-6.

 

Do well in the section finals.  Get to the state meet.  Qualify in the Friday trials.  Rest up for the finals.  Finish in the top 5 Saturday.  Get a “PR”*. Score a point or more and earn a medal.  Maybe finish first.

That’s the season goal.

Ninety-six San Diego Section entrants, less a few because of those in more than one event, will converge with qualifiers of like aspirations from 9 other state sections Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis, where temperatures of at least 100 degrees are expected.

It’s the 102^nd anniversary of the state meet and the 98^th year.  The event was  suspended from 1942-45 due to World War II travel restrictions.

From 1913 through 1962 athletes got their business done in one day, usually with trials in the morning and finals in the afternoon or in the evening.

The state meet went to two days in 1963,  the first  being  held at Berkeley’s Edwards Stadium.

History won’t be on the minds of locals  but they all will represent the area’s hope of continuing a tradition of at least one individual champion.

The last year in which the San Diego Section did not have a gold medalist in boys’ or girls’ competition was 2002.  The 13 consecutive years of at least one entry finishing first is in jeopardy this year.

It has been a thin season locally.

The table below reveals San Diego Section athletes who rank  in the state’s Top 10 in each event and who qualified, as recorded by athletic.net.  Most Top 10 athletes,  from here, or in other sections, will be in Clovis.

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK & RANK	STATE	NAME, SCHOOL
G Discus	Tausaga-Collins	Mount Miguel	167-3, 2nd	186-10	Bruckner, San Jose Village Christian
G Shot put	Tausaga-Collins	Mount Miguel	47-2 ¼, 3rd	54-7	Bruckner, San Jose Village Christian
B Long Jump	Batthika	St. Augustine	24-5, 3rd	25-11 ½	Holmes, Oakmont
	DeRoos	Tri-City Christian	23-11 ½, 9th
G 300 Hurdles	Bell	Steele Canyon	:41.99, 4th	:41.01	Woodward, Vacaville
B Pole Vault	Brown	La Costa Canyon	16-5, 4th	17-2	Gordon, Huntington Beach Marina
	Hamson	Poway	16-0, 6th
G 100	Patterson	Rancho Bernardo	:11.59w, 6th	:11.17w	Williams, Westklake Village Oaks Christian
B Shot Put	Lenford	Oceanside	63-3/4, 6th	71-7	Osborn, Anaheim Esperanza
B 400 Relay		Mt. Carmel	:41.65, 7th	:40.63	Vista Murrieta
G Triple jump	Nash	Calvin Christian	39-9, 7th	43-2	Davis, Agoura
G 100 Hurdles	Johnson	Cathedral	:14.02w, 8th	:13.45	Robinson, El Cerrito
	Nealis	Valley Center	:14.17, 10th
G High Jump	Snow	Carlsbad	5-6, T10th	5-8 ¼	Earle-Rouse, Arcata
	Hickey	Coronado

*–Personal record.

w–wind aided.

There undoubtedly other San Diego Section qualifiers not in the Top 10 who will improve and come home with medals.

There might be a winner in the group.

It’s what makes the state track championships one of the elite high school events in the country.

Roscoe Cook, Bobby Staten, Willie Jordan, and Charles (Sugar Jet) Davis comprised a swift foursome of San Diego High athletes who surprised the field and brought home a Southern California track championship.

The biggest surprise was by Cook, who entered the season as the most important and accomplished of the quartet.

Some background:

Cook was the 1956 CIF Southern Section Class B sprint titlist, having run away from the field the previous spring with best times of :09.7 in the 100-yard dash, and :21.0 in the 220.

It was expected that Cook and Staten would dominate the short races and low hurdles and that Davis, one of the city’s best quartermilers, and Jordan, a complementary sprinter, would round out a championship 880-yard relay team.

A downpour shortly after the first race canceled the Southern Counties’ Invitational at Huntington Beach High in the first week in March, delaying the usual official beginning of the season.

With no early reading on what to expect, the Cavemen then prepared for a intersectional dual meet in Balboa Stadium with powerful Compton Centennial.

