San Diego Roundup : Olympians Dixon, Williams Head Field for 10K Run

Rod Dixon of New Zealand, a 1984 Olympian and winner of the New York Marathon, heads a strong field of runners expected to compete Sunday in the Buick 10-kilometer run downtown. The race, featuring 28 runners who have run a 10K in less than 30 minutes, will start at 7:45 a.m. in front of the Old City Hall building at 4th and G Streets.

Other runners expected to challenge Dixon in the men’s race are Thom Hunt of Coronado, Gary Bjorkland of Boulder, Colo., who ran a 27:46 10K--the fastest time of any of Sunday’s entrants--on the track in 1984, Steve McCormack, the winner of November’s Heart of San Diego 10K, and Domingo Tibiduiza, a former winner of the American’s Finest City Half-Marathon.

The women’s field is expected to be led by Swedish Olympian Lynn Williams, who is coming off a victory over Grete Waitz at the Orange Bowl 10K earlier this month in Miami. Former San Diego State star Monica Joyce and 1984 America’s Finest City Half-Marathon champion Carol Urish-McLatchie are expected to challenge Williams.

Pre-race registration will take place between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. in front of the Old City Hall building.

Grossmont Junior College basketball Coach Rick Wilkerson was selected Coach of the Year and Grossmont sophomore guard Rodney Tention was named Player of the Year as the Pacific Coast Conference All-Conference team was announced.

Joining Tention on the team were Grossmont teammates Juan Espinoza, a 6-foot 8-inch freshman center formerly of Helix High, and Martel Johnson, a 5-9 sophomore guard.

Other All-Conference players included: Guard J.J. Jackson (5-9) and forward Rodney Purvis (6-4) from Imperial Valley. Forward Doc Phillips (6-3) from MiraCosta Junior College. Palomar College’s Charlie Panos, a 5-11 guard. Sonny Hicks, a 5-6 guard, from San Diego City College. Mesa College forward Shawn Hicks (6-2) and Southwestern College center Ron Alexander (6-5).

Sheila Jones of San Diego City College, the leading junior college basketball scorer in the state this season, was selected Most Valuable Player of the Pacific Coast Conference. Jones, a 5-foot 5-inch sophomore guard from Kansas City, Kan., averaged 28.8 points per game for San Diego City.

Among the all-conference selections were four players from Palomar Junior College and three from Mesa JC. Pam Calland, Angie Jadovitz, Lisa Vitous and La-Koi Wooten represent Palomar while Jeanne Burns, Michele Loo and Stephanie Smith were the Mesa players chosen. Kelly Gilmore (Grossmont JC), Kim Allen (MiraCosta JC) and Yosima Perkins (San Diego City) rounded out the squad.

The San Diego-Imperial County/McDonald’s Junior Olympic Swim Championships will be held today, Saturday, Sunday and next weekend in La Jolla. The swim championships bring the short course season to a close with 24 swim clubs entering approximately 400 swimmers between the ages of 9 and 18. Today’s and Sunday’s events will be held at the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla and Saturday’s events will take place at the UCSD Canyonview 50-meter pool. Preliminary heats begin each morning at 9 o’clock with finals beginning at 2:30. Admission is free.

The Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championships continue today through Sunday at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. Ricky Leach and Tim Pawsat of USC, tournament champions in 1982 and 1983, are the top-seeded pair. Pepperdine’s Kelly Jones and Gilberto Cicero are seeded second. Jones teamed with Jerome Jones to win the title last year. Others who figure to challenge for the championship are Michael Kures and Mark Basham of UCLA, Jim Grabb and John Letts of Stanford and San Diego’s Brian Teacher and La Jolla’s Steve Mott.

Some of the country’s top collegiate track and field stars will compete against former Olympians in the fourth-annual Bud Light Invitational track meet 9 a.m. Saturday at Choc Sportsman Track on the San Diego State campus. Highlighting the women’s field are Olympians Carol Cady (shot put) and Karin Smith, the No. 1 javelin thrower in the United States. Among the men competing are members of the Stars and Stripes Track Club, whose 400 and 800-meter relay teams haven’t lost in three years. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for youths 17 and under and free for San Diego State students.

Professional Surfing Association of American tour leader Ted Robinson of Hermosa Beach and second-place David Barr of Carlsbad head the field of surfers who will compete in the Witt’s Carlsbad Pipelines Pro event at the Oceanside Pier beginning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.