San Diego Section track and field athletes kept getting better, but so was everyone else.

Excellent marks were posted, some that would have shattered records a few years before, but didn’t earn a mention in this  narrative because of ever-increasing volume, i.e., more and more good performances.

With two qualifiers  in each event, the section advanced 44 entries to the 54th state meet at Las Plumas High in Oroville.

Eleven of the 44 survived the trials. Only three scored points or finished in the top five of their events in the finals.

Whether it was the two-day grind under a hot sky and the pressure of the great event, or that many marks in San Diego Section meets were made on the blazing fast Balboa Stadium all-weather oval, or that human timers either were too slow starting their watches or too fast shutting them down.

COTTON COMES UP SHORT

Most disappointed was El Cajon Valley’s Terry Cotton, the favorite in the mile who ran a career best 4:05.5 but was upset by Garden Grove’s Mark Schilling in 4:05.4.

Cotton had won his trial in 4:11.4, more than four seconds faster than the next qualifier, and Schilling was ninth, running 4:19.8.

“I just ran out of energy in the last stretch,” said Cotton to Will Watson of The San Diego Union.  “I really didn’t tie up in my legs,  but I just didn’t have it for that final surge.”

Schilling, whose best had been 4:09.9, took a narrow lead about 60 yards from the finish line, holding on and breaking the meet record of 4:07, by Chula Vista’s Tim Danielson in 1966.

De WHO?

Escondido’s Tom De Julien, who did not win in the Avocado League finals or the San Diego Section meet, was fourth in the pole vault with a career high of 14-6.

De Julien had cleared a lifetime best of 13-9, three inches better than before, in Friday’s trials.

Along the way De Julien caught a break.

“I broke my pole on Wednesday,” said the Cougars’ senior, who earned the fourth place medal with fewer misses than two other vaulters.

De Julien reported that he had to drive to Lo Angeles the next day to get another pole.   The new implement was stiff.

“I had trouble getting to the pits on my first couple of run-throughs,” said De Julien.  “but I just put my mind to it that I was going to vault with it.”

5/5/72

WESTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @MESA COLLEGE

Point Loma’s John Willson set a Western League record with a :49.0 clocking in the 440-yard dash.

Jimmy Willson, father of John, led San Diego High to the state team championship in 1929, winning the 100-yard dash in :09.8 and 220 in :21.4 in finals at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

John Willson bettered the league record of :49.7 by Larry Godfrey of Clairemont in 1962.

Mike Person of Kearny equaled the meet record in the 120-yard high hurdles that Person set in 1971, running :14.4.

Bruce Girasole of Madison set the pace in the sprints, winning his heat in the 100 in :09.9 and 220 in :22.3.

La Jolla and Point Loma each qualified 11 for the finals and Kearny followed with 9.  Madison and Clairemont each had 6, Mission Bay 5, and University 3.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE TRIALS, @EL CAJON VALLEY

Terry Cotton of El Cajon Valley won his heat in the mile in 4:14.7 and El Capitan’s Curt Hampton hurled the shot 54 feet, 8 1/4 inches but Grossmont led with 20 qualifiers.

El Capitan, Helix, and Granite Hills had 14 qualifiers each; El Cajon Valley (13), Mount Miguel (10), Monte Vista (9), and Santana (7) filled out.

EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Lanard Morris’ 09.9 100 and :21.8 220 and Vernon Martin’s :15.3 and :19.9 hurdles victory represented the day’s only double victories but Crawford led with 13 qualifiers to Lincoln’s 11.

Morse was third with nine qualifiers, followed by Patrick Henry, 8; Hoover, 7; San Diego, 6, and St. Augustine, 3.

Hoover’s Phil Eisenhart won his 880 heat in 1:57.1.

Avocado and Metropolitan League team wrapped their dual meet seasons.

Bob Caulk of Coronado got off the 11^th best shot put in area history, 59-6 ¾, in a 61-53 loss to Chula Vista.

Bill Harvey of Vista whirled the discus 160-2 in the Panthers 88½-38½ win over Carlsbad, whose Marquez ran the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.

5/9/72

AVOCADO LEAGUE TRIALS, @OCEANSIDE

The host Pirates advanced 15 entries to the finals, ahead of Vista’s 10, and 9 by Carlsbad, 8 each by San Marcos and Escondido, 5 each by Orange Glen and San Dieguito, and 4 each by Poway and Fallbrook.

Oceanside’s Kevin Muldoon, the top quarter miler, was given an injury bye into the finals.  Teammate Kevin Cochran posted a :50.8 440.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE TRIALS, @SWEETWATER

Gusty winds kept marks in the margins.

Mar Vista’s Marty Hauck clocked :50.8 in a 440 heat.

Mar Vista led with 12 qualifiers, followed by Castle Park, 8, Bonita Vista, 6, Chula Vista, 5, Coronado, Hilltop, Montgomery, and Sweetwater, 4 each.

The records for the Class B 880 was broken three times:

Manuel Monroy of Sweetwater ran 2:06.4 in the first heat.  Ocheltree of Chula Vista ran 2:04.8 in the second heat, and Bracamontes of Sweetwater finished with a 2:03.5 in the third heat.

5/12/72

LEAGUE FINALS

Instead of the first three finishers in each event qualifying for the CIF Trials the following week, the County Coaches’ Association voted to advance the first five in the following:

100, 220, 440, 120-yard high and 180-yard low hurdles, and 440 and mile relay teams.

In addition, more competitors than the top three finishers will be allowed to move on in the 880, mile, and two-mile races, plus field events if qualifying standards were met.

Standards included 1:59 880, 4:28 mile, 9:40 two mile, 6-foot, 2-inch high jump, 22-foot long jump, 51-foot shot put, 140-foot discus, and 13-foot pole vault.

Southern League trials and finals will be at Ramona on May 13.

EASTERN LEAGUE, @BALBOA STADIUM

Lincoln outscored Morse, 66-57, for the team championship and the Tigers’ James Milton was star of the show.

Milton’s :09.5 in the 100-yard dash bettered the record of :09.6 by Vernus Ragsdale of Lincoln in 1962 and Charles Sanford of San Diego in ’63.

Milton returned to run :21.2 in the 220 on the Stadium curve for another record, although timers were thought to have been fast on their stopwatch thumbs.

There had been allowable wind in the 100 and more than allowable wind in the 220, although no wind gauge, usually available for big Stadium track meets, was not on the grounds.

Milton had been slowed by a pulled muscle in his leg three weeks before in the dual meet with Lincoln and had been byed into the league finals.

Lincoln runners David Lamar Leonard Moore, Wally Henry, and Lanard Morris ran the second fastest 440 rely in the state, their :41.6 second to Compton Centennial’s :41.4.

Morse was second in the relay in :42.3, Crawford third in :42.5.

Vernon Martin if Lincoln was a double winner in the hurdles in :14.9 and :19.6 and Hoover’s Brad Davis set a record of 57-8½ in the shot put, erasing the 56-9¾ by Lincoln’s Mike Lee in 1969.

Class B high jumper Charles Edwards of San Diego cleared 6 feet, 3 inches, to top the record of 6-2 ¾ shared by Morse’s Arnie Robinson and Lincoln’s Doug Jones in 1964 and ’66, respectively.

WESTERN LEAGUE, @MESA COLLEGE

Bruce Girasole of Madison ran :09.7 to break the record of :09.8 by Kearny’s Vince Breddell in 1970.  Girasole also won the 220 in :22.4.

Mike Person of Kearny bettered his league record of :14.2 in the 120-yard high hurdles with a :14.1 effort and won the 180 lows in :19.7.

Mark Perry of La Jolla nosed out Mission Bay’s Rory Trup in the 880, 1:56.3 to Trup’s 1:56.4.

Madison outscored Kearny, 50-47, for the team title.  Point Loma had 43, Clairemont 34, La Jolla 25, Mission Bay 17, and University 8.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE, @MONTE VISTA.

