Gettis, Collins Run to Multiple Wins

David Gettis and the Los Angeles Dorsey boys were on top of the podium and on top of the world after the state track and field championships Saturday at Hughes Stadium.

Ebony Collins was on another planet.

Dorsey, paced by Gettis’ third victory in the 400 meters and victories by the 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams, became the first City Section team to win a boys’ title since Woodland Hills Taft in 1986.

But Collins, a sophomore from Long Beach Wilson, stole the show.

An announced crowd of 11,208 witnessed Collins put on one of the most prolific performances in state history. She won four gold medals in a single state meet, a feat accomplished by a female athlete only once before, and that wasn’t even the most impressive part of her performance.

Three victories came in times that set national high school bests for this year and the other was No. 2 on the list.

Her winning time in the 300 hurdles was 40.10, the second fastest ever, a national sophomore record and the state meet record, though it isn’t a school record. Wilson’s Lashinda Demus set the national record of 39.98 at the Southern Section Division I finals in 2001.

Collins ran the 100 in a national-best 11.5 seconds and ran the second leg on the Wilson 400 relay team, which finished in a national-best 44.84 seconds. That ranks No. 5 on the all-time list.

Her third leg in the 1,600 relay was unofficially timed at 53.5 and helped Wilson win in 3:39.27 -- No. 2 on the national list this year.

The only other female athlete to win four times in one year was Gwen Loud of Westchester in 1979.

“I came here expecting to do the best I could in every event,” Collins said. “I wanted to [set personal records] in all my events and I did that, including the relays. It was a big accomplishment for me.”

About the only downer for Collins was that Wilson finished second in the team race, five points behind champion Tracy West, but she said that wouldn’t dampen her day. She planned to celebrate with a nice, unhealthy meal after cutting calories all season to stay in shape.

“I’m going to eat,” she said. “Hamburgers, candy, soda, whatever I find first.”

Gettis ran the 400 in 45.84 -- a national best for the year, No. 1 in the world by someone 18 and under and No. 5 on the worldwide under-20 list -- as Dorsey won its first team title since 1966.

It was short of the 45.25 national record, but Gettis, the first three-time boys’ state champion in the 400, said he was relieved the season finally ended.

“Now I’m able to breathe again,” said Gettis, only the third boy in the history of the state meet to win three consecutive titles in a running event. “It’s a lot of pressure when everybody is gunning for you, but it also pumps you up knowing that.”

Gettis ran the second leg on Dorsey’s 400 relay team, which won in 40.92 seconds -- fifth on the national list this year -- and he anchored the Dons’ 1,600 relay team, which needed to finish fifth or better to win the team championship. The Dons won the race in 3:12.12 and finished with 38.5 team points, 8.5 ahead of Los Angeles Loyola, which had Mark Matusak win a second consecutive 1,600 title.

Jamere Holland of Woodland Hills Taft made up for a disappointing showing last season by winning the 100 and 200 Saturday. His 20.88 in the 200 was the third-best in the nation this year. His 10.54 was short of his national-best 10.38, but he is the City Section’s first double winner in the sprints since Taft’s Quincy Watts in 1987.