Track: Brea’s Austin Tamagno pulls out of Southern Section finals

Austin Tamagno of Brea Olinda, the defending state champion in the 1,600, scratched from running in the Southern Section Division 3 800 final on Saturday and has ended his high school career to apparently focus on training against better competition.

He ran Friday night unattached in the 1,500 at a middle distance competition at Occidental College, finishing in 3:44.14, one of the best times ever for a California high school athlete.

It’s unusual for a prep athlete to discontinue a prep career before the post-season competitions. But the Oregon-bound Tamagno has major goals.

His decision does cause concern among prep coaches that other elite athletes might follow suit.

“I’m very concerned it might set a trend or precedent looking at the college scene while having one foot still in the high school scene,” Loyola cross country Coach Lalo Diaz said. “It could become horrible if it becomes a trend.”

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