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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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