Date: Sat, 31 May 1997 15:03:25 -0700

To: track list 

From: karl steinhoff 

Subject: t-and-f: Review of CIF/SS Masters (LONGER!!)



Warning: lots more Southern California High School stuff. Proceed at your

own risk.



Complete meet results will (soon) be available at

http://users.deltanet.com/~karl/CIF/MSTmain.html



If you were late, you might as well have stayed home.



Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, as the CIF Southern Section Masters

Meet at Long Beach City College was, as always, a terrific display of high

school track & field talent. But the meet's high point came at the very

first race of the night, as the women's 4x100 relay team from St. Bernard

ran their way into history, clocking 44.91 seconds to set a National High

School Record and become the first team to break the 45-second barrier. The

old record of 45.11 was set in this meet in 1985 by Hawthorne. In the

arcane factoid department, 1985 was the last time this meet was held

anywhere other than Cerritos College.



The Viking squad of Miya Edmonson, Meisha Withers, Regine Caruthers and

Malika Edmonson passed solidly, with Caruthers breaking the race open on

the third leg. Last week the team had run a nation-leading 45.37 despite a

shaky second pass, but an adjustment solved that problem, as the Withers to

Caruthers pass was the turning point in the race. The squad returned again

at the end of the meet to take a 3:41.14 decision in the 4x400.



While this is beginning to sound like a broken record, Angela Williams,

Kinshasa Davis, Sultan McCullough, Heather Sickler and Isaiah Festa were

among those providing the highlights of a meet which was marred just

slightly by windy and chilly conditions.



Williams once again ran a very quick but wind-aided 100, following last

week's 10.98 with an 11.15, the fifth fastest ever under all-conditions.

Davis was again impressive in multiple event duty, bringing her Wilson

4x100 squad home second in 45.63, overcoming the wind to take a 53.97 400

victory, and then gunning the equal-fourth fastest prep 200 ever, a windy

22.70, aided by a wind of 2.5 mps. As we learned later, she may have been

in a hurry to finish because she had to leave to attend her senior prom.



McCullough brought his Muir team to four victories, taking the sprints in a

windy 10.28 and a legal (+1.7) 20.80, and anchoring the Mustangs to 40.91

and 3:12.83 relay triumphs. Teammate Jucorie Tryon added a fifth victory

with a 47.62 400 in this meet which does not include team scoring.



For the second consecutive week, Camarillo's Heather Sickler raised the

Southern Section record in the vault, clearing 12-3 1/2 and showed that

she's clearly capable of more. She then missed thrice at 12-7 1/4, which

would have added a quarter inch to Ashley Feinberg's recent national

federation record. Not to be outdone in the record department, Hoover's

Bridget Pearson cleared 12-0 for the first time to break her own national

sophomore record.



And while he may not be ready yet to challenge Jonathan Riley, Morro Bay

junior Isaiah Festa continues to impress, with his solo run taking the 3200

in 9:07.06. Highland's Andrea Kneipp continues to point to a possible

showdown with Julia Stamps and Kristen Gordon at State next week, as her

10:23.34 was basically a time trial.



A general rundown of the meet's action:



Running Events



St. Bernard led off the evening's action with their new National Record,

with Davis leading her Bruin squad to a runner-up finish with a 10.2 anchor

leg. Long Beach Poly was third in 46.33, with perennial rivals J.W. North

and Woodbridge taking the other two spots for State in 47.38 and 47.45.

Angela Williams kept Chino in contention through two legs, running the

backstretch into the wind in 10.7.



John Muir was fairly unpressed in the men's 4x1, as McCullough's 9.3 anchor

had him easing up the last 20 meters. Chino and Serra (running with a

healthy squad this week) waged a good battle for second, Chino taking a

41.24-41.26 decision. Serra was slowed by a sloppy final exchange, as this

young squad looks capable of something in the 40.85 range next week.

With Allyson Marquand choosing to concentrate on the 3200, Elaine Canchola

of Nordhoff was relatively unchallenged in the 1600. Out in 71 seconds, she

ran an evenly-paced race to finish in 4:55.34, seven seconds ahead of

runner-up Sarah Ellis of La Canada.



The men's 1600 was an unusual race, a tactically run race which had few

significant moves. Off a 65-2:10-3:16 pace, Peninsula junior David Taylor

fended off all challenges to run the evening's only sub-4:20 with a 4:19.51

time. It's hard to tell how these runners will fare in a 4:11-style race,

but the favorites for State will likely not come from this group.



Both hurdle races featured showdowns between impressive divisional winners

last week. J.W. North's Nicole Hoxie looks to be on track to defend her

State title next week, as she ran her second consecutive windy 13.43 in a

wire to wire win. Interesting that despite being the second fastest ever in

California under all conditions, she's still only the second fastest at

J.W. North, as number one on both lists is 1995 Athlete of the Year Joanna

Hayes.