Terry Cotton’s 4:10.1 mile shattered the record of 4:13.4 by El Cajon Valley’s Tom Davidson in 1968, when Cotton was an eighth grader waiting to enroll the following year at El Cajon Valley.

El Cajon Valley won the team championship with 49 ½ points to Grossmont’s 48.  Trailing were Granite Hills, 37, Helix 32, El Capitan 31½, Mount Miguel 27, Santana 19, and Monte Vista 12.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE, @SWEETWATER

Mark Kreisher of Mar Vista set the meet’s only record with a 6-5 1/4 high jump that topped the 6-4 1/4 by Grossmont’s Bill Jones in 1961.

Tom Schutte, Kreisher’s teammate, was second at 6-4-1/2.

The Mariners’ Marty Hauck raced to a 1:56 clocking in the 880 and doubled back to win the 440 in :51.1.

Mar Vista outscored Chula Vista, 59-42, for the team title.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE, @RAMONA

Donald Tavie of San Diego Military won the 100 in :10.4 and 220 in :23.5 and led San Diego Military Academy to the team championship.

The Eagles had 47 points to Christian’s 41, and Ramona’s 40. La Jolla Country scored 35, Julian 20, Army-Navy 14, Mountain Empire 13, San Miguel 8, and Francis Parker 6.

Mitchell of Ramona logged a 2:01.7 in the 880 that broke the 2:03.5 record by McMullen of Brown Military in 1946.

King of Ramona ran :51.6 in the 440 to better the record of :52.4, set in 1967 by Burton of La Jolla Country Day, and Arthur of Julian ran 4:48.1 in the mile, better than the 4:51.8 by Darrough of Ramona in 1955.

AVOCADO LEAGUE, @ESCONDIDO

No team scores were kept, but Oceanside had to feel good, especially Robert Mosley, who won the 120-yard high hurdles, 180-yard lows, broad jump, and anchored the winning 440-yard relay team.  Mosley’s times were :14.8 and :19.7 in the hurdles.  He jumped 22-10 ¾, and the Pirates’ :42.9 easily won the baton race.

Oceanside Sophomore and future world triple jump champion Willie Banks was fourth in the high hurdles in :15.1 and second in the broad jump at 21-11 ¼.

Vista’s Vic Scimo was second in :50.3 to the 50.1 of Oceanside’s Kevin Muldoon in the 440 and set a meet record of 1:55.7 in the 880, better than the 1:56.4 the Panthers’ Stan Leonard logged in 1971.

5/18/72

SAN DIEGO SECTION DISCUS TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Greg Baer of Grossmont led with a throw of 157 feet, 1 inch, beating favored Bill Harvey and Haskell Hallmark of Vista.

5/20/72

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Madison’s Bruce Girasole, who won the class C 180-yard dash for Southern Section team champion Costa Mesa Estancia in 1971, logged a :09.8 100 and :21.6 220.  Morse’s James Milton also ran :09.8 in his 100 heat but pulled up with recurring muscle soreness in his leg in the 220.

Oceanside’s Robert Mosley, the County leader with a broad jump of 23-11 ¼, couldn’t reach 20-11 3/4, which would have qualified, and barely advanced after running :15.3 in the 120-yard high hurdles.

El Cajon Valley’s Terry Cotton won his mile heat in 4:10.3, beating Armando Velasco of Fallbrook.  Velasco, who’d given Cotton problems during the cross country season, ran his all-time best, 4:14.7.

Nine runners timed :50.8 or faster in the 440, led by Point Loma’s John Willson at :48.6.

Nine runners ran 1:58.2 or faster in the 880, led by Vista’s Vic Scimo at 1:55.

5/27/72

SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Madison’s Bruce Girasole won the 100-yard dash in 09.6 and 220 in :21.4, both meet records.

“I just kept looking ahead (in the 100),” said Girasole. “because I thought (Lanard) Morris would make a charge.

“I would have been more psyched up if (James) Milton had been in there.  I knew he’d make an effort because he was No. 1 all year.

Lincoln’s Lenard Morris was second in :09.8 in the 100 but Milton, with leg problems all year, scratched after anchoring Morse to fourth in the 440 relay.

Girasole had traveled to Norwalk the night before to watch the Southern Section finals.  “I was in bed by 1, though.  I still like to keep track of those guys.”

Vista’s Vic Scimo ran the 10th fastest 880 in County history, 1:53.5 and teammates Jay Semensow and Bill Harvey won the shot put and discus, respectively, at 59-2 ¾ and 164-9.

Kearny’s Mike Person tied the high hurdles record of :14.1, shared by Lincoln’s David Edwards (1966), Doug Jones (’68), and Wes Babcock (’71).

Oceanside sophomore Willie Banks won the broad jump with a leap of 23-4 ¼.

Best mark of the day was by El Cajon Valley’s Terry Cotton.

Cotton ran laps of :60.1, :62.4, 65.6, and :60 that got Cotton home in 4:08,1.

Pre-meet favorite Lincoln was fifth with 13 points as Vista (32) and Oceanside (30) formed a powerful, North County 1-2.  Madison was third with 21.6.

6/2/72

54^TH STATE TRACK TRIALS, @LAS PLUMAS HIGH, OROVILLE

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100 Yards	Girasole	Madison	:09.9	T6th
	Morris	Lincoln	:10.2	—
220 Yards	Girasole		:21.7	6th
	Finn	La Jolla	:22.6	—
440 Yards	Willson	Point Loma	49.2	7th
	Haynes	Mission Bay	:50.8	—
880 Yards	Scimo	Vista	1:53.9	8th
	Trup	Mission Bay	1:55.3	—
Mile	Cotton	El Cajon Valley	4:11.4	1st
	Velasco	Fallbrook	4:18.4	5th
120-yard high hurdles	Person	Kearny	:14.4	9th
	Mosley	Oceanside	:14.9	—
180-yard low hurdles	Henry	Lincoln	:19.7	12th
	Mosley			—
High Jump	Green	Oceanside	6-4	T1.
	Walker	Morse	6-2	14th
Long Jump	Banks	Oceanside	22-4 ½	14th
	Baldwin	Patrick Henry	22-0	15th
Shot Put	Caulk	Coronado	59-7	5th
	Semensow	Vista	59-0 ½	8th
Discus	Hallmark	Vista	159-9	12th
	Harvey	Vista	153-6	15th
Pole Vault	De Julien	Escondido	13-9	T1
	Kurtz	Madison	—	—
4×110 Relay		Crawford	:42.8	17th
4x440Relay		Oceanside	:43.2	18th

TWO-MILE RUN FINALS

	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
	Close	Monte Vista	—	—
	Dick	San Dieguito	—	—

6/3/72

54^TH STATE TRACK MEET, @OROVILLE LAS PLUMAS HIGH

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100 Yards	Bruce Girasole	Madison	:09.9	7th
220 yards	Girasole		:21.7	5th
880 yards	Vic Scimo	Vista	1:54.4	8th
Mile	Terry Cotton	El Cajon Valley	4:05.5	2nd
	Alberto Velasco	Fallbrook	4:17.5	6th
120-yard high hurdles	Mike Person	Kearny	—	—
High Jump	Ed Green	Oceanside	6-0	13th
Shot Put	Jay Semensow	Vista	56-10 1/2	11th
Pole Vault	Mike DeJulien	Escondido	14-6	4th

It almost was all quiet on the San Diego County track and field front.

Pole vaulter Bob Henderson of San Diego high tied for second in the state meet at 12 feet, 9 inches, and was the only local entry to score.

Henderson had a career best of 13 feet and teammate Ben Sohn was one of the better shot putters in Southern California with a best of 50 feet, 8 1/4 inches.

4/2/36

Metropolitan League nomenclature was changing.

A Class C competition was being added in the upcoming league meet at San Diego State and joined by Class A and Class B entries.

The Metro was formed in 1933 and league championship meets in the first three years included two classes, Unlimited and Limited.