UNBEATEN AT HOME

Cook had never lost a race in San Diego but he was beaten in a :09.9 100 by Centennial’s tall, long-striding Preston Griffin, a newcomer to the Southern California scene.

Griffin also took the national lead with a 24-foot, 6 ¾-inch broad jump. Cook was third despite breaking a 19-year-old school record with a leap of 23-10.  Griffin’s teammate, John Blaylock, was second at 23-11 in a remarkable competition.

The final and stunning indignity came in the 220 when Griffin, jogging the last 15 yards, eased to a :21.6  and Cook was a well-beaten third.  Griffin also withstood a charge by Staten as Centennial won the 880-yard relay in 1:28.8 and the meet, 60 1/2-43 1/2.

Seven weeks later, Griffin blazed a :09.5 100 in a semifinals, qualifying meet and appeared unbeatable.  On the same day Cook won a heat in a season-best: 09.8 in another divisional competition at Arroyo High in El Monte.

Cook quietly also served some notice as he took the measure of  Alhambra’s Rusty Weeks, who’d run :09.6 the week before.

SHORT AND QUICK

After the loss to Griffin, San Diego coach Birt Slater put Cook on a training regimen of repeated starts and short dashes.

Cook would spot other San Diego sprinters five yards and then try to “eat ‘em up” inside 50 yards.

Teammates who offered the competition for Cook came up with the description of the exercise.

“We believed that if Roscoe could lead Griffin after fifty yards he stood a good chance of winning,” said Slater.

Rising 10,064 feet to the East, Mt. Baldy provided the backdrop on a warm, hazy afternoon, when the top athletes arrived at Chaffey High in Ontario for the Southern Section championships on May 25.

Centennial was the prohibitive favorite for the team championship and Griffin was favored in three events, 100, 220, and broad jump, plus the relay.

Cook and Griffin were side by side in the starting blocks as they took their marks for the century race.  Kearny’s Ed Buchanan was next to Griffin.

‘EAT ‘EM UPS’ PAY OFF

Cook broke fast out of the blocks and led Griffin at 50 yards. The San Diego runner still was in front a yard from the finish line, but Griffin closed strongly.

Officials and time keepers huddled for several moments before Cook was declared the winner in :09.4, which broke the Southern California record by Griffin a week earlier and tied the national interscholastic mark set by Cleveland’s Jesse Owens in 1933.

Staten was second to Griffin in the 220 (Cook, who did not like the longer sprint,  was fourth).  The 6-foot, 2-inch Griffin rolled down the Chaffey straightaway in :20.3 to Staten’s :20.5 and bettered the national record, but the race had a wind reading of 4.83 miles per hour, over the allowable limit of 4.473.

On a day of records and outstanding performances, the 220 was the only race determined to be over the wind limit.

Staten also tied a national record of :18.5 in the 180-yard low hurdles, although San Bernardino’s Junior Howard edged Staten  in the same time.

CAVEMEN LEADING

San Diego was leading in team scoring with 15 points entering the final event, but Centennial, which had 14 points, was favored in the 880 relay and had set a record of 1:27.1 the week before.

Cook and Davis positioned the Cavers but Jordan lost ground on the third leg.  Centennial ran into trouble when it botched an exchange.

Staten was well off the pace after he got the baton from Jordan, but Staten’s :20.8 anchor 220 caught leaders Carl Skavarna of Chaffey and Charlie Miller of Long Beach Poly.  All three teams clocked 1:27.3, but Staten reached the finish line first.

“Another coach timed Bobby in the relay,” said Slater.  “By that time I couldn’t stand up.”

After an adjustment in the scoring for the 100, in which Cook and Griffin were declared tied for first following review of a film of the race, San Diego still was the team champion with 19 ½ points to Centennial’s 16 ½.

LET’S LOOK AT THE FILM

It was a stellar afternoon for area athletes.

–Mission Bay’s Jim Cerveny set a Southern Section record with a 1:53.3 victory in the 880 and would set the state record of 1:52.7 the following week in the state meet at Berkeley.

