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4/10/99 at Arcadia CA High School

32nd Arcadia Invitational

Analysis of each event

by Doug Speck

1999 Arcadia Invitational - Event Summaries
(in schedule order)

Boys' Discus 
     Eight throwers with bests of over 180 feet, including 
mystery man Kibwe Johnson, with some monster tosses in practice 
out of Georgia, would battle here.  Lucais MacKay led the nation 
at 192-08 from the previous weekend.  Orchestrated by throws 
maestro, event judge Lloyd Higgins, who himself could have 
medaled in the event at over 50 years of age, it was another 
classic competition.  With no other events going on early in the 
day, a good crowd gravitates to this group used to throwing in 
front of a parent or two.  The tension is in the air and some 
respond, some do not.  With no pressure in warm-ups, the moderate 
sized, but very well put together Johnson from Georgia was 
perhaps most impressive, loose and powering one towering warm-up 
that appeared close to 200 feet.  During the first flight, 
Rubidoux junior Matt Gomez started the show off, with the 
surprpising 177 foot thrower coming close to his pr with a 175-03 
first throw in the competition.  Rusty Price, another junior, 
powered out to PR's of 172-01 and 179-10 on his first throws to 
take the lead here, with Oregon's Bryant Strot 174-09 in third.  
The next flight had everyone in over 180, with Nick Arrenius of 
Utah, as a soph, the latest thrower out of that family, 181 two 
weeks previous to join the elite level.  The pressure was 
evident, with Travis Pendleton cranking it up with a 182-11 
opener.  Local rival, Sam Lightbody, responded with a 185-03, 
with Arizona's Jeremy Fulton 182-09 on his first throw.  National 
Leader Lucais MacKay was a foul first time around.  Kibwe Johnson 
broke loose on his second throw to take the lead at 185-10.  
MacKay responded at the end of that second round with a 193-06 to 
extend his national lead and show who was boss!  Youngsters 
Arrenius 181-02 and Price 182-0 were able to improve over the 
final three throws, with MacKay 192-01 on his third throw, the 
only other throw over 190 in the competition.  
     It took 182-09 to take a medal (5th place), with the support 
of 500 schools from sixteen states adding to the depth that had 
178-10 to make the finals, and 181-02 place seventh!  We were off 
with another great first event starting the meet!!!
     Depth was such that Greg Husten of Shasta (Redding), who 
finally had some decent weather to spin in the ring the last 
week, took the Open Discus earlier in the day at 176-02 (Open 
Meet Record, with no second level discus ever anywhere at the 
high school level probably as far!), with four others at that 
level over 160-00! 
Girls High Jump 
     A fine competition here had Michelle Mahlke of small private 
school, Marymount (L.A.) emerge the winner over fine all-
arounder, Ann Marie Turpin from Simi Valley, who had competed in 
three other events earlier in the day in the Open Meet, with both 
clearing 5-08.  Good competition were set up for later in the 
year, with third placer here, Julie Stevenson kind of 
establishing event dominance earlier in the indoor season with 
some fine clearances.
Boys Long Jump 
     Two jumpers separated from the pack here.  Oliver Jackson, 
one of the more consistent jumpers in recent state history, with 
a ton of meets over 24-00, won here with a nation-leading 24-
03.5.  Robert Kennedy of the Sacramento area, a mid-23 foot 
jumper last year, showed his worth, with a 23-10 for second.  
Great all-arounder Mike Mitchell from Paramount, who was right at 
48.0 in the 400, was 23-00.75 in this event for third.
Girls Triple Jump 
     Blessing Ufodiama of Long Beach Poly had taken the best from 
Texas the previous weekend with a win in the Texas Relays in 
Austin, and continued to add to her statement as "best west of 
the Mississippi" with a win here.  The Poly senior had her best 
jump on her fifth attempt (39-07.25) with a response to Skyline's 
Andrea Kincaid, who had taken the lead with her eventual second 
place jump of 38-07 on that trial.  Jameka Taylor jumped 38-00.75 
on her first effort for third place. 