Classes are to be determined by exponents, i.e., height, weight, and age.

With 259 entries from eight schools, competition will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until the late afternoon, according to meet director Morris Gross.

4/4/36

Rain washed out the Metropolitan League championships at San Diego State.

4/11/36

San Diego won the sponsored De Molay track meet, part of the Pacific Exposition in Balboa Park and on an apparent temporary track and field site at the Exposition site.

The Hilltoppers had 38 points, followed by Whittier, 33; Montebello, 32; Compton, 21; Sweetwater, 5; Oceanside 3, and Point Loma, Huntington Beach, Coronado, Hoover, and Santa Ana, 1 each.

Five-foot, 8-inch Bob Henderson won two of the Hilltoppers’ five first places, pole vaulting 12 feet, 9 inches, and high jumping 5-11 ¾.

Ben Sohn hurled the shot 50-8 ¼, bettering the school record of 49-6 ½ by Ray Russell in 1930.  Leslie Webb won the 120-yard high hurdles in :16.6 and C.P. McVay won the discus throw at 117-7.

Virgil DeLapp of Montebello created buzz when he won the 880-yard run in a blazing 1:54.6, but twice around the track oval was determined to cover only 796 yards.

4/17/36

San Diego was first in 10 of 13 events and won its Coast League meet at Santa Ana, 83-30.

Ben Sohn won the shot put at 50-3, Bob Henderson the pole vault at 12-3, and Jerry Rudrauff the broad jump at 21-8 1/2.

Bob Henderson and sophomore future star Bob Logan tied for first in the high jump, each clearing 5-9 7/8.

4/18/36

Grossmont coach Ladimir (Jack) Mashin, described as the “Greyhound of the Foothills,” (later known as the Fox of the Foothills) suggested to fellow coaches during the San Diego State-La Verne-Whittier triangular meet that Mashin could run eight laps on the Aztecs’ oval in 14 minutes.

Coaches Hal Niedermeyer of Coronado; Lawrence Carr of La Jolla, and Joe Beerkle of Point Loma, and two others each ponied up $1.

Mashin covered the two miles in 13:43.5 and walked away with $5.

—Hoover’s Don Grenfell was reported to be timed in :22.2 for first place in the 220 in the Davis Relays, near Sacramento.

4/20/36

Billy Gray set a Grossmont school record when he ran :25.5 in the 220 low hurdles at San Diego State, where the Aztec freshmen defeated the Foothillers, 71-28.

4/21/36

San Diego outscored Hoover, 82-31, in their annual dual meet, and set four meet records.

Leslie Webb ran the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.9.  Bob Henderson pole vaulted 12 feet, 9 inches. C.P. McVay whirled the discus 114-6, and Ben Sohn heaved the shot 48-9 ½.

Dick Grenfell was a double winner for Hoover, :10.1 in the 100-yard dash and :23.2 in the 220.

Jerry Rudrauff of San Diego won the broad jump with a leap of 22-1 ½.

4/23/36

Grossmont’s Billy Gray, who set a school record three days before in the 220-yard low hurdles and a consistent 45-foot shot putter, was declared ineligible for the Metropolitan League finals.

CIF boss Seth Van Patten upheld a league ruling after Grossmont coach Jack Mashin took the matter to the higher authority for clarification.

Metro bosses cited Gray for playing in a Sunday baseball game on April 12, a week after the original date of the league track finals.

Someone in the Metro ratted out Gray for a seemingly minor transgression.

4/24/36

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS @SAN DIEGO STATE

Grossmont could not defend its league championship, finishing fourth in team standings, the loss of Gray meaning expected points in the hurdles and shot put, and in the 880-yard relay, in which the Foothillers did not run.

Oceanside was first in Class A with 48 points.  La Jolla led Class B with 45 points, and Coronado’s 35 was first in Class C.

A total of 22 records were set in the 32 events.

Oceanside’s Billy Huntales raced to a :10.2 win in the 100 and broad jumped 21-6 for two Class A records.

Jerry Soule of La Jolla set three Class B records, 5-10 ½ high jump, :09.6 70-yard high hurdles, and :14.4 120-yard low hurdles and Class C teammate Jim Tripp also tripled, :10.8 100, 20-6 broad jump, and record, :24.8 220.

—San Diego went North to Alhambra without shot putter Ben Sohn, who apparently missed the bus. The Hilltoppers still won, 72 ½-46 ½, and Charles Bell, not Jerry Rudrauff, was reported to have won the broad jump at 22 feet, 2 inches.

5/2/36

BAY LEAGUE FINALS, @LONG BEACH WILSON

Hoover was seventh in a field of seven teams with 12 points as the Wilson Bruins ran away with the team championship with 64 ½ points, outdistancing Santa Monica, which had 35 ½.

Hoover’s Dave Grenfell was fourth in the 100 and third in the 220, races with winning times of :10 and :21.7.

Hoover’s Bud Berg was timed in 2:04.2 and was fifth in the 880 behind the winning 2:02.7.

The Cardinals also were last in Class B with 6 points and were blanked in Class C.

COAST LEAGUE FINALS, @ALHAMBRA

Glenn Broderick’s Hilltoppers rebounded from the 59 ½-53 ½ dual meet loss to Long Beach Poly.

The border city team won two events and tied for first in another, enough for the Hilltoppers to edge Long Beach Poly, 65 1/6-61 2/3, in the team race.

Leslie Webb’s :16.1 in the 120-yard high hurdles, Bob Henderson’s 13-foot pole vault, and Rudy Gonzalez’ 6-1 ¾ high jump, which was matched by a Long Beach Wilson jumper, put  Broderick’s thinclads over the top.

5/8/36

CIF DIVISIONAL, @SAN DIEGO STATE

Bill Huntales won a heat in the 100-yard dash in :10.2 and broad jumped 22 feet, 1/2 inch to lead Oceanside to the team lead with 38 points.

Entries were from the Metropolitan and Imperial Valley leagues.

First-place finishers automatically qualified.  Others could advance after their marks were compared with those from other divisional meets.

5/8/36

CIF DIVISIONAL, @GLENDALE HOOVER

San Diego High entries were aligned against qualifiers from the Bay, Foothill, and Prep leagues.

Bob Henderson of San Diego tied for first with Dave Bodkins of Inglewood at 13 feet in the pole vault.  Hilltopper John Barnhill also qualified, but did not clear 12-3.

Ben Sohn of San Diego was second in the shot put at 48-9 ¼ and teammate Jerry Rudrauff was third in the broad jump at 21-5.

CIF FINALS, @LONG BEACH WILSON

5/16/36

San Diego scored 9 ½ points to finish sixth in team scoring as seven Wilson athletes scored 27 ½ points.

Los Angeles Jefferson, 1935 champion, did not participate as the school had joined others in forming the L.A. City Section.

Pasadena Muir was second with 14 ½, fired by the early-in-the-meet victory at 23 feet, ¾ inches in the broad jump by Jackie Robinson.

Eddie Arnold, Robinson’s teammate, won the Class B broad jump at 23-2 ½.

Bob Henderson of San Diego tied for first with Dave Bodkins of Inglewood at 12-6 in the pole vault; Henderson’s teammate, John  Barnhill, was third at 12 feet, and Ben Sohn was fourth with a 50-2 ¼ effort in the shot put.

5/23/36

22nd STATE MEET, @GRIDLEY HIGH.

About 125 athletes, including one from San Diego, competed in 90-degree weather at the high school 55 miles North of Sacramento.

Bob Henderson of San Diego tied for second in the pole vault with Jim Peterson of Carpinteria, behind the 12-11 by Dave Bodkins of Inglewood.

Pasadena Muir Tech, aided by a CIF decision to allow Southern Section Class B broad jump champion Eddie Arnold to compete, upset Long Beach Wilson, 18-15 in final point totals.

Arnold, who set a Class B meet record of 23-2 ½ a week before, won the event with a jump of 23-1 ¾.  Jackie Robinson was not listed as placing in the top five.