–Lincoln’s Luther Hayes edged Griffin in the broad  jump at 23-11.

–Kearny’s Ed Buchanan was third in the 100 at :09.7 and third in the 220 at :21.0. Cook was fourth in :21.1.

–Grossmont’s Jim Wade was third in the shot put at 61-5 ¾, and Kearny’s Bob Reynolds tied for third in the pole vault at 12-6.

Three days after the meet, CIF commissioner Ken Fagans announced that a review of finish line photos showed that Cook and Griffin had dead heated.

Howard’s victory over Staten was upheld, and the placings in some of the lower classes had been adjusted.  Sweetwater’s Jim Stewart was elevated to fourth from fifth in the B 220.

Although there had been some discussion of  wind during the day, only Griffin’s 220 was recorded as wind-aided, but Cook’s and Staten’s hopes of sharing a national record were dashed.

Dick Bank, a Los Angeles track authority, historian, and high school contributor to Track and Field News, the sport’s publication of record, challenged the operation of the wind gauge at Chaffey and refused to accept any of the  records, including the stunning :09.5 and :20.8 sprint times by Arcadia’s Tom Boswell in Class B.

Cook’s and Staten’s marks went into the record book as wind-aided.

SPIKE DUST

Roscoe Cook graduated from the University of Oregon after he tied the world record of :09.3 in the 100 in 1959 and the world indoor record of :06.1 in the 60-yard dash…Cook  earned a P.H.D. in education from the University of Massachusetts and taught and counseled in the Los Angeles school district for 30 years…Bobby Staten  was senior co-captain of the USC track team in 1961 and  a collegiate standout in the low hurdles and races from the 100 to 440…Staten completed a long career in the Los Angeles Probation Department…Charles Davis acquired the nickname “Sugar Jet,” which was  a popular breakfast cereal of that name…Davis was a 48-second quarter miler at San Diego State and went on  to a career as a corporate executive in Los Angeles…Berkeley became only the third Northern school since 1930 to win the state team title, scoring 22 points while San Diego and Centennial tied for second with 10 each…Griffin won the 100 in  :09.6…Doug Smith of Taft Union was second, Cook third, and Buchanan fourth, each in :09.7…Hayes won the broad jump at 23-8 1/2, Wade was third in the shot put at 60-7 3/4,  and Staten was third in the 220 in :21.4 behind Griffin’s :21.1…the morning-afternoon competition took its toll on the Cavemen…Staten pulled out of the 180-yard low hurdles trials, which were 5 minutes after the 220 heats…San Diego recovered to finish second in the relay in 1:27.2, Berkeley the winner in 1:27….

It’s been a slow year in San Diego Section track and field, although business  picked up a little in the last couple invitationals, Arcadia and Mt. St. Antonio.

Two more weeks of dual meets, plus the annual Escondido Invitational, will take girls and boys competitors into league trials, the first step toward the state meet at Buchanan High in Clovis, June 3-4.

Cathedral’s Dani Johnson, the Section record holder at :13.88 in the 100 hurdles and  :41.34 in the 300 barriers, has missed almost all of the season with injuries.

It would take a remarkable comeback at this point in the season for Johnson to return to form.  She also also ran a leg for the Dons’ 4×400 relay team that set a Section record of 3:47.63 last year.

San Diego Section marks in the state top 10 in parenthesis and state leaders:

BOYS

EVENT	MARK	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	NAME	SCHOOL
200	:21.7 (10)	Agbede	Cathedral	:20.41	Norman	Vista Murrieta
400	:48.47 (10)	Shaheed	Mt. Carmel	:45.51	Norman	Vista Murrieta
110HH	:14.47 (10)	Alvarado	Rancho Buena Vista	:13.81	Burton	LaQuinta
PV	16-4 (3)	Brown	La Costa Canyon	16-8	Bowler	Loomis Del Oro
LJ	23-10 ¾ (5)	Battikha	St. Augustine	24-9 ½	White	Bakersfield Ridgeview
	23-7 ¼ (7)	DeRoos	Tri-City Christian
TJ	47-0 ¼ (8)	DeRoos		49-3 1/4	Hicks	Bakersfield Liberty
SP	63-0 ¾ (4)	Lenford	Oceanside	71-7 ¼	Osborn	Anaheim Esperanza
	57-2 (10)	Miller	El Camino
DISCUS	194-0 (4)	Lenford		204-4	Osborn