Boys Pole Vault 
     A strong group here, with a dozen with lifetime bests of 
over 15-00.  With the vault right in front of the sell out crowd 
this event group feeds off the vibes of the fans and that group 
enjoys close-up some towering efforts.  Matt Mathis of Riverside 
PR'd at 15-00 to join Jeff Ryan, Jason Leuck, Brandon Braunstein, 
Troy Becker, and Arizonan Blake Powell over that height.  At 15-
06 Becker impressed with a clearance, with Powell successful 
there and one-upping the entire field with a fine clearance of 
16-00 with the appreciative crowd applauding their approval.
Girls Discus 
     Another super field event needed over 150 feet to win a 
medal!  April Burton marked a return to form with a big win here 
at 161-01.  Jill Camarena (155-09), Mary Etter (Washington 153-
01), Rebekah Green (Ohio 152-03), and Katie Tuttle (Oregon 150-
11) took the medals, with Nevada's Laura Saye (146-00) competing 
strongly as seven finished over 140 feet!!
Boys 400 Meter Relay 
     The Relays, the first events on the main track, have the 
sell-out crowd of sprint afficianados focused on who will have 
the quickest group of sprinters statewide!  Long Beach Poly was 
hot off big wins at the Texas Relays the weekend previous, with 
the Poly group having the potential to run under 40.0 and 
challenge Muir's 40.28 Meet Record.  They wowed the crowd here 
with a huge win, with less than optimum baton work resulting in a 
nation-leading 40.45 over Dorsey's 41.25.  The Jackrabbit winners 
left much room for improvement over the last two months of the 
year with the stick, with the State Record 40.24 by Hawthorne and 
National Record 39.76 by Wyatt of Ft. Worth, Texas in reach for 
the squad. 
Girls 400 Meter Relay 
     The middle of the track out had Skyline (Oakland lane 3), 
Wilson (Long Beach), and Poly (Long Beach), and Morse (San Diego) 
settling mid-season supreamacy.  Wilson leads the nation at 
46.30.  Into the final baton pass Wilson trailed Skyline 
slightly, with Latrice Borders putting together a super anchor 
leg to race away to a 46.47 win, adding to her and the Girls' 
stockpile of Arcadia winners' watches. 
Girls Pole Vault 
     A very deep event had four over 11-06.  Kathleen Donoghue 
from San Diego, the national outdoor leader at 12-06, was the 
only athlete able to clear 12-00, for the win, with Bridget 
Pearson, improved Laura Chen of Temple City, and Leora Ward 2-3-4 
at 11-06. 
Girls 1600 Meters 
     Many a star's career has been started in a big way at the 
Arcadia Meet, with Californians a month of meets under their 
belt, with the setting of the state's serious fans viewing in a 
packed setting inspiring special efforts.  That happened here in 
a big way!!!!  A very strong group had a ton with sub-5:00 bests 
in the field.  There would be a surprise winner in a stunning 
display of explosive power near the end that one has to go back a 
long, long time to see at the high school level.  65 second last 
laps do not happen very often at the high school level.  When 
covered after a 3:42 first 1200, a great high school time is set 
up.  Nationally ranked stars Sarah Gorton (Az) and Katie 
Hotchkiss (Ca) jockeyed with the pack through the first couple of 
laps, with 69-2:27 splits, with the ante upped a bit through a 
3:41 1200.  From there on in the quick-finishing Hotchkiss seemed 
to have the best odds.  Back a ways, soph Alejandra Barrientos of 
San Lorenzo Valley (Felton), a picturesque area up in the Santa 
Cruz mountains, was not totally out of the hunt.  While others 
seemed to struggle, she still displayed a snappy short stride 
that had her accelerate up to the leaders by the half lap to go 
point.  In a move described by one scribe later as, "so quick 
that if you did not watch closely you missed it," Barrientos 
blasted up past the leaders and covered the last half lap in 31 
seconds to emerge a comfortable winner at 4:47.94 over Hotchkiss 
4:51.49 and Gorton 4:51.66.  Polly Plumer, National Record holder 
in the mile at 4:35.24 is probably the last California prep that 
showed such snappy acceleration at the end of a quick high school 
race!  Barrientos was stunning, with the evening's star born (or 
at least the first)!!  She sits sixth on the All-Time Arcadia
list with the 4:47.94, with Kim Mortensen (Thousand Oaks) the
record holder at 4:44.9 to give her something to shoot at next
year!