Sophomores Alison Dring of Mt. Carmel and Erin Blunt of San Pasqual gave promise but only four of the original 45 qualifiers from the San Diego Section finished in the top five in finals at the state meet.

6/1/90

17^TH GIRLS STATE TRACK TRIALS, @CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Kimmey	University City	:12.10	8th*
	McKinney	Monte Vista	:12.20	10th
	Henderson	Morse	:12.28	13th
200	Dring	Mt. Carmel	:25.11	10th
	Henderson	Morse	:25.16	11th
	Kimmey		—	—
400	Dring		:55.55	2nd*
	Bugg	Patrick Henry	:57.59	7th*
	Freeman	Crawford	—	—
800	Stowell	Mt. Carmel	2:16.78	12th
	Scott	Mt. Carmel	2:18.57	19th
	Schoene	La Jolla	2:24.07	26th
1600	Schiebel	Orange Glen	5:10.83	14th
	Faye	San Pasqual	5:11.50	15th
	Ferguson	La Jolla	5:14.10	17th
100 Hurdles	Dill	Poway	:14.17w	2nd*
	Blunt	San Pasqual	:14.60	13th
300 Hurdles	Blunt		:44.05	6th*
	Dill		:46.69	19th
4×100 Relay		Morse	:48.37	12th
		Mt. Carmel	:48.87	13th
		Lincoln	:48.95	16th
4×400 Relay		Mt. Carmel	3:56.27	10th
		San Pasqual	3:56.39	11th
		Lincoln	4:01.05	16th
High Jump	Armstrong	Torrey Pines	5-4	8T*
	Weeks	Madison
	Barnes	Granite Hills	5-0	20T
Long Jump	Crisell	Fallbrook	16-9	18th
	Conston	Oceanside	16-3 ½	20th
Triple Jump	Sims	Oceanside	38-3/4	6th*
	Harrison	Mount Miguel	37-3 ¼	9th*
	Andrews	Torrey Pines	35-8 ¾	16th
Shot Put	Houston	Montgomery	39-2 ¾	10th*
	Bailey	Ramona	36-5 ¼	19th
	Beers	Poway	—	—
Discus	Bihis	Mt. Carmel	139-6	6th*
	Wadlington	Granite Hills	118-9	20th
	Allen	El Capitan	109-02	23rd

6/2/90

17^TH GIRLS STATE FINALS, CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Kimmey	University	:12.10	5th
400	Dring	Mt. Carmel	:55.07	3rd
	Bugg	Patrick Henry	—	—
3200	Glusac	Fallbrook	11:10.01	7th
	Armstrong	San Dieguito	11:10.69	11th
	Villareal	La Jolla	11:13.73	15th
100 Hurdles	Dill	Poway	:14.19	5th
300 Hurdles	Blunt	San Pasqual	:43.95	7th
High Jump	Armstrong	Torrey Pines	5-6	7th
Triple Jump	Sims	Oceanside	38-2 ½	2nd
	Harrison	Mount Miguel	36-5	8th
	Bihis	Mt. Carmel	133-6	8th

Seventeen of 48 qualifiers from the San Diego Section finals advanced from the 72^nd state meet trials at Cerritos College in Norwalk, including San Diego Section all-timers, Brent Noon of Fallbrook and Jerome Price of University City.

Nine of the 17, or 53 per cent, scored points based on at least a top six finish in the finals.

Noon, the 1969 state champion at 66-1 ½, defended his shot put title with a throw of 74 feet, 4 3/4 inches and came close to the national record of 77 feet in another competition, with a career best of 76-2.

The nearest anyone would come to Noon’s CIF meet standard in the next 30-plus years was more than two feet less, 72-0 by Matt Katnik of Bellflower St. John Bosco in 2015.

Noon was second in the discus at 200-8, his all-time best despite still recovering from a sore hamstring muscle.

Price won the long jump at 25-3 ½, and had several legal and wind-sided attempts trying to break Doyle Steel’s Section record of 25-5 ¼, once jumping 25-8 with more than the allowable wind allowance.

Sophomore Riley Washington of San Diego Southwest gave notice of what to expect in the future, finishing third in the 100 meters in :10.70.

5/3/90

Fallbrook’s Brent Noon hurled the shot 76 feet, 2 inches, a personal improvement of almost two feet in a dual meet with Torrey Pines.

Noon’s distance, second best all-time in the U.S., moved him closer to the accepted national record of 77 feet by Michael Carter of Jefferson high in Dallas in 1979.  Carter had a throw of 81-3 ½ in the postseason Golden West Invitational.

Noon also set a personal best and a San Diego Section record with a 196-6 effort in the discus, bettering Billy Joe Winchester’s 195-8 in 1970.

—Pat Pidgeon of St. Augustine became the first record holder in the first Harbor League finals, clearing 13 feet in the league meet at Balboa Stadium.

–Scott Hammond ran the 100 meters in :10.6 as Lincoln clinched the Eastern League dual championship, 71-54 over Crawford.

5/9/90

BOYS

EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

George Denny of Morse won a 400 heat in :49.2 and ran a leg on the Tigers’ 400 relay team that included Brian Griffith, Teddy Lawrence, and Stephan McQueen.  The Tigers quartet was timed in :42.1.

Patrick Henry’s David Gregory (:49.5) and Mira Mesa’s Sean Cahill (:50) ran 1-2 in another 400 heat.

AVOCADO LEAGUE TRIALS, @MIRACOSTA COLLEGE

Pulu Poumele of Oceanside (51-11 ¾) edged Junior Cienega of Escondido (51-11 3/8) in the shot put, setting up a rematch in the finals.

5/10/90

FINALS

PALOMAR @MIRACOSTA COLLEGE

Poway’s Steve Pomiak was a triple winner and named athlete of the meet.  Patrick won the 100-meter dash in :11. 200 in :22.8, and long jumped 22 feet, 7 inches.

Fallbrook’s Brent Noon set a San Diego Section record in the discus with a throw of 195-9, topping the 1970 mark of 195-8 by Mount Miguel’s Billy Joe Winchester.

5/11/90

PALOMAR SHOT PUT, @ORANGE GLEN

Brent Noon of Fallbrook smashed his meet record with an effort of 75 feet, 2 inches.

METROPOLITAN, @HILLTOP

Riley Washington of San Diego Southwest won the 100 (:10.80), and 220 (:21.7) and was a member of the winning 4×100 (:43.5) and 4×1600 (3:30.4) relay teams.

Castle Park’s Eric Bell struck four hurdles but still managed to finish the 110 highs in :14.8 and won the 300 barriers in :40.2.

Hector Hernandez of Mar Vista won the mile in 4:27.8 and two-mile in 9:54.7.

AVOCADO, @ MIRACOSTA COLLEGE

Junior Cienega of Escondido won the shot put showdown with Oceanside’s Pulu Poumele, 56-2 ¾-53-0.

Escondido doubled in the relays, :42.9 in the 4×100 and 3:24.3 in the 4×1600.  The Cougars Keith Williams  was byed into the CIF trials in the 300 hurdles.

GROSSMONT 3-A, @HELIX

El Capitan edged Helix, 75-74, for the team championship, with Granite Hills at 73 ½, Monte Vista, 32, and Mount Miguel, 19.

David Loshenkohl of Granite Hills was a double winner, 53-8 ½ in the shot put and 145-4 in the discus. Chris Ruff of El Capitan won the 110 hurdles in :14.9, 300 hurdles in :40.5, and ran a leg for the Eagles’ 4×1600 relay.

GROSSMONT 2-A, @HELIX

Santana outscored Grossmont, 96-71, for the team title.  El Cajon Valley had 63 points, Valhalla 31, and West Hills 28.

5/16/90

Brent Noon sustained a leg injury in the Palomar League finals but would be denied a request to be byed into the Section finals in the shot put and discus, according to CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb.