Behind her was Mission Viejo's Ashley Bethel, who had a career evening

which included a 13.62 here. Bethel's heptathlon prospects at the upcoming

USATF junior meet are looking promising. Michelle Perry and Hannah Cooper

also recorded sub-14 times.



The men's race showcased another contest between Division 1 winner Kenyon

Rambo and state leader Dominique DeGrammont. Rambo had what Mark Crear

might call a perfect start, and had a step and a half at the second hurdle.

DeGrammont powered to the lead at the fifth hurdle and moved away to a

clear 13.54-13.75 victory, with an over-the-limit wind of 3.2 mps. This

young man has to be praying for a legal wind in Sacramento, as this month

saw him achieve windy marks of 13.44 and 13.55 in addition to tonight's

time.



The 400s are always competitive in this meet, but the focus here was

certainly on Kinshasa Davis in the women's race. As usual, her Bruin

teammate Latrice Borders was out fast into the teeth of the wind down the

backstretch along with St. Bernard's Regine Caruthers. Davis was no better

than fourth at the halfway mark, with her 26.7 time leading to the

possibility that she might negative-split the race. In the end, she

finished unpressed in 53.97. Davis recorded the evening's only sub-55 time,

as Long Beach Poly's Bunmi Oguneleye, 53.75 a week ago, finished second in

55.15. North's junior Julia Gray took third to join Davis at State for the

third straight year.



Much of the talk on the men's race still focused on the absence of the

injured Obea Moore. But Jucorie Tryon still brought the title back to Muir,

as he finished strongly to overtake Rowland's Jason Manly, who nearly stole

the race in lane two, for a 47.62-47.80 win. Poly's Marques Anderson,

fastest qualifier at 47.25, tired in the stretch to finish third after

going out in 22.9.



After last week's fast 100s, this week's races were highly anticipated as

they brought together the leading protagonists from the Division 1 and

Division 3 races.



Lining up next to emerging superstar Angela Williams, Malika Edmonson was

determined to remind the fans that she is the defending state champion in

both sprints. But Williams continues to exhibit an amazing ability to hit

top speed almost from her first step, putting the race away before she had

gone 15 meters. The cooler weather prevented a repeat of last week's

historic 10.98, but her windy 11.15 (+2.7) has been bettered only by Marion

Jones and Chandra Cheesbrough under all conditions. She may join DeGrammont

in saying a few prayers for a legal wind next weekend.



Edmonson followed windy marks of 11.2 and 11.43 the last two weekends with

an 11.52 for second. This race clearly showed off how St. Bernard was able

to run sub-45 in the relay, with soph Meisha Williams and frosh Miya

Edmonson also earning berths at State for the Vikings. This was a

remarkable race with seven runners under 12 seconds (and eighth went in

12.01).



While his 10.28 was not as quick as last week's windy 10.24, Sultan

McCullough was even more impressive this week. Poly soph Daryl Rideaux was

again out like a shot, along with Notre Dame's Justin Fargas. At 40 meters,

McCullough was two meters down, and the gut reaction was that he was in

trouble. But this young man has another gear, as he threw in a second half

burst reminiscent of King Carl himself. McCullough caught the field by 70

meters and pulled away easily. Rideaux and Fargas held on for the next two

places in 10.43 and 10.45, with the Dashann McCullough of Serra and

Alemany's Miguel Fletcher taking the other two state spots in 10.46 and

10.50. All of the top five will be back next year. (In other words, don't

miss Arcadia next April.)



The women's 800 figured to be a competitive race, bringing together

well-matched winners from three divisional races. Poly frosh Angelita

Green, who had been out last week in 62.3 and paid the price late, followed

Huntington Beach's Summer Shaw through a 63.1 opener. At 500 meters, Green

made a powerful move down the backstretch to break the race open. Shaw

finished strongly in the final straightaway, but Green had put the race

away as she took the win 2:10.50 to 2:12.03, with Yucaipa's Jenny Petite

and Corona del Mar frosh Liz Morse also finishing in under 2:13.



The air had gotten noticeably cooler by the time the men's race went off,

and the pace was equally cool as Costa Mesa's Eric Soliz took the field

through 400 in 56.0. Ryan Meuse of Simi Valley made a strong move on the

final turn and held the lead through the stretch to win in 1:54.40. Mark

Hassell, always a strong finisher, went from eighth to second in the last

100 to clock 1:54.59. No one from this group figures to challenge Golden

Valley's James Levine and his nation-leading 1:48.85 in Sacramento.