Boys 1600 Meters 
     A great group of sub-4:20 stars would battle here.  
Nebraskan Brian Turner had run 4:09.29 for a full mile last June, 
but met defeat when he traveled here for the indoor season.  
There had been some good 4:15-17 type action locally.  However, 
the Golden State crew left it to Turner to do the early work, 
patiently following Brian through 63.1 and 2:09.4 lap splits, 
with John Russell (Wash) and Noel Paulson (Ore) looking good up 
near the front as the group came through the 1200 at 3:14.0.  
During a 30.3 second to last 200 that started the final lap, both 
Paulson and Russell zoomed past Turner.  However, the Nebraskan 
had not been heard from for the last time, gathering with 200 go 
to, then bursting by during a final 200 of 30.6 himself to win at 
4:15.03.  James DeBruhl, who had won the LA Indoor over Turner 
and a good field, sat back too far and charged the final 200 well 
under 30 to finish second at 4:15.34.  Nine ran under 4:20 in the 
deep field. 
Boys 110 Meter High Hurdles 
     One of the best groups ever gathered during a regular season 
at the prep level had seven at better than 14.20 during their 
career.  Cal State Champ, great all-arounder Marcell Allmond 
(13.83) would continue his rivalry with Colorado's Ricardo Moody 
(13.64 best) up front.  Allmond had a good start, and in pictures 
in local papers, was actually ahead over the second hurdle.  
Moody is a prancy, quick strider, however, and he moved up and 
past after that point on the way to a fine 13.67 clocking that 
was a comfortable winner over Allmond (13.98) and improved 
Charles Ryan (13.99) from McClymonds.  Moody narrowly missed 
Deworski Odom's Meet Record of 13.61. 
Girls 100 Meter Hurdles 
     A classic duel here finished just that way.  First and 
second had the same time to the hundredth at the finish!!  A 
little background first.  Nichole Denby had run 13.86 last year 
locally, with a national record equalling 8.33 for the 60 meter 
hurdles indoors this winter.  Canadian Felicien Perdita had run 
13.47 outdoors last summer, with a win at the Nike Indoor Classic 
in Columbus, Ohio while Denby took the National Scholastic Indoor 
meet in Boston the same weekend in March.  
     This evening, the slightly shorter Perdita was quickest over 
the first few hurdles, with a full meter lead as the duo came off 
the eighth barrier.  At that point, Denby, whose father Greg 
(meet record holder here in the High Jump for Crenshaw HS in LA 
for a decade with a 7-01 clearance) had been inducted into the 
Meet Hall of Fame earlier in the evening, decided everyone in the 
family wanted to go home a winner tonight, gathering for a 
frightening move that left everyone wondering who won as both 
athletes leaned mightily at the tape.  It was one of those 
"momentum at the finish" contests, with a lot of opinions offered 
by viewers as to who won.  When the great Finishlynx crew of Don 
Chadez and group announced the 13.87 time for both and Denby the 
winner, the questions were answered.  Wow!  It was two great 
athletes in a super contest!!  Perdita later commented that she 
felt she did drift a bit over the last hurdle, with Denby 
gathering for one of the most amazing sprint/hurdle finishes seen 
locally.      
Boys 100 Meter Dash 
     One of the events everyone came for took place here.  
Kentucky's Casey Combest had been the hit of the indoor season 
with a 6.19 55m and amazing 6.57 National Record in the 60 Meter 
dash that took down a solid standard set by Deworski Odom, who 
had wowed the Arcadia crowd with a dual hurdle/100 meter win a 
few years back.  The guy who could take down Deworski's Indoor 
60m record, as Combest had, by .05 over the short 60 meter 
distance had to be special!!!  To top it, Combest had run 10.1 
hand-timed the previous weekend in Alabama.  Southern 
California's challenger, Darrell Rideaux, had won the State Meet 
last year and run 10.36 for 100 meters.  In mid-March Rideaux had 
won the National Scholastic Indoor 60 Meter event, but a full two 
tenths slower than Combest took the Ohio Nike Indoor Classic 
meet.  Local fans relished such a match-up!!
     Some great quotes would surround the affair, but we'll get 
to those soon. 
