State Track Meet : Technicality May Keep Knighten Out of Finals

Due to a bureaucratic foul-up, Locke’s Chewuakii (Choo Choo) Knighten, one of the finest prep track athletes in the United States, may be denied the opportunity to compete in today’s finals of the State track and field championships.

Friday, Knighten qualified for three individual finals--the 100 meters, the 100 low hurdles, the 400 meters--and one relay, running the opening leg on the Saints’ 1,600-meter relay team.

The 1,600 was a surprise since Knighten was scheduled to run in the 200 meters. However, Wednesday, Locke Coach Jimmy Lee notified L.A. City athletics specialist Lee Joseph that his star would opt for the relay instead, due to a slight hamstring pull.

Joseph contacted State meet director Larry Barryhill about three other changes, but failed to mention Knighten. Therefore, her name appeared on five event cards, a violation of national interscholastic rules. San Diego Mt. Carmel Coach Dennis McClanahan, whose team finished behind Locke in the relay, noticed the technicality and filed a protest.

“We’ll got through the appeal process in the morning,” Barryhill said. “But it’s against the rules to be in five events, and she technically could be disqualified.”

Joseph admitted he had been contacted by Lee, but offered no explanation for failing to pass the information on. He said he would make a presentation this morning to plead Knighten’s case. Lee had already left the track and as of 11 p.m. was unaware of the controversy.

Before the dramatic turn of events, the 67th renewal of the State meet had been dominated by a bone-chilling, blustery wind.

“The wind was incredible in the high jump,” said Clovis’ Latrese Johnson, the national record-holder in the event. “One time, a girl was over the bar easy and bam, the wind almost knocked the bar out into the grass. All you could do was wait for it to die down and then get up and over as fast as you can.”

It was a crosswind for most of the competitors, but Capistrano Valley’s Brian Blutreich, hurled the discus 201 feet to advance easily. He also qualified in the shotput with a heave of 67-3.

In addition, San Diego Mt. Miguel sophomore Jackie Anderson hopped, stepped and jumped 41-5 1/2 in the triple jump, the first time this season a California girl has crossed the 41-foot barrier.

Other favorites were content to perform just well enough to qualify. Pasadena’s Damon Thomas, who won the 110 hurdles 22 times in a row, advanced as did Cabrillo’s George Porter, the national record-holder in the 300 hurdles. Porter cruised to a 36.05 clocking, which was good enough to break his State mark of 36.10 set last year, but was well off his best effort of 35.32 last week at Mt. San Antonio.

Coming into the meet, the race for the boys’ team title was expected to be a one-horse show with Hawthorne looking like a cinch to claim its third straight title. The qualifying did nothing to change that impression.

Leading the way for the Cougars was Michael Marsh in the 200 and Sean Kelly in the 800. Coach Kye Courtney’s team is also expected to score heavily in the 1,600- and 400-meter relays.

“Hey, I told the kids that if they could outscore Blutreich, they could win it again,” Courtney said. “All we need is 21, cause Brian can only get 20.”

Two other athletes who could bring home 20 points are L.A. City stars Roman Gomez of Belmont, the defending champion in the 1,600 and 3,200, and Danny Everett of Fairfax in the 200 and 400.

The girls’ competition will be a three-way fight for the top. Pasadena Muir, with Carrie Franklin and Linetta Wilson, should have enough to hold off Locke and Hawthorne. Locke’s chances, of course, hinge on Knighten’s status, although Tesha Giddens was also effective, qualifying in the 100 and 200.

Track Notes

Hawthorne sprinter Henry Thomas, two weeks removed from major surgery, almost ran a leg on the Cougars’ 400-meter relay team. Coach Kye Courtney, believing the defending champion in the 100 and 200 had his parents’ permission to return to the track, had penciled Thomas in. But just before the race, Thomas’ father and Courtney agreed it might not be wise. “He had been working out all week and I had talked to his mom, so I thought they knew,” Courtney said. “But the father told me Henry’s doctor said he would be about 90% in six weeks. He really wanted to run. Telling him he couldn’t was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do in coaching. He’s a competitor.” . . . If he gets a quick start, Anaheim Katella’s Terry Johnson could be the one to end Damon Thomas’ winning streak in the 110 hurdles. “Terry is running well,” said Thomas of Pasadena. “I’ve been focused on State since last summer.” Defending champion Chip Rish of Huntington Beach Marina looked impressive in winning his 400 heat. . . . National record-holder and defending champion Leslie Maxie of Mills-Millbrae, heading to USC in the fall, cruised in the 300 hurdles.