5/19/90

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Allowable wind is 2.04 meters, so Jerome Price’s 25-foot, 8-inch long jump, while better than Doyle Steel’s 25-5 ¼ in 1966, was not a record.

Nor was another wind-sided jump of 25-3, so the University City jumper settled for 25-0 ¾, second longest in County history and No. 1 in the state.

Morse’s Teddy Lawrence was second with a jump of 23-4.

San Diego Southwest sophomore Riley Washington won a heat in the 100 meters in :10.72 and Kearny’s Darnay Scott lowered the season best in the 220 to :21.55.

OTHER SEASON BESTS

Eric Bell, Castle Park, :14.46, 110 high hurdles.

Hector Hernandez, Mar Vista, 4:19.2 1600.

Lincoln 4×100 relay, :42.01.

Morse 4×1600 relay, 3:21.92.

A virtually immobile Brent Noon, nursing a tender hamstring, led qualifiers with a 61-1/2 shot put and 168-foot discus throw.

5/26/90

SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @POWAY

Morse outscored Mt. Carmel, 56-38, for the team title.
Brent Noon set a meet shot put record of 74-10 ½ and University City’s Jerome Price came close to Doyle Steel’s 25-5 ¼ broad jump in 1966, closing with a 25-4 ½ leap.

Two meet records were set.

NAME	EVENT	RECORD	NAME	PREVIOUS	YEAR
Washington, San Diego Southwest	100	:10.53	Ethridge, Crawford	:10.56	1987
Noon, Fallbrook	Shot Put	74-10 ½	Noon	66-7	1989

OTHER SEASON BESTS

—Darnay Scott, Kearny, :21.49 200.

—Sean Cahill, Mira Mesa, :48.49 400.

—Scott Robeson, Mt. Carmel, 1:54.49 800.

—Hector Hernandez, Mar Vista, 4:17.26 1600.

—Tom Bache, University, 9:25.78 3200.

—Chris Jones, Morse, :37.89 300 hurdles.

—Wes Stephens, Orange Glen, 15-0 pole vault.

—Matt Johnson, Castle Park, 46-11 triple jump.

6/1/90

72^ND STATE TRACK TRIALS, @CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK
(*qualified for finals)

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Washington	San Diego Southwest	:10.66	5th*
	Lawrence	Morse	:10.88	12th
200	Hammond	Lincoln	:21.75	8th*
400	Cahill	Mira Mesa	:50.01	16th
	Gregory	Patrick Henry	:50.26	18th
800	Robeson	Mt. Carmel	1:54.59	9th*
	Luna	Poway	1:56.96	19th
	Sanchez	Castle Park	2:01.70	27th
1600	Hernandez	Mar Vista	4:12.95	3rd*
	Walker	San Pasqual	4:14.05	9th*
	Biddle	Mt. Carmel	4:17.15	14th
4×100 Relay	Lincoln		:41.98	7th*
	Morse		:42.38	9th*
	University City		:42.60	13th
4×1600 Relay	Mira Mesa		3:17.87	4th*
	Morse		3:20.83	13th
	Poway		3:22.10	15th
110 Hurdles	Jones	Morse	:14.8	11th
	Bell	Castle Park	:14.87	14th
300 Hurdles	Williams	Escondido	:38.26	3rd*
	Lewis	Mira Mesa	:38.94	12th
	Jones	Morse	:39.97	21st
High Jump	Duffield	Vista	6-4	10th
	Krebs	University City	6-2	18th
Long Jump	Price	University City	24-4 3/4	2nd*
	Balina	Mt. Carmel	23-4 ½	5th*
	Hammond	Lincoln	22-1 3/4	13th
Triple Jump	Johnson	Castle Park	45-1/4	20th
	Lundy	Morse	43-10 ¾	22nd
Shot Put	Noon	Fallbrook	73-6	1st*
	Martz	Orange Glen	54-9 1/2	10th
	Cienega	Escondido	53-5 1/2	13th
Discus	Noon		193-6	2nd*
	Martz		168-7
	Graham	Mira Mesa	154-11
Pole Vault	Stephens	Orange Glen	14-8	9th*
	Roth	Mt. Carmel	14-0
	Aubuchon	Fallbrook	13-8

6/2/90

72^ND STATE FINALS, AT CERRITOS COLLEGE, NORWALK

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Washington	San Diego Southwest	:10.70	3rd
200	Hammond	Lincoln	:21.84	8th
800	Robeson	Mt. Carmel	1:53.89	6th
1600	Hernandez	Mar Vista	4:14.42	5th
	Walker	San Pasqual	4:18.78	7th
3200	Lozano	Helix	9:32.17	19th
	Hernandez		9:35.81	21st
	Bache	University	9:46.93	23rd
110 Hurdles	Jones	Morse	:14.90	7th
300 Hurdles	Williams	Escondido	:38.29	6th
4×100 Relay	Lincoln		:42.34	7th
	Morse		:42.38	8th
4×400 Relay	Mira Mesa		3:17.66	7th
Long Jump	Price	University City	25-3 ¼	1st
	Balina	Mt. Carmel	23-1w	5th
Shot Put	Noon	Fallbrook	74-4 ¾	1st
Discus	Noon		200-8	2nd
Pole Vault	Stephens	Orange Glen	15-2	5th

The CIF’s scoring system had evolved since the first meet in 1915. Originally a finish in the top four was awarded points and a medal.

By 1980, scoring had evolved to include recognition and points as far down as sixth place.

YEARS	FIRST	SECOND	THIRD	FOURTH	FIFTH	SIXTH
1915-28	5	3	2	1	—	—
1929-30	5	3	2	1	½	—
1931-65	5	4	3	2	1	—
1966-79	6	4	3	2	1	—
1980—	10	8	6	4	2	1

6/16/90

The 31^st Golden West Invitational in Sacramento attracted some of the nation’s premier athletes.

Brent Noon of Fallbrook won the shot put with a throw of 72 feet.  Jim Flanigan of  Brussels, Wisconsin, was second at 66-5.

University City’s Jerome Price was fourth in the long jump at 24-5 ½, behind the winning 25-5 ½ by Michael Hightower of Paris, Texas.

(Avocado and Eastern League championship meet results were not found).

San Diego High, which would have had four entries plus its relay team, opted not to participate in the 26th state meet at Visalia High, a 300-mile jaunt from the Border city.

The Hilltoppers were nosed out of the Southern Section championship (below) but would have been one of the  teams vying for the championship and had won the title as recently as 1938.

Instead, many of the Hilltoppers, Hoover Cardinals  and some  Metro athletes competed in the Amateur Athletic Union meet of the Southern California region in Balboa Stadium.

Finances were cited as the reason for not going to the state meet as the city, state, and nation still were feeling effects of the Great Depression.

Money was tight.

3/3/40

San Diego High coach Ed Ruffa and the 138 candidates for positions on the Class A, B, and C teams anxiously awaited the annual Interclass Meet scheduled over the next two days.

Rain and the midget auto racing season forced a delay.  The midgets, usually occupying the stadium calendar until early February since 1937, would leave the dirt oval in need of a resurfacing to accommodate the thinclads.

3/5/40

Resurfacing and repair of the track did not take place, nor did the interclass meet.  A peevish coach Ed Ruffa told Charles Byrne of The San Diego Union that the Hillers may have to wait until competing in the Southern Counties’ Invitational at Huntington Beach March 16.

3/6/40

Hoover shot putter George Brown, whose son George III would be a third-place medalist in the 1967 state meet and with a career best of 64 feet, 3 ½ inches for Granite Hills, set a school record of 50-1¼ in the Cardinals’ interclass meet.

Brown bettered the mark of 49-8 by Phil Krutzsch in 1937.

3/8/40

Sebastian Arguello won the 120-yard low hurdles, was third in the 440, and first with a throw of 47-5 in the shot put as Sweetwater opened Metropolitan League competition and winning the 880-yard relay in 1:38 for a 56-48 win over Point Loma.

