Norris, Thomas Resume Their Dash Duel

El Camino High School’s Darron Norris has been literally chasing Henry Thomas of Hawthorne High for two years.

Thomas has beaten Norris to the finish line each of the seven times the runners have met over their prep track careers.

The two seniors will race for the eighth time tonight in the prep 60-yard dash in the Michelob Invitational track meet, which begins at 5:10 p.m. in the San Diego Sports Arena.

“I’m close to him all the time,” Norris said. “I tie up all the time at the end. I’m not running my own race. I have to run against myself.”

Running against himself is something Norris is used to doing in San Diego. Norris is the San Diego CIF sprint champion at both 100 and 200 meters. He finished second to Thomas in the 200 at the state meet last season.

Thomas is a two-time, California state champion in the 100 and 200. He appeared to be in top form when he won the 60-yard dash at the Sunkist Indoor track meet in the Los Angeles Sports Arena last month. That was supposed to be the night of the eighth meeting between the two sprinters, but Norris was disqualified for false starting.

“Thomas actually jumped first,” Norris said. “He edged forward and I followed him. But it was his home town meet, so they took little Darron out. That’s the way it goes.” The night was especially disappointing for Norris because he trained hard for the meet. He may not be completely ready for tonight’s meet, however. One of the most highly recruited football prospects in Southern California, Norris signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to play running back at the University of Texas in the Fall.

“I’ve trained a little bit,” Norris said. “It’s gonna be fun.”

Joining Thomas and Norris in the 60 will be San Dieguito’s Travis Knox. Knox, who signed on Wednesday to play football at USC, was the San Diego high and intermediate hurdle champion last season.

In the girls 60, Southwest’s Vickie Williams and Morse’s April Freow will be the race favorites. Williams and Freow ran three-four in the 100 meter San Diego CIF finals last season.

Scott Fry of Sandusky, Ohio, will lead a talented field in the boys two mile. Fry, who was the winner of the Kinney National Cross Country title at Balboa Park this season, will join Hilltop’s Ellis Del Sol and Calvin Gaziano of Castro Valley High in Northern California in the two mile. Gaziano is the nation’s top prep returning two-miler and should be with the leaders tonight.

Jennifer Sheflo of Poway, a 4:58 miler, will headline a talented girls mile field. San Diego 3-A cross country champ Darcy Arreola, Hilltop’s Tiffany Gorman (5:08) and Vista’s Robin Eager (5:09) also figure to contend