     The weather was a bit bizarre.  When the sun goes down at 
about 7:00 pm here the wind usually dies to nothing.  This 
evening a cloudy front was moving in, and it was preceded by some 
very cold weather and gusty headwinds that dropped the 
temperature quite a bit by 100 meter racetime.  Combest had his 
usual great start, with a definite lead over the first 40-50 
meters.  At 60 meters the odds were very much against Rideaux, 
but this is a USC-bound football player who is very, very strong. 
  The Poly star certainly had not given up mentally, gathering
for  a big effort over the final 40 meters, with the race
positioning  amazingly changing two full meters in a 25 meter
point between 65  and 90 meters, where Rideaux was definitely
going to be the  winner.  Combest shut it down at 85 meters,
eventually ending up  back in fifth.  Rideaux raced 10.65 into a
-1.7 meter per second  head wind, with teammate Sammie Parker
next at 10.83.  Rideaux  celebrated, turning to the sell-out
crowd, then swooping down  part of the sprint straightaway with
arms spread wide, gliding   across the lanes in celebration.  
     Combest had talked of coming in and taking down the meet 
record.  Rideaux had replied in an interview, "Welcome to the 
Lion's den."  After the race Rideaux commented, "When you go into 
the Lion's den and step on his tail, you are bound to get bit."  
Poly fans shouted to Combest as he headed down the straightaway 
after the race that he had competed well, but "it was not rabbit 
season in California at this time."  (the Poly mascot is the 
Jackrabbit).  
     It was all done in the spirit of great competition, with 
Combest at first mentioning the conditions as a factor in his 
running, then later commenting that this was just one of those 
days when he did not have it.  In his defense it was one of those 
trips where details went awry (his luggage lost at the airport, 
some transporations gliches that were not he or his father's 
making, etc.), but one sensed a "back to the drawing board" 
approach afterwards by this star who has been all the way to the 
World Junior Championship level (he brought back a silver medal 
from that meet in France last summer).  There will be other 
races.        
     With Kareem Kelly in the mix for Long Beach Poly, one 
wonders if Poly can go 1-2-3 in the State Meet 100, as National 
Outdoor Leader Albert Hollis (Christian Brothers, Sacramento), 
10.50 at Oakland Relays with an aiding 1.7 meter per second wind, 
finished fourth here at 10.97. 
Girls 100 Meters
     Wow!  The headliners did not stop yet, as a young lady 
emerged in the 100 meter event as another stunning talent in the 
sport.  During the indoor season Alexis Joyce (Washington, 
Denver) had impressed with a 7.28 60 meter dash best, within .02 
of what the famed Angela Williams achieved in the event.  Joyce 
had run 11.52 last year as a frosh, with Floridan Erica Whipple 
11.51 and 23.29 in the sprints down south.  Whipple was second in 
both sprints at the National Scholastic Indoor in Boston while 
Joyce dominated the Nike Indoor Classic group in Columbus with 
much faster times.  The duo, along with California's best this 
spring, Latrice Borders (Wilson, LB) 11.81 and 24.06, would 
battle here.  
     The contest was run under cool and breezy headwind 
conditions (-1.8 mps wind).  After an even start for the two main 
players, Joyce and Whipple, with the black-clad Floridan Whipple, 
who leans slightly forward and carries her arms fairly low with 
an amazingly quick leg turnover far up off the very tip of her 
toes, rocketing away after twenty meters to totally dominate with 
a four meter win at 11.57.  Joyce was next at 11.91 with Tania 
Woods 11.99 in third.   The crowd was kind of stunned with 
Whipple's domination, as all had witnessed a performance that  
kind of bordered on the type that Marion Jones treated locals 
with a few years back.  It was more than mildly impressive and 
the stars would meet later over 200 meters!!
Boys High Jump 
     Canadian Jason Pilkington has a lifetime best of over 7-01, 
and looked super here at the early heights.  However, while 
Fernando Lopez (Taft, Woodland Hills) and Jerrick Holmes 
(Palmdale) joined him at 6-08, with lifetime best clearances for 
both, no one could get over 6-10 as Pilkington came down on the 
bar from far above at the highest height.  The Canadian emerged 
the winner on misses.