—Escondido won the 880 relay to come from behind and edge Oceanside, 53-51, and Grossmont topped Coronado, 64 1/3-39 2/3, in other Metro openers.

3/14/40

La Jolla’s Don Latham won the Class B 660-yard race in 1:28.9 in the Vikings’ dual meet with Coronado, breaking a Metro League record of 1:30.3 by a Sweetwater runner in 1936.

3/15/40

Hoover defeated Point Loma, 82-22, in a nonleague meet in which the Cardinals’ best performers were held out because they were scheduled to participate in the Southern Counties’ Invitational at Huntington Beach the next day.

—Sweetwater set a school record of 1:37 in an 880 relay that was the difference in a 53-51 win over Oceanside. Grossmont topped Escondido, 62-42.

3/16/40

Bill Rainey won the hop, step, and jump at 42 feet, 9 inches, and San Diego High won the 880-yard relay in 1:32.2 in the Southern Counties’ Invitational at Huntington Beach High. Ollie Fletcher was one of 12 high jumpers who cleared 6 feet.  Coronado’s Minoru Hatada won the minor division broad jump at 20-1 ½.

Compton won the major division team title with 28 points to 23 ½ for San Diego.  Hoover had 8 1/2.

3/29/40

David James etched his name in Grossmont lore when he scored 16 ¼ points, the maximum possible, in the Foothillers’ 64-40 win over Sweetwater.

James won the 120 low hurdles in :14.2, the broad jump at 21-1, the 70-yard highs in :09.8, and anchored coach Jack Mashin’s Foothillers, 3-0 in league competition, to a 1:36.2 victory in the 880 relay.

4/1/40

The San Diego Relays were delayed another week because of the soggy Balboa Stadium track.

4/5/40

Long Beach Poly won the team title in the third annual San Diego Relays in Balboa Stadium with 47 points, followed by Hoover with 39 and San Diego, 21.

Hoover, led by the school record, 51-foot, 11 ½-inch toss by George Brown, set a meet record of 139-4 7/8 in the three-man shot put aggregate.  Ted Jacobs and Forrest Brown (no relation) were George Brown’s wingmen.

Don Smalley replaced an ailing Lou Barrera and teamed with Ed Pohl, Bob Klicka and Bob Estavillo to win the 440 relay in 44.2 and 880 relay in 1:32.5.

—Chuck Beckwith of San Dieguito covered the 100 and 220 in :10.1 and :22.9 and the Mustangs defeated Fallbrook, 82-22.

—David James won three events, 70-yard high hurdles (09.7), 120-yard lows (:13.5), and broad jump (21-3 ¾) and Grossmont (4-0) moved closer to the Metro League dual-meet title with a 70-34 win over Point Loma.

4/9/41

The second annual City Schools relays in Balboa Stadium included one team of Hoover and La Jolla and another of San Diego and Point Loma.

The competitors engaged in a 22-event carnival with point totals in aggregate in each running and field event. Hoover-La Jolla won, 88-85.

Highlight was the final event, in which eight athletes put on football uniforms and carried the ball in a 440-yard relay.

Hoover’s Jim Morgan anchored his team to victory after San Diego anchorman Bob Estavillo juggled a handoff.

Best individual marks were the 12-5 pole vault by Hoover’s Rodney Cole and the 12-3 by the Cardinals’ Bob O’Keefe.

4/12/40

San Diego scored a surprisingly easy, 75 ½-46 ½ dual-meet showdown victory over Hoover, the Hillers winning 10 of the 14 events and tying for first in two others.

Bob Estavillo raced to :10.1 and :22.2 victories in the 100 and 220 and anchored a 1:31 win in the 880 relay.  Bill Rainey broad jumped 22-1 and hopped, stepped, and jumped 44-7.

Rainey set a school record in the second event and bettered the meet record of 43-2 1/2 in 1938 by Hoover’s Bob Beckus.

Rodney Cole of Hoover and Calvin Gibson of San Diego each cleared 12-5 in the pole vault to better the meet record of 11-10 1/3 by Elmer Siegel of Hoover in 1933.

Hoover’s other victories were George Brown’s 49-3/4 shot put and Frank Huennekens’ 2:02.2 880.   Jack Kaiser cleared 5-11 in the high jump to tie Doug Merrill of San Diego.

—Marcus Alonzo of Sweetwater won the 100-yard race in :10.4 but lost a 220 for the first time this season, to Fritz Sanderson of Coronado, in :23.2.  Alonzo caught and passed Sanderson on the anchor leg of the 880-yard relay, giving Sweetwater a 54-50 victory.

—George (Pard) Graves broad jumped 21-6 and won the 100 (:10.4) and 220 (:24) in Point Loma’s 81-23 defeat of La Jolla.

—Grossmont edged Oceanside, 55-49, when the Pirates forfeited the 880 relay after their leadoff man false started twice and was disqualified. Ray Whitcomb broad jumped 21-9 and David James ran :13.4 in the120-yard low hurdles, both Foothillers school records.

4/20/40

San Diego won all but two events and beat Long Beach Poly, 81 2/3-40 1/3, to clinch the Coast League championship.

Lou Barrera won the 100 in :10 and tied teammate Bob Estavillo in a :22.6 220 and ran the leadoff leg of the Hilltoppers’ 1:30.0 victory in the 880 relay.

Alex Krooskos of San Diego doubled, 48-3 in the shot put and 130-6 in the discus.  Al Salmon won the mile in 4:37.1 and Calvin Gibson pole vaulted 12-7.

4/26/40

San Diego won a telegraphic meet with Tucson High of Arizona, 64-49, after results were tabulated this week.  Grossmont (6-0) clinched the Metro League dual championship, 60-44, over La Jolla.

4/30/41

Coast League Class B and C finals will be May 3 at Hoover, while Varsity athletes in the three-school alignment of Hoover, San Diego, and Long Beach Poly, will meet May 4 at Poly.

—Instead of champions in each class, points would be combined in all classes, winner-take-all.

5/2/40

Three meet records were set in Class A as San Dieguito ran away with the team championship in the Southern League finals at Ramona.

Chuck Beckwith of San Dieguito reportedly set a record of :10.2 in the 100-yard dash, won the 220 in :24 and ran a leg for the Mustangs’ record-setting 880-yard relay (1:36.5).

The Mustangs scored 96 points to runner-up Vista’s 23, but the Panthers dominated Class B with 80 points to San Dieguito’s 33 ½ and Class C, 60 to the Mustangs’ 36.

—About 260 athletes from the seven city and suburban schools, a.k.a. Metropolitan League, would hear the starter’s pistol at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow with preliminary events at San Diego State that will lead to finals in running and Class A field events at 1:30 p.m.

Dual meet champion Grossmont led with 55 entries in the 3 classes.  Point Loma and Escondido were next with 47 each.

5/3/40

COAST LEAGUE FINALS, @LONG BEACH POLY

San Diego outscored Long Beach Poly, 85 1/6-46, but the Jackrabbits were declared Coast League champions by the combined A, B, and C score of 139 ½-132. Hoover trailed in Class A with 20 5/6 and had a combined 95 ½.

San Diego’s team of Lou Barrera, Bob Klicka, Ed Pohl, and Bob Estavillo won the 880-yard relay in 1:30.6 to give San Diego a 132-131 ½ lead, but the discus had not been completed and Poly throwers finished 1-2 for eight winning points.

Bill Rainey was a double winner for the Hilltoppers with a 21-10 ¾ broad jump and 43-foot hop, step, and jump.  Al Salmon won the mile in 4:39.8, Bob Klicka the 440 in :51.9, and Lou Barrera the 220 in :22.2.

Hoover shotputter George Brown was first with a throw of 49-7 for Hoover’s only outright win.  Three San Diego (2) and Hoover (1) pole vaulters tied at 11 feet, 6 inches.

—Grossmont’s David James won a hurdles race, the broad jump, tied for second in the high jump, and anchored the Foothillers to victory in the 880-yard relay.

