Arcadia Invitational Track Meet : Thomas and Knighten Each Win Four Events

The king and queen of California high school track, Henry Thomas and Choo Choo Knighten, each scored four victories Saturday night, electrifying a record crowd of more than 9,000 spectators at the 18th annual Arcadia Invitational.

Thomas, the sprinter from Hawthorne, won the 100 meters in 10.40 seconds, the 200 meters in 20.79, and anchored the winning 1,600- and 400-meter relay teams.

Thomas, who has signed with UCLA, was spectacular in the 400 relay, taking the baton at least 10 meters behind Cleo Bates of Pasadena.

Thomas closed ground with every stride, drew even about 40 meters from the tape and won going away.

“He’s so fast it’s like you have an invisible barrier in front of you and he just keeps bouncing away,” said Marina sprinter Shawn Massey, who chased Thomas in the 100. “He’s at another level. He’s fun to watch.”

Thomas was named the male athlete of the meet, and Knighten collected the female honor. Knighten, also set to attend UCLA, won the 100-meter hurdles in 13.71, the 100 in 12.00, the 400 in 54.18, and then closed out her evening in flamboyant fashion as she rallied to win the 200 in 24.19, edging Locke High teammate Tesha Giddens.

“I was catching a cramp in my leg and I was nervous that I wouldn’t catch her,” Knighten said. “But I came in to win four events and I wasn’t about to quit.”

Capistrano Valley’s Brian Blutreich, another UCLA catch and the finest high school weightman in the nation was an impressive double winner, easily outdistancing the competition in the shotput and discus.

Blutreich, the state record-holder in the event, won the discus with a throw of 201 feet. Two hours later, he came back with a toss of 66-6 1/2. Blutreich was disappointed with his discus effort since it was nine feet short of his record, but he was glad to close out his career at Arcadia with a double.

“It’s nice to win here because it’s the first time,” said the 18-year-old senior. “I’ve been here for three years and never won either event.

“I’m happy with my consistency in the discus but I would have liked to have thrown a little better.”

Other impressive double winners were Kristen Dowell of San Jose’s Santa Teresa in the 1,600 and 800 meters, and Belmont’s Roman Gomez, who won the 1,600 and anchored Belmont’s distance medley relay.

The meet was not without surprises. In the girls’ high jump, Anaheim’s Yleanna Carrasco cleared 6-0 to upset Clovis’ Latrese Johnson, the national record-holder. Carrasco won on fewer misses.

In addition, Fairfax’s Danny Everett ran a brilliant open 400, winning in 46.79. He upset pre-meet favorite Chip Rish of Marina.