GIRLS

800	2:11.29 (10)	McCarthy	Carlsbad	2:09.35	Durgy	Huntington Beach
1600	4:55.66 (4)	Brown	La Costa Canyon	4:51.26	Bowen	Sonoma Academy
100H	:14.46 (8)	Nealis	Valley Center	:13.64	Davis	Agoura
300H	:44.07 (10)	Bell	Steele Canyon	:41.01	Woodward	Vacaville
4×400	3:54.12 (10)		LaCosta Canyon	3:49.80		Westlake Village Oaks Christian
HJ	5-6 (4T)	Snow	Carlsbad	5-8	Burke	Riverside Poly
		Hickey	Coronado
		Smith	Mission Hills
LJ	19-0 ½ (10)	Smith		20-6 ¾	Davis	Agoura
SP	47-0 (3)	Altice	Del Norte	53-5	Bruckner	San Jose Valley Christian
	45-9 ½ (5)	Tausaga-Collins	Mount Miguel
DISCUS	160-4 (3)	Tausaga-Collins		181-1	Bruckner

 

 

 

Five bests in the state meet, nine in the season’s final two weeks and some competitive  efforts in the finals at Clovis Buchanan High allowed area tracksters to finish on a strong note.

Weak in the flat races as compared to the rest of the state and with only one sprinter in the state’s Top 10, San  Diego Section athletes still earned 13 medals and scored 57 points. By comparison, the Section had eight medals and 38 points in 2014.

Oceanside, with strong performances by Charles Lenford and Jordan Miller, was fifth in team scoring with 23.

Lenford’s powerful performance in  the discus produced a gold medal.  He opened with a 189-foot, 11-inch throw that blew out the competition and finished with a 195-4, sixth longest in section history.

Lenford, a junior, will lead the cast of returnees already thinking about 2016. Medal-winning underclassmen also  included Nia Akins, Dani Johnson, Laulauga Tausaga, and sophomore Kiley McCarthy.

Junior Tanner Batthika didn’t make it past the long jump trials but his 24-2 long jump in the Section finals ranks among the leaders in his event.

San Diego Section athletes in the state Top 10, with rankings in parenthesis:

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	STATE	NAME	SCHOOL
100	Suzie Acolatse (4)	Mission Hills	:11.46w	:11.24w	Francis	Oxnard Rio Mesa
200	Acolatse (7)		:23.69	:22.68w	Williams	Westlake Village Oaks Christian
800	Kiley McCarthy (7T)	Carlsbad	2:08.85	2:07.09	Schroeder	Santa BarbaraSan Marcos
	Nia Akins (9)	Rancho Bernardo	2:09.07	2:08.44	Smith	Clovis North
100 Hurdles	Dani Johnson (10)	Cathedral	:13.88	:13.17	Graham	Corona Eleanor Roosevelt
300H	Johnson (3)		:41.34	:40.73	Graham
	Leah Molter (7)	Valhalla	:42.32
Shot Put	Laulauga Tausaga (3)	Mount Miguel	48-3 ½	53-5 ½	Bruckner	San Jose Valley Christian
Discus	Tausaga (4)		156-7	182-8	Bruckner
4×400 Relay		Cathedral (6)	3:47.63	3:43.33		Inglewood St. Mary’s College