James scored 12 3/4 of the champion La Mesans’ 30 1/8 points that clinched the Metropolitan League team title at San Diego State. Oceanside was second with 28 ½.  Sweetwater was third with 28.

5/7/40

What was described as the Group V SCIF qualifying meet, better known as the CIF Divisional, will bring together athletes from the Metropolitan, Imperial Valley, and Southern leagues, plus San Diego and Hoover from the Coast, May 11 at San Diego State.

San Diego High was expected to compete for the Southern California Class A title and the B squad of Hoover, coached by Lawrence Carr, will have 13 entries in the Divisional.

One of the favored Cardinals, Frank Huennekens in the 660, was the 1939 Southern California champion in the Class C 660.

5/11/40

CIF DIVISIONAL, @SAN DIEGO STATE

San Diego High qualified eight entries in nine events at the Group V Divisional at San Diego State and Calvin Gibson finished an impressive day for the Hilltoppers by clearing 12 feet, 7 1/8 inches in the pole vault.

Gibson’s was at least one of the top three marks in Southern California, as was the 1:30.5 time in the 880 relay, completed by Hilltoppers Lou Barrera, Bob Klicka, Ed Pohl, and Bob Estavillo.

Barrera won the 100-yard dash in :10.1 and 220 in :22.2.  Bill Rainey was first in the broad jump at 22 feet, ½ inch, and hop, step, and jump at 44-5 ¼.

Hoover’s Jim Morgan surprised with a :51.9 victory in the 440 and George Brown led shot putters at 50 feet, 2 inches.  Most impressive was the Cardinals’ Frank Huenneken’s 1:24.6, one-tenth second off the CIF Class B 660 record.

CIF honcho Seth Van Patten was to compare the best marks from the five divisionals to determine which nine entries would be invited to next week’s finals.

5/18/40

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS, @LOS ANGELES COLISEUM

San Diego scored in seven of 13 events and was leading in the race for the team championship until the final inch of the 880-yard relay.

Compton won with 21 ½ points to the Hillers’ 19 1/3.  Santa Monica was third with 18.

Bob Smyser of the Los Angeles Times captured the moment in the meet’s final race, which began under threatening skies after rain begin to fall minutes earlier in the Class C relay:

“The baton-passing event was a real thriller.  Compton and San Diego kept together until the anchor lap, when the Hillers’ Bob Estavillo spurted six yards away from Jim Jenkins.  Jenkins, however, slowly closed the gap.  He was a couple yards behind as they hit the stretch.

“Estavillo held on gamely and it appeared that he was going to stay in front.  But with 10 yards to go the Tarbabe ace bundled himself together and blasted across the line a scant inch ahead of his foe.”

Perhaps with some theater, Jenkins collapsed at the end of the race and was carried off the track, according to the Times’ report.

The Hillers’ foursome of Lou Barrera, Bob Klicka, Ed Pohl, and Estavillo were timed in a school record, 1:29.5, same clocking for winning Compton.

Had San Diego won the relay it would have finished with 21 1/3 points and Compton with 20 ½.

Barrera was fourth in the 100 and third in the 220, won by Huntington Beach’s Eddie Morris in :09.9 and :21.6.

Ed Pohl was third in the 220 low hurdles, won by Jack Shoup of Long Beach Jordan in :24.4.  Al Salmon was second in the mile, won by Gil Webb of Redlands in 4:31.  Calvin Gibson cleared 12 feet to tie for fifth in the pole vault behind the winning 13-0 by Paul Corwin of Burbank.

Bill Rainey was third at 21-11 ½ in the broad jump, won by Jack Shoup at 22-8 ¾, but Rainey was unplaced in the hop, and jump, won by Laughner of Long Beach Wilson at 45-11 ½.

Rainey’s best jump during the season was 44-7 ½, which would have been good for third place.

CARR’S CARDINALS

Coach Lawrence Carr’s Class B team ran away with the team title, scoring 27 ½ points to runner-up Glendale’s 18, and Long Beach Wilson’s 13.

Frank Huennekens, who won the Class C 660 in 1939, was first in 1:25.2. Ray Richards won the 1320 in 3:17.6.  Jack Kaiser was first in the high jump at 5 feet, 11 inches.

The Cardinals’ Chuck Blackburn was third to a winning :10.1 100 and third to a winning :22.6 220.  Rodney Cole tied for second in the pole vault at 11-9.  Ted Jacobs was third in the shot put at 50-5 1/8.

Hoover was third in the 660 relay, in which Long Beach Wilson set a record of 1:07.4, breaking the mark of 1:07.6 by Los Angeles Garfield in 1934.

San Diego Section entries totaled only a combined 10 points in the state meet, but they set one individual state meet record and provided some excellence not seen on the scoreboard.

Clairemont’s Dale Fleet set a state meet record of 8:53.8 in the two-mile run and broke Tim Danielson’s County record of 8:55.7.  Helix’ Ed Mendoza was fifth in the two-mile and third all-time in 9:00.8.

San Diego’s 440 relay team of Melvin Jones, Clark Neal, Charles Fenderson and Elijah Turner was fourth in :41.5 and tied Lincoln’s 1968 record.  The 4:12.3 for fourth in the mile by Claremont’s David Harper was the sixth fastest ever.

Greg Gorsuch of Castle Park equaled a career best of 6-8 in the high jump although finishing sixth and Vista’s Ken Parrot long jumped 23-5 for a personal topper.

Shot putter Greg Norfleet of Morse improved from a regular-season best of 56-4 by qualifying 12^th in the trials at 57-1/4 and improving to ninth in the finals at 58-8 ¾.

My favorite was Lincoln’s Donald Tyler, who couldn’t get a call in pre-meet dope sheets but came to compete in a loaded 440.  Tyler, who won the San Diego section championship in :48.7, then surprised by advancing in the trials with a career best :48 flat.

Tyler was eighth in the finals but he tied the San Diego Section record of :47.3 and he had the same time as the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh-place finishers. I wonder if the film review of close finishes included a good look at this sizzler.

Not many medals, but  outstanding marks.

4/30/71

Greg Gorsuch cleared 6 feet, 8 inches, Steve See 6-6, and Bob Simas, 6-5 ¼, in the high jump, in the same meet, as Castle Park whipped Hilltop, 78-40, in the Metro League.

“Greg just ticked the bar at 6-9,” said Trojans coach Gray Elliott, “and he must have cleared 6-8 by three inches.”

Gorsuch also won the 120-yard high hurdles in :14.8.

—Patrick Henry won the Eastern League dual meet, 68-50, but Lincoln’s Donald Tyler ran the 220 in :21.4 on the Henry straightaway for the day’s best mark.

5/3/71

Patrick Henry defeated Clairemont, 76-42, ending a streak of 15 consecutive dual meet victories for the Chieftains, who had not been beaten since losing to Helix in the opening dual of the 1970 season.

Scott Hurst’s 1:57.9 victory in the 880, marked the first time he had gotten under two minutes this season and beat the Chiefs’ favored Randy McFarlane and David Harper.

5/7/71

EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

The all-weather track at the stadium meant that running events would go but heavy rain made the jumping pits resemble swimming pools, so field events were postponed.

Lincoln led with 13 qualifiers with Donald Tyler’s :49.4 in the 440 pacing the Hornets.  Morse sophomore James Milton (:22) edged Tyler (:22.1) in the 220.

Dual meet champion San Diego had 4 qualifiers, “but we got all our key guys in,” said Cavers coach Martin Pedigo.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE TRIALS, @El Capitan

El Capitan, dual-meet titlist Mount Miguel, and Granite Hills each qualified 17.

Winds were such that a :19.4 by Mount Miguel’s Milton Johnson in the 180-yard low hurdles disallowed a meet record.

Discus throwers, led by the 172-4 of Monte Vista’s Les Frank, took advantage of the eight m.p.h. breeze.  El Capitan’s Jim Fulcher was second at 170-10.