Boys 800 Meters 
     A good group would meet Indiana's Brett Tipton, who indoors 
had impressed with a 1:51.77 mark.  The Bay area's Alex Mason led 
early in the event, taking it out in a fine 26.3 first 200.  The 
pace logged as the group approached the one lap mark, with the 
field packed up at 55.3.  Tipton sat fifth at that point.  During 
the third 200 it was talented Chris Burns of Ontario, who not too 
long ago this winter was part of his school's winter basketball 
team, who pressed the pace, racing away from the pack as Tipton 
edged up to second.  Burns was 1:23.8 at 600 meters, with the 
tall Tipton loping past after that point, racing away to a twelve 
meter win at 1:52.60.  Burns was next at 1:54.01, with nine under 
1:57 at the finish. 
Girls 800 Meters 
     Rivals Tanya Wright, the Canadian Junior National Champ at 
2:07.54 and Lindsey Hyatt, the top American of that age with a 
2:06.43 best, would meet.  Hyatt was a last minute entry, with a 
fall season lost with a hip injury and early Spring afected by a 
nagging virus.  Wright was hot indoors with a sub-2:10 effort at 
Simplot.  
     Nan Evans from Utah took the early pace, with a quick 29.3 
opening 200.  Wright likes to take it out, taking over through 
the 400 at 63.1, then really slamming down on the accelerator, 
racing 32.8 for the third 200, as Hyatt moved up to second, a few 
yards back.  At the 600 in 1:35.9, the tall, powerful Canadian 
had a bit too much for her American rival today, racing in at 
2:08.11 to narrowly miss the Meet Record of 2:08.02 by Tara 
Menodzza (Colorado) from 1996.  Hyatt amazed with a 2:10.69 in 
second given her situation the last few months.  Evans raced a 
big personal best in third at 2:11.55, with ten finishing under 
2:16 in the field. 
Girls 3200 Meters 
     A super event had athletes from ten states and two foreign 
countries!!  It was too good a mix to not result in a very, very 
impressive time, with the way the race developed quite 
interesting.  A very quick early pace featured California's 
Courtney Baird, New Jersey's Catherine Guiney, Indiana's Michelle 
De La Vina, and Lauren Fleshman, among others.  After a 5:12 
first mile the tempo interestingly lagged, with lap number five 
taking 81 seconds (6:33), then an 83 lap (11:04 pace with more 
than a couple in the field capable of an overall time nearly a 
minute faster than that!) for a 7:56 at the six lap point.  It 
was with two laps to go that Coach Dave DeLong of Canyon (Canyon 
Country) yelled to star Lauren Fleshman that this was the time to 
"go for it."  Fleshman responded with a drop in the pace to 78 
(9:14 with one to go), then was very, very impressive during a 67 
second final 400 to finish in a great 10:21.36.  A very 
successful high school runner with credentials as high as second 
in the Foot Locker National Cross-Country Championships, Fleshman 
finally had a big win for herself!  In second was Anita Siraki of 
Glendale Hoover, who was also a bit of a story.  The super Hoover 
soph had earlier in the day brought her distance medley team from 
thirteenth to first with a 4:53.2 1600 meter leg in the Open 
Meet, then showed up here, racing 10:30.81 for second.  Running 
with a very powerful stride and arm action, one questioned her 
early sports background, guessing swimming.  Siraki's reply was 
"gymnastics."  What a double with the last heard form this 
special young lady!
Women's Long Jump 
     Super frosh Tracee Thomas from North of Riverside, who was 
19-11 last year in the eighth grade, emerged early here, as she 
followed Long Beach Poly's Naonka Mixon (18-06.25) with an 18-
07.25 effort on her first jump of the competition.  Mission 
Viejo's Dana Bethel came close on her third jump, also 18-06.25, 
as no one could better those performances.  Ohio's Zakiya Harris 
was 18-05 on her final attempt, taking home a medal, but losing 
fourth to Porchea Carroll (Rio Mesa 18-05) on second jump marks, 
with the Rio Mesa soph having a fine meet here and in the
sprints. 
Boys Triple Jump 
     When was the last time that brothers went 1-2 in the 
California state meet in an event?  Off their win here, the 
Carano brothers of Hoover in Fresno appear to be favorites for 
that roll, with a 1-2 win over the rest of the state's top 
jumpers and a few other good ones from around North America.  
Duan Archie won last year from Hoover, so the brothers continued 
an interesting string for the school. 