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	STATE	NAME	SCHOOL
Shot Put	Lenford (4)	Oceanside	61-8	72-0	Katnik	Bellflower San John Bosco
Discus	Lenford (1)		195-4	194-8	McMorris	Santa Ana Mater Dei
Pole Vault	Tristan Zawadski (8T)	Patrick Henry	15-7	16-3 ¼	Laut	El Dorado Hills Oak Ridge
High Jump	Cedell Morris (6T)	Steel Canyon	6-9	7-0	Burke (1T)	Lemoore
					Holmes (1T)	Roseville Oakmont
					Thomas (1T)	Mountain View St. Francis
Long Jump	Tanner Batthika (4)	St. Augustine	24-2	24-10 ½	Vann	Oxnard Rio Mesa
	Jordan Miller (6)	Oceanside	24 ½
Triple Jump	Miller (4)		48-4	49-9 ¾	Brooks	Kingsburg

 

 

CLOVIS–Dani Johnson of Cathedral set two San Diego Section records and was part of another as area athletes qualified in 20 boys and girls events last night in trials of the 100^th anniversary state track meet at Buchanan High.

Including double advancers Jordan Miller, Charles Lemford, and Suzie Acolatse, the section totaled 22 qualifiers for tonight’s finals.

Johnson, rousing memories of Sweetwater icon and Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers, had the sixth fastest 100 hurdles time, 13.86, led all runners at :41.34 in the 300 hurdles and ran a leg for Cathderal’s 4×400 relay squad that qualified fourth in  3:47.63.

Johnson bettered her record in the short race and topped the :41.67 that teammate and Dons relay anchor Hannah Labrie-Smith ran in 2014.

The 4×400 Dons broke one of the oldest records in the books, Morse’s 3:49.12 in 1996.

Acolatse was second in the 100 in :11.68 and third in the 200 in  :23.87.

Miller improved his long jump almost a foot to 24-1/2 for second  and was fourth at 47-1/34 in the triple jump.  Lemford finished third in the discus at 183 and sixth in the shot put at 57-10 ¼.

BOYS

Qualifiers: Oceanside, 4; La Costa Canyon, Coronado, Rancho Buena Vista, Patrick Henry, 1 each.

100—Brock (West Hills Chaminade), 10.47.  Others:  Kendrick (Morse), 10.85. Sourapas (Parker), 11.09.

200—Norman (Vista Murrieta), 20.99.  Others: Sourapas (Parker), 22.01; Kendrick (Morse), 22.13; Hill (Cathedral), 22.46.

400—Norman (Vista Murrieta), 47.05. Others: Shaheed (Mt. Carmel), 48.54;  Jones (The Bishop’s), 49.68.

800—Cortes (Temecula Great Oak), 1:52.19.  Others: Waters (Mission Hills), 1:55.59;  DeLong (Mt. Carmel), 1:57.07; Chinn (Poway), 1:59.16.

1600—Walker (Fair Oaks Del Campo), 4:13.78; 10. Merder (La Costa Canyon), 4:15.83; 12. Armes (Coronado), 4:17.07. Other: Siegler (University City), 4:20.34.

110HH—Collins (Carson), 13.97.  8. Alvarado (Rancho Buena Vista), 14.41. Others:  Banks (El Camino), 14.89; Walcott (Morse), 15.26.

300IH—Meech (San Juan Hills), 37.21. Others: Grundling (Oceanside), 39.01;  Marcus (Calvin Christian), 39.17; Corona (Southwest), 40.76.

4×100 R—West Hills Chaminade, 40.87.  Others: Helix, 42.18;  Rancho Bernardo, 42.45.  Oceanside, DQ, lane violation.

4×400 R—L.B. Wilson, 3:14.02. Others: Rancho Buena Vista, 3:19.30. Del Norte, 3:21.30; Mt. Carmel, 3:22.41.

HJ—Ten qualified at 6-8.  Others: Morris (Steele Canyon), 6-6; Bennett (La Costa Canyon) NH ; Rokach (Rancho Bernardo), NH.

PV—Nine cleared 15-2, including 3. Zawadski (Patrick Henry).  Others:  Others: Brown (La Costa Canyon), 14-8;  Reynolds (Rancho Bernardo), 14-2.