Having already earned berths at State in the 4x1 and the sprint hurdles,

defending State runner-up Nicole Hoxie withdrew from the 300 hurdles to

focus on the upcoming 4x4. As I said last week, she didn't appear to be in

the shape for this event that she had been in a year ago. This left

Hawthorne's Hannah Cooper relatively unchallenged for her 42.90 win. Randi

Smith, still learning the event, was second in 43.84.



The men's race, by contrast, featured another meeting of Rambo and

DeGrammont, who had been 1-2 at Arcadia last month with sub-37 marks.

DeGrammont had showed technique problems last week, and when he whacked the

first hurdle here it looked like Rambo would prevail again as Hawthorne's

David Warren was out quickest. But Rambo appeared to be at less than his

best, while DeGrammont finished strongly (and cleanly) over the last 100 to

record a PR 36.70, while Rambo ran 37.18 and Warren at 37.74 was the only

other sub-38 time tonight.



At this point it was time for another chance to drool over Kinshasa as she

lined up for the 200 in lane five, with Edmonson, who had defeated her at

State last year and will join her at USC in '98, one lane outside. Malika

was out best, with Davis stumbling slightly at the start. Nonetheless, she

had taken the lead off the turn as she went through 100 meters in about

11.8. It was obvious that she was after a fast time, as there was no easing

up down the stretch. Though windy, this is a quality time, placing her in

the top eight in the US so far this year. Edmonson, perhaps saving a bit

for the relay, was never in the hunt with her 23.52 as no one else broke

24. In fourth, La Mirada's Briana Glenn qualified for her third State Meet

berth following her efforts in the LJ and TJ.



Perhaps the most exciting thing about Kinshasa is that she seems to still

be a very raw talent. Not at all a "pretty" runner, she simply overpowers

the track in front of her. Barbara Ferrell will be getting a tremendous

talent at USC. Edmonson was similarly interesting with her attire, with her

hair filled with what looked like little lightning rods. It would have been

interesting to see the reaction of the officials had the weather been

threatening.



Interesting that the Wilson squad seems to have a bit of an identity

crisis, as they wear colors that nearly match those of USC, while carrying

a nickname that we normally associate with UCLA.



Sultan McCullough must have been a good boy this month, as for the second

straight week he was granted a legal wind for his 200 amidst a flock of

over-the-limit readings. And once again he found himself with a pesky

sophomore from Poly to chase down. Kareem Kelly was out fast for the first

70, but McCullough had moved to the lead after a first 100 in about 10.7.

He eased up at about 185 meters, and cruised in to a 20.80 time. Kelly's

20.97 ties him with Quincy Watts as the fastest sophomore in state history.

Underclassmen Warren Rodgers and Miguel Fletcher took the next two spots.



Both 3200 races were largely exhibitions for the favorites. Andrea Kneipp

had a 20 meter lead after a 69.8 opener and ran alone as she had 1600

segments of 5:03.5 and 5:19.8. Lauren Fleshman of Canyon finished strongly

to take second in 10:38.13 over Yucaipa's Kimi Welch who finished with

10:38.96.



Morro Bay junior Isaiah Festa, with three recent times in the 9:11 range,

was a clear favorite in the men's race. After moving to the lead at the end

of the first lap, the rest of the field let him go when he surged after

500m. He went through four laps in 4:29.6 and ran a second half

unchallenged in 4:37.5 for a state-leading 9:07.06. There was a great

battle among the next four, with Poly's Chad Durham taking second in

9:14.97. Third placer Ronnie Buchanan of Righetti added this State slot to

the one he earned in the 1600.



With the cold weather and the biggest emphasis here on qualifying, the

concluding relays were a bit anticlimactic. With Kinshasa Davis off to the

prom and Poly apparently resting Bunmi Oguneleye, the door was pretty well

open for St. Bernard. Edmonson (the elder) broke the race open with a

second leg in the 53.0 range. Latrice Borders brought Wilson back into

contention along with Poly with her 54.4 third leg, and the Bruins appeared

to be within striking distance had Davis carried the stick for the final

400.



Kim Gildersleeve's 55.4 anchor was respectable and overtook Poly for second

place, but the Vikings' Kadrina Coffee maintained her margin, bringing her

squad home in another school record 3:41.14. It's possible that the Vikings

had the most incentive to run fast, as they also had a prom to go to after

the meet.



Wilson's 3:44.09 is mighty impressive considering it was done without the

fastest prep in the country *and* an injured 53+ runner. My money is still

on Wilson next week, though I think both teams will run under 3:40.



Back in fourth, we had the inevitable battle between J.W. North and

Woodbridge, with Julia Gray edging Jackie Dix, both teams finishing with

3:54+ times.