5/11/71

WESTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @MISSION BAY

Rory Trup, who won the San Diego Section 880-yard run in 1:55.3, with a best of 1:55.1, in 1970, ran the fastest 440 of the day, :50.2. Point Loma’s John Willson won the second heat in :50.3.

Kearny led with 14 qualifiers.  Clairemont had 12, Mission Bay and Madison nine each.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE TRIALS, @CHULA VISTA

Greg Gorsuch of Castle Park won hurdles heats in :15.3 and :20.4 and took a rest from the high jump, in which all competitors were advanced to the finals.

5/14/71

EASTERN LEAGUE, @BALBOA STADIUM

San Diego scorched a :41.8 in the opening event 440 relay and went on to win the team championship with 57 points to Lincoln’s 49, Patrick Henry’s 39, and Crawford’s 38.

San Diego’s Melvin Jones won the 100-yard dash in 09.8 and teammate Elijah Turner the 220 in :21.8.  Morse’s Greg Norfleet had a season-best 56-4 in the shot put. Donald Tyler of Lincoln ran :48.7 in the 440.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE, @CHULA VISTA

The winning high jump height was 6-4 ¾.  But the winner was not the favored Greg Gorsuch as unheralded Dave Stigen of Chula Vista out jumped Castle Park’s Steve See and Gorsuch, who was third, and their teammate Bob Simas.

Gorsuch interrupted his jumping to take part in the 440 relay.  The bar was at 6-6 when Gorsuch returned to the high jump.

According to Logan Gray Elliott, Gorsuch’s coach, his ace cleared 6-9…after the competition.

Gorsuch affected the high jump flop but Stigen used the now-vintage Western roll.

Castle Park won the team title with 52 points.  Hilltop was second with 31.

WESTERN LEAGUE, @MISSION BAY

Kearny’s Mike (Barney) Person cleared the 120 high hurdles in what was described as a wind-legal :14.4, bettering the :14.7 of Clairemont’s Steve Spiewak in 1970.

John Willson of Point Loma tied he 440 record of :49.7 by Clairemont’s Larry Godfrey in 1962.

Kim Downs of Kearny surprised the field, including defending champion Rory Trup of Mission Bay, with Downs’ 1:54.5 880, 13^th fastest in County history, but short of Bob Hose’s league-record 1:52.1 in 1964.

Kearny also surprised Clairemont, 44 points to 43, and won the team championship.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE, @EL CAPITAN

Mount Miguel (47 points) won a battle with Helix (45 1/2), El Capitan (45 ½), and Monte Vista (45) for the team championship.

Rick Schultz of Helix set a pole vault record of 14 feet, 8 ½ inches. Jim Cochran of El Cajon Valley and Schultz each had cleared 14-7 ¼, Cochran in 1968, Schultz in 1970.

AVOCADO LEAGUE, @ESCONDIDO

Vista’s Stan Leonard ran 1:56.4 in the 880 to break the 1965 record of 1:56.8 by Oceanside’s Brett Rowlett.

The 440 time of :49.5 by John Davenport of Escondido erased the :50 by Coronado’s Scott Knox in 1961 and was the fastest-ever  by a runner from a North County school.

5/21/71

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Wesley Babcock of Lincoln tied the meet record of :14.2 in the 120-yard high hurdles, won his heat in the 180 lows :19.5, and anchored Lincoln’s mile relay, which ran 3:24.3 and qualified.

The inspired Babcock cited divine providence after the Hornets entered the race not one, but two men short.  “It was a miracle,” he intoned.

Lincoln was third in its heat as Winston Sharp substituted for ill Willard Nickleberry and Donald Tyler could not run the long relay because he was in the 440 relay, plus the 220 and 440 and a CIF rule prohibited substitutions of relay personnel unless of injury or illness.

Babcock was timed in :49.5 for his leg, although one observer had him in :48.9.

San Diego was dominant in each relay, winning its heats in :41.9 and 3:19.5, respectively. Melvin Jones won a 100 heat in :09.7.

Three top pole vaulters did not qualify.

Helix’ Rick Schultz’ pole snapped and he was slowed by a pulled muscle. Glen Gunderson of Poway (13-11 ¼) was out with a back injury, and Monte Vista’s Max Gabaldon (14-4) could not find his step and was slowed by back problems.

Lincoln and Vista each qualified nine for the finals.  San Diego, Patrick Henry, Escondido, Oceanside, and Clairemont had eight each.

5/27/71

SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

A see-saw battle for the team championship went to San Diego, with 31 ½ points to Lincoln’s 30.  Clairemont followed with 28 in the closest team race since Granite Hills edged Lincoln, 26-23 in 1965.

The team race came down to the mile relay, last event.  Without Willard Nickleberry and Donald Tyler, Lincoln was fifth in 3:24.3.  San Diego won in 3:19.4 and also edged Lincoln in the short relay in :42.2, same time as for the Hornets.

David Harper and Dale Fleet kept Clairemont in the running.

Harper ran the mile in a season-best 4:12.4, beating teammate Rick Lord, who ran 4:18.8. and Fleet outran Helix’ Ed Mendoza in the two mile, 9:02 to 9:10.4.

Castle Park’s Greg Gorsuch flopped 6 feet, 6 inches, in the high jump and Chula Vista’s Dave Stigen, using the Western roll technique, also cleared 6-6, but Gorsuch won on fewer misses.

Stan Leonard of Vista won a competitive 880-yard run in 1:54.2, ahead of Mission Bay’s Kim Downs (1:54.3) and Rory Trup (1:54.4), Helix’ Bob Bishop (1:54.5), and Patrick Henry’s Scott Hurst (1:55.3).

6/5/71

53^RD STATE TRACK TRIALS, @UCLA

FIRST 3 IN EACH HEAT, TOP 12 IN FIELD EVENTS QUALIFIED

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	RESULTS	PLACE
100	James Milton	Morse	:09.8	3rd
	Melvin Jones	San Diego	:09.9	9th
220	Milton		:21.5	4th
	Elijah Turner	San Diego	:21.8	5th
440	Donald Tyler	Lincoln	:48.0	3rd
	John  Davenport	Escondido	—-	9th
880	Kim Downs	Mission Bay	1:55.3	4th
	Stan Leonard	Vista	1:55.7	6th
Mile	David Harper	Clairemont	4:14.0	2nd
	Mark Novak	Clairemont	4:19.8	6th
120HH	Barney Person	Kearny	—-	6th
	Wesley Babcock	Lincoln	—-	Scratched
180LH	David Watson	Crawford	:19.5	6th
	Bill Haynie		:19.6	7th
440 Relay		San Diego	:42.1	3rd
		Lincoln	:42.3	4th
Mile Relay		Patrick Henry	3:18.9	3rd
		San Diego	—-	Scratched
High Jump	Greg Gorsuch	Castle Park	6-6	3rd
	Dave Stigen	Chula Vista	6-4	—-
Long Jump	Ken Parrot	Vista	23-0	T-6th
	David Crouch	Crawford	22-11	10th
Shot Put	Greg Norfleet	Morse	57-1/4	12th
	Kurt Nelson	Madison	50-6	—-
Pole Vault	Steve Field	Escondido	No Height
	Francisco Zepeda	San Diego	Scratched
Discus	Jim Fulcher	El Capitan	155-11	—-
	Les Frank	Monte Vista	148-1	—-

6/6/71

53^RD STATE TRACK FINALS, @UCLA

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	RESULTS	PLACE
100	Milton		—-	7th
440	Tyler		:47.3	8th
Mile	Harper		4:12.3	4th
Two-Mile	Dale Fleet	Clairemont	8:53.8	1st
	Ed Mendoza	Helix	9:00.8	5th
440 Relay		San Diego	:41.5	4th
Mile Relay		Patrick Henry	—-	8th
High Jump	Gorsuch		6-8	6th
Long Jump	Parrot		23-5	7th
	Crouch		22-11 ¾	8th
Shot Put	Norfleet		58-8 3/4	9th