Girls 400 Meters 
     Monique Henderson, who won here at 52.93 in defeating frosh 
LB Wilson's Lashinda Demus, would battle her rival and a good 
group once again.  Demus, a great all-arounder with range from 
100 to 800 meters, as does Henderson, with both running cross-
country during the fall season, really took it out, with 
Henderson, one lane outside, hanging on to her shoulder.  It 
appeared Henderson's strategy included racing a very strong third 
100 meters, as she moved ahead during that segment, racing down 
the homestretch to a nation-leading 53.74-54.73 win.  Monique, 
who will compete for the U.S. in the World Youth (under 18) 
Championships in Poland in July, looked very controlled, with a 
big match-up down the road at State with Nakiya Johnson.  
Henderson won state last year despite a slight injury, with a 
healthy Johnson eventually racing to second in the World Junior 
Championships over 400 meters at 52.09.   Westchester star Laloni 
Anderson was a scratch in the event. 
Boys' 400 Meters 
     Vallejo suffered a strange disqualification in the 400 meter 
relay, called on the "run-in" to the second runner with the judge 
stating they passed the baton too early.  Coach Mike Wilson was 
upset, but instead of pouting the Vallejo group simply took it 
out on the field during the rest of the meet, starting here in 
the 400.  
     With the action seeming centered on the middle of the track, 
with Travon Walton and Mike Mitchell battling against each other, 
it was Vallejo's Giovanni Miles out of lane one who rocketed down 
the homestretch to the win, racing 47.93 as Mitchell 48.07 adn 
Walton (48.13) ended 2-3. 
Girls Shot Put 
     The nation's three best, National Leader Jill Camarena (48-
07), Karen Freberg (48-05), and Rebekah Green (Ohio-48-05.75 
1998) would battle.  Freberg emerged from the prelims with the 
best mark, 46-11.75, with Green (46-07.25) and Camarena (45-04).  
In an interesting last round, Camarena, on the third to last 
throw in the entire competetion improved to 47-05.75 to take the 
lead.  Green responded with a 47-04.5 for second, with Freberg, 
who scratched out of the discus with a recent bit of a sore back, 
44-03.5 on her final throw to end third.  It was a classic!  Mary 
Etter continued her fine meet with a 44-09.75 for fourth and 
L'Orange Crawford improved to 42-06.5 in fifth. 
Boys 3200 Meter Run 
     Another Arcadia classic had a great group accented with a 
courageous mid-race move that carried one competitor to a truly 
outstanding time and helped the field to amazing depth!  Ryan 
Craig, Augie Escobar and, Adam Tenforde did most of the work 
through the first 1600, covered in 4:31.9.  At that point, 
Tenforde, fresh off the World Cross-Country Championships in 
Ireland two weeks back and determined to break 9:00 here, took 
off, covering the next 800 in 2:11.3, spreading the field behind 
him.  It was a "blood and guts" move with eventual result that 
gained him good support for Athlete of Meet honors, as he 
continued to press, running 2:13.9 for the final 800 (4:32 first 
1600 - 4:25 second) for an 8:57.19 win.  The field was 50 meters 
back, with Dana Carne (Ne) 9:06.57 and Arizona junior Juan Reyes 
(9:06.62) leading the parade that had fourteen run under 9:17.0!  
Amazingly, Flathead of Kalispell, Montana had three athletes run 
9:07.83, 9:11.07, and 9:20.51.  These people must have been tough 
to handle in Cross-Country!!!! 
Boys 300 Intermediate Hurdles
     Sadly, Arizona champ James Smith wavered in the blocks, with 
the 37.58 star learning a tough lesson with a false start 
disqualification after a good trip to get here.  Marcell Allmond, 
showing his great all-around abilities, powered out on the second 
start, showing great hurdling ability, flexibility, and 
conditioning that carried him right through the tape to win in a 
fine 37.40.  Rico Hatter continued the fine Vallejo meet in 
second at 37.69, as state leader Terry Jenkins (Muir) ended third 
at 37.87. 
Girls 300 Meter Lows 
     With the 400 and 4x400 relay staggered around this event, 
the Long Beach Wilson group bailed Lashinda Demus out of this 
one.  Detra King of Long Beach Poly would battle with Arizona 
stars Allison Sewell and Seneca Holmes.  The Poly star put 
together a good race (43.32), with Sewell losing momentum over 
the last hurdle that probably cost her the win (43.43 in second). 