The men's race was contentious between Muir and Dominguez, though it

appears that Poly once again did not run their top team. Muir led off with

announced legs of 48.3 and 47.9, with Dominguez, surprisingly, hanging

right in there. At the final pass, McCullough and Dominguez' Brandon Brown

took the stick on near-even terms. McCullough, who had added long white

socks to his attire before the relay, was very much under control, clocking

an easy 47.3 to bring the Mustangs in to 3:12.83 over Dominguez' 3:13.91.



All in all, a meet which showed some great races, but even more promise for

the next two weekends.



Field Events



The field events seemed to be plagued by the winds, as most of the field

event marks were decidedly below the capabilities of the competitors.



The high jump, with the approach set up into a headwind, was probably the

most affected, with Laguna Hills' Tayyiba Haneef the only jumper among the

women to go as high as 5-6. (Actually, the event sheet shows Pomona's

Alexis Hill negotiating the same height, but being later disqualified for

an unspecified reason.) State champion Liz Giltner was among three who tied

for second at 5-4. Similarly, seven footers Elliot Parks and Clint Motley

were among only four to go as high as 6-8 in the men's event.



Fouls also turned the long jumps topsy turvy. Angela Williams, running back

and forth between her various races, fouled on four of her six jumps and

ended up in seventh place. Similarly, second-seeded Reynda King of St.

Mary's managed only sixth place, as Michelle Perry jumped 19-3 1/2 to win.

Paso Robles' Henry Jenkins, disappointed in the 100 and HJ, managed only

22-8 1/2, but it was good enough to win. A mere 22-3 was good enough for a

ticket to Sacramento.



After his 6-8 in the HJ, Motley was probably not especially thrilled with

his 47-7 1/4 on his first and only jump in the TJ, but it was good enough

to win. This event was essentially invisible to the crowd, as the men's

horizontal jumps were held on a pit outside the track and across from the

stands, which are only on the backstretch side of Veterans Stadium. After

her disappointment in the LJ, King came back to jump 39-3 1/2 in the

triple, the best of five over 38 feet.



Unlike their female counterparts, the men's vaulters were unable to take

advantage of the tailwinds. Conveniently for the State Meet selections,

five cleared 14-6, but none went any higher.



The women's event was much more interesting, with two significant records

from Sickler and Pearson. Mission Viejo's Sara Higham who seems clearly

capable of joinging those two in the 12-foot club, cleared 11-6 again for

third, as did St. Monica's Bianca Maran. It wouldn't be a great surprise to

see four or five over 12 at Sacramento, when we throw Brooke Lankard into

the mix.



With the throws banished off to near-invisibility, there isn't much to

report beyond results. Scott Moser and John Bello were 1-2 in both men's

throws, Moser recording marks of 60-0 and 188-7 with what appeared to be a

non-favorable wind. Poly's Cynthia Ademiluyi threw 45-3 to best state

champion Stephanie Brown in the women's SP. As expected, Carrie Axton of

Los Amigos took the DT with a toss of 144-0.



All in all, a good, but not great, Masters. It does, however, set us up for

the usual spectacular State Meet.



--------------------

EARLY REPORT FROM KARL:



Highlights of the CIF/SS Masters Meet (High school) at Long Beach City College



Chilly and windy weather kept the marks down. However:



4 x 100 (first race of the night)

1. St. Bernard 44.91 National High School Record

2. LB Wilson 45.63

3. LB Poly 46.33



1. Muir 40.91

2. Chino 41.24

3. Serra 41.26



Hurdles

1. Nicole Hoxie 13.43w (+3.4)

2. Ashley Bethel 13.62



1. Dominique DeGrammont 13.54w (+3.2) / 36.70

2. Kenyon Rambo 13.75/37.18



Kinshasa Davis 53.97/22.70w (+2.5)



Angela Williams 11.15w (+2.7)



Malika Edmondson 11.52w/23.52w (second in both) (seven sub-12s in the 100!)



Sultan McCullough 10.28w (+3.6) / 20.80



Angelita Green 2:10.50



Kareem Kelly 20.97 (second to McCullough, =fastest California soph ever)



Andrea Kneipp 10:23.34



Isaiah Festa 9:07.06



St. Bernard 3:41.14

LB Wilson 3:44.10 (*without* Kinshasa!)

LB Poly 3:44.13



Muir 3:12.83

Dominguez 3:13.91

LB Poly 3:15.80 (didn't run best team again)



Heather Sickler 12-3 1/2 (missed at NR 12-7 1/4) new CIF record

Bridget Pearson 12-0 **National sophomore record**



Scott Moser 60-0 / 188-7 (bad wind)



field events plagued by winds



More details tomorrow morning



karl

[email protected]

[email protected]