LJ—Sousa (Kingsburg), 24-2 ½. 2. Miller (Oceanside), 24-1/2.  Other: Batthika (St. Augustine), 21-4; DeRoos  (Tri City Christian), 21-0 ¼.

TJ—Brooks (Kingsburg), 47-5¾; 4. Miller (Oceanside), 47-1 3/4. Others: Batthika (St. Augustine), 45-1; DeRoos (Tri City Christian), 44-6.

SP—Katnik (Bellflower St. John Bosco), 71-5 ¾. 6. Lemford (Oceanside),  57-10.  Others: DeMarco (Torrey Pines), 52-1;  Miller (El Camino), 51-6.

DISCUS—Tyler (Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos), 186-2.  3. Lemford (Oceanside), 183-0. Others: Ena (Vista), 161-5; Anderson (Ramona), 158-05.

GIRLS

Qualifiers: Cathedral, 3; Mission Hills, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad, 2 each; Canyon Crest, Valhalla, Mount Miguel, 1 each.

100—Francis (Oxnard Rio Mesa), 11.52;  2. Acolatse (Mission Hills), 11.68. 9.  Patterson (Rancho Bernardo), 11.99. Other:  Lidrazzah (Eastlake), 12.25.

200—3. Acolatse (Mission Hills), 23.87. Others: Patterson (Rancho Bernardo), 24.28.  Mason (Carlsbad), 24.81.

400—Waller (Clovis Buchanan ), 53.78.  Others: Mongiovi (West Hills), 56.45 ; Frank (Morse), 57.35; Scott (Westview), 57.76.

800—Hill (Etiwanda), 2:08.06.  3. Akins (Rancho Bernardo), 2:09.20.  6.  McCarthy (Carlsbad), 2:09.64;  Other: Robertson (LJ), 2:11.83.

1600—Collins (Temecula Great Oak), 4:47.26. 11. Bernd (Canyon Crest), 4:56.28.  Others: Abrahamson (La Costa Canyon), 5:15.87; Laurenzana (San Pasqual), 5:17.11.

100H—Graham (Corona Roosevelt), 13.45. 6. Johnson (Cathedral), 13.86 (Section No. 1 all-time, betters 14.12 by Johnson, 5/23/15). Others: Nealis (Valley Center), 14.81; Molter (Valhalla), 15.46.

300H—Johnson (Cathedral), 41.34 (Section No. 1 all-time, betters 41.67 by Hannah Labrie-Smith, Cath., 2014). 8.  Molter (Valhalla), 42.54. Other: Bell (Steele Canyon), 45.01.

4×100 R—Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 45.75.  Others: Cathedral Catholic, 47.91; Rancho Bernardo, 48.41; Torrey Pines, 48.76.

4×1600 R—4. Cathedral Catholic, 3:47.63 (Section No. 1 all-time, betters 3:49.12, Morse, 1996).  Others: Poway. 3:54.21; Rancho Bernardo, DQ, lane violation.

HJ–Beattie (Ventura Buena) led seven at 5-6.  8T, Snow (Carlsbad), 5-4.

PV—Eight cleared 12-2. Others: Wagenvald (Calvin Christian), 11-8; Chandler (Torrey Pines), NH.  Myers (Poway), NH.

LJ—Corrin (Studio City Harvard), 20-9; Others:  Noiseaux (Eastlake), 16-8 ¾; Harvey (Granite Hills), 16-8 ½; Iwanowicz (Torrey Pines), 15-10.

TJ—Davis (Agoura), 40-08. 14. Harvey (Granite Hills), 37-6 ¾; Galloway (Cathedral), 36-10 ½; Noiseaux (Eastlake), 36-1 ¾.

SP—Bruckner, Corona Roosevelt, 49-11 ½.  5. Tausaga (Mount Miguel), 44-11 3/4. Others: Mohammed (Imperial), 39-2 ¾; Jackson (Castle Park), 34-7 ½.

DISCUS—Mader (Newbury Park), 154-2.  Others: Sola (Morse), 124-0; Drummond (San Marcos), 122-6.