 Holmes had taken a good spill a couple of hurdles back, then 
amazingly was able to rise and finish in 47.42. 
Girls Distance Medley Relay 
     Ayala (Chino Hills) had Nakiya Johnson step up to the 800 
leg here, with Nicole Gurnicz and Tess Cendejas helping provide 
the firepower to a 12:08.36 win.  Katie Hotchkiss anchored 
Mission San Jose (12:23.89 in second) with a 5:01 split.  
Esperanza (Anaheim) led the first leg in 3:43, then had their 
team confused about the order, with the 800 runner shocked with 
an exchange after one lap, and the 400 runner (racing third or so 
the team thought) flabbergasted when she had to go a second lap 
during the third segment. 
Girls 200 Meters. 
     Our main sprint actors would take the stage once again here. 
 Nakiya Johnson, World Junior silver medalist over 400 meters 
would be in lane eight here, with hopes that she could take the 
race out like a total sprint and have the lead into the straight 
and inspire the pure sprinters, Borders (6), Whipple (5), and 
Joyce (4).  However, the 800 leg on the distance medley a couple 
of races back left Nakiya a bit fatigued, but with four winner's 
watches for her relay squad.  Whipple continued in her zone here, 
bursting around the turn and into the straightaway like a house-
afire.  The Florida soph blazed away from the field to a five 
meter win 23.46-24.09 over Tania Woods, with the crowd ga-ga over 
the smoothness and power that the young sophomore oozed with this 
particular night. 
Boys 200 Meters 
     Long Beach Poly continued its dominance of the evening with 
a double win here in the Seeded and Invitational races.  Bennie 
Robinson, the latest Poly star, took the Seeded contest at 21.93. 
 Superstar Kareem Kelly for the Jackrabbits blasted the turn and 
charged in the Invitational race at 21.28, the Nation's best 
clocking for the year!  With the 4x400 relay to go it had been a 
Poly show until now!!!
Boys Distance Medley Relay 
     West Hills (Santee), helped mightily off a fine anchor 1600 
by Evan Fox, won over a young Don Lugo (Chino) group 10:24.40-
10:26.01.  Josh Spiker anchored Ventura (3rd at 10:26.54) with a 
4:15 split.
Girls 4x400 Relay
     Long Beach Wilson, with seniors Latrice Borders, Joni Smith, 
and Veronica Calloway marking another stop on their senior 
"farewell tour" with soph Lashinda Demus, adding to the stockpile 
of winner's watches here with an eight second 3:42.58 win over 
local rival Long Beach Poly (3:50.45).  The Maroon and Gold 
flying out front in the relays has gone on for so many years with 
Coach Terry Kennedy taking this year's edition to the Penn Relays 
where some very exciting racing will take place against the East 
Coast and Jamaica's best!
Boys 4x400 Relay 
     A very exciting close to the meet would feature National 
Leaders Long Beach Poly (3:13.25 at Texas Relays), hoping to 
close out a magical evening with a big win here.  A number of 
other good squads would join the fray, with a very competitive 
race taking place.  
     After two legs Poly and the inspired Vallejo group were 
even, with Rico Hatter (V) (inside) and Sammie Parker (Poly) 
(outside) dead even at the start of lap three.  A bit of jawing 
and physical contact took place, with Parker later stating that 
he felt a twinge in a hamstring as the duo headed into the 
backstretch.  Hatter, 37.69 earlier in the evening the 300 
hurdles, gave anchor runner Marc King a lead, with Poly back in 
about fifth at the exchange.  Some solid people ran on the 
anchor, with Gardena's Raheem Barnes and Chino's Travon Walton 
fighting off Darrell Rideaux's 47.3 anchor for Poly, as Vallejo 
emerged the winner in a fine 3:13.61 with Gardena 3:14.71 and 
Chino 3:15.32 ahead of Poly's 3:16.09.  St. Mary's (3:16.71) and 
Serra (3:16.71) made it one of California's quickest ever mid-
season 4x400's.  The State finals in this event should be a 
cooker!!! Four sections are represented among those top six 
teams.  

 

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