Southern Section Track and Field : Smith Leads Woodbridge Girls to 2nd Place : Johnson of Katella Wins 300 Low Hurdles, Is Second in Two Other Races

Sherri Smith of Woodbridge High School and Terry Johnson of Katella were the big winners among Orange County athletes Saturday at the 73rd Southern Section track and field finals at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Smith won the girls’ 3-A division 800- and 1,600-meter runs and anchored the Warriors’ winning 1,600-meter relay team.

Woodbridge finished tied for second with Corona in team scoring with 30 points. Pomona won with 40, and Newport Harbor was third with 29.

Johnson won the boys’ 3-A division 300 low hurdles and finished second in both 110-meter high hurdles and the 200-meter run. Johnson and Smith each qualified for three events in the CIF Masters meet Friday night in Cerritos.

It was a long day for Smith. She won the 800 meters in 2:11.22 and came back to capture the 1,600 meters in 4:55.37. She ran a 56.3 to anchor the Warriors’ relay team and then excused herself to attend Woodbridge’s prom.

“I plan on sleeping in tomorrow,” she said. “This is going to be a long day. I felt relaxed after the 800, but I wasn’t expecting to break five minutes in the 1,600.”

Smith will have a long-awaited showdown in the 800-meter run with Mission Viejo freshman Kathy Grayson in the Masters meet. Grayson won the 4-A division event in 2:11.56.

Johnson won his speciality--the 300 low hurdles--in a brisk 37.76, but was upset by Rodney Bradshaw of Saugus in the 110-meter high hurdles. Bradshaw was timed in 14.02 and Johnson at 14.03. It was Johnson’s first loss in the event this season.

“I thought I caught him at the end,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t happy with my performance today. I hit a hurdle and lost a step. I just wasn’t concentrating.”

Johnson was also second in the 200 meters in 21.79, finishing behind Martin Cannady of Duarte at 21.55.

“I’m going to have my knee checked next week,” Johnson said. “I think I have water on the knee. If it feels all right, I plan on running all three races in the Masters.”

Yleanna Carrasco of Anaheim won the girls’ 2-A division high jump for the second consecutive year, but her mark of 5 feet, 6 inches was far off her personal best of 6 feet. Last year, Carrasco was the third-best female high jumper in the nation.

“I stopped after clearing 5-6 because my back and knee have been hurting me,” she said. “My back has been hurting me for some time. I’ve developed some tendinitis in my knee, and it hurts more on the jump than the landing.”

Carrasco also finished third in the 100-meter low hurdles with a time of 14.67 to qualify for the Masters.

Debbie Orr of Ocean View was another double winner. Orr won the girls’ 4-A triple jump at 39-4 and the high jump at 5-10. Orr didn’t miss a jump until the bar was moved to 5-11, where she was unsuccessful in three attempts.

Other county winners included:

--Nicole Ritchot of Edison in the girls’ 4-A 1,600 meters. Ritchot was timed in 5:00.32.

--Jim Sorenson of Villa Park in the boys’ 4-A 800 meters. Sorenson ran a 1:55.39.

--Craig Olson of El Dorado in the boys’ 3-A 800 meters. Olson was timed in 1:55.00.

--Lori Svoboda of El Dorado in the girls’ 3-A high jump. Svoboda cleared 5-6.

--Shelly Lovati of El Modena in the girls’ 4-A shotput. Lovati had a personal best of 44-1 1/2.

--Doug Miller in the boys’ 3-A pole vault. Miller had a personal best of 15-6 to upset Servite’s Steve Williams. Williams was beaten for the first time this season after clearing only 14-4.

--Eric Dorn of Estancia in the boys’ 3-A high jump. Dorn had a personal best of 6-9.