San Diego Section Track and Field Finals : 7 Are Favored to Win 2 Titles, but Upsets Loom

The 1986 San Diego Section track and field finals will be a stark contrast to last season’s.

Parity was the word used by most to describe the 1985 finals. Only two athletes won more than one event--Lesley Noll of Mount Carmel High School (400 and 800 meters) and Michelle Outlaw of Lincoln High (100- and 300-meter low hurdles).

Noll has graduated, but Outlaw, a junior, is one of four girls and three boys favored in two or more events at this year’s finals, which will be held today on the all-weather track at San Diego State University. The first field event begins at 1 p.m. and the first race is at 3 p.m.

The seven are favored to win two or more section titles, but a handful of others could upset six of them. Probably the only one who won’t have much problem winning two events is Brian Boggess of El Capitan, who has been the best by far in the shotput and discus this season.

Here’s a closer look at today’s events. Athletes’ and schools’ best marks are in parentheses:

BOYS 100 meters--Patrick Rowe of Lincoln (10.72) has been the county leader but he didn’t run well in the preliminaries, running a wind-aided 10.92. Ron Young of Mount Miguel ran a 10.70 on a slow track at the Grossmont League finals and was the second qualifier with a wind-aided 10.87. Freshman Glen Reyes of Orange Glen is the top qualifier at 10.80.

200 meters--Young looked strong at the preliminaries, running a county-best 21.72, the same time he won the finals with a year ago. Terry Rodgers of Sweetwater was the second qualifier (21.98). Also watch for Damion Cormier (Crawford) and Ed Taylor (Clairemont).

400 meters--Rowe finished strong in the preliminaries (49.4) and was only one-hundredth of a second behind the top qualifier and county leader, Tim Pipes of Fallbrook, who ran a 49.87. Rowe’s best time (49.4) was the county’s fifth fastest behind Pipes (48.6) but Rowe looked stronger. Russell Smith (49.9) of Monte Vista and Dustin Seale of Poway (49.1) also should challenge the favorites.

800 meters--Third qualifier Larry Williams of Morse was not among the county leaders at the end of the season, and he received an at-large berth to the preliminaries. But he could be the one to beat. George Puryear of Patrick Henry (1:55.7) and James Fraser of Monte Vista (1:56.36) have been among the county leaders all year.

1,600 meters--This was supposed to be one of the best events at the start of the season, but the race lost its glamour when Mark Dani of Valhalla and Marc Davis of San Diego opted to run only the 3,200. Ramona’s Jorge Castro (4:17.63) was the top qualifier by four seconds. Lawrence Threat of Morse (4:24.77) has gradually improved this season and should push Castro, but Goshu Tadese of Crawford (4:25) ran his best race of the year at the Central League finals.

3,200 meters--Davis (9:21.9) is one of the country’s best junior runners but he still has a long way to go to catch Dani. Dani has not run anywhere near the 8:49.1 he ran at the Michelob Invitational in February, but he has run that early in the season. Dani needs to run well at the section meet in preparation for the state meet and brothers Eric and Mark Mastalir of San Jose Jesuit. Robbie Lopes of Monte Vista could be with the leaders.

110-meter high hurdles--The top three qualifiers were only three-hundredths of a second apart. Top qualifier is Reggie Black of University City (14.74). Brian Lockwood of Vista (14.79) did not run well in the preliminaries but should push Black along with Charles Patterson of Lincoln.

300-meter intermediate hurdles--Juniors Kevin Jones of Mount Miguel and Doug Eagle of Poway each has run 39.0. Bruce Stone of University City (39.19) is the top qualifier. Watch for Black to challenge these three.

400-meter relay--Patrick Henry ran 42.38 early in the season but hasn’t been healthy since. Crawford ran the second best in the county (42.61) in early April. This could be one of the best races of the day if both teams can regain their early season form. Fallbrook also could contend.

1,600-meter relay--Morse may not have the sprinters it usually does but it does have plenty of good middle-distance runners. Look for Poway, Mount Carmel and Monte Vista to also contend. High jump--Erik Peterson of Monte Vista (6-8 1/2) was the section champion a year ago. The question is, can he finally clear 6-10? Blake Risner of Vista has cleared 6-8. Pat Wedge of San Marcos (6-6 1/2) and Greg Hilzer of Mira Mesa (6-7) could push him over 6-10.

Pole vault--The top two this season have been San Pasqual’s Curt Brown (15-0) and Ramona’s Pat Alduenda (14-6). However, Alduenda is coming off a wrist injury. Brown has a chance to break the section record of 15-2. Hue Nguyen of Castle Park (14-0) and Jay Rafail (14-6) of Vista also could do well.

Long jump--Larry Todd of Helix jumped a county-best 23-9 1/2 in the preliminaries. Reyes of Orange Glen has gradually improved this season, and jumped 23-5 in the preliminaries, 10 inches better than his previous best. Junior Matt Farmer of Monte Vista (22-9) will be concentrating on this event since he did not qualify for his favorite event, the triple jump.

Triple jump--Without Farmer (46-6), the event is wide open. Ron Young of Patrick Henry is the only qualifier to jump 46 feet.

Discus--No competition here. Boggess, who threw a section meet-record 191-3 in Saturday’s preliminaries, is the county leader by nearly 30 feet and is second in the state by a foot. Boggess said he likes the ring at SDSU and could surpass his previous best. The section record is 195-8 set by Billy Joe Winchester of Mount Miguel in 1974. Chip Delancy of St. Augustine (161-6) and Sean Helgesen of Oceanside (160-2) are the only competitors to throw more than 160 feet.

Shotput--Again, no competition for Boggess. He may be ready to throw farther than his state-leading 60-1 1/2. Steve Stephen of Fallbrook (51-10 1/2) has been second best all year.

GIRLS 100 meters--Nichelle Strachan of Mount Miguel was out for more than a month with a pulled right hamstring. But she is back to her previous form. She was the top qualifier (12.26) in a class field. He closest competition will be Yolanda Fitch of Morse (12.2) and Onie Ferguson of Crawford (12.3).

200 meters--Strachan and freshman LaFrania West of Grossmont each ran 25.24 to qualify first. West has run a hand-timed 24.9. Kim Matthews of Morse (25.8) should be right behind.

400 meters--Fitch ran a 57.15 at the Poway Invitational on April 5 but has not bettered the mark since. Denise Upsher of Torrey Pines was clocked at 57.2 in the Palomar League finals two weeks ago. But Upsher looked tight in the preliminaries. 800 meters--This, along with the 1,600, most likely will be the meet’s highlight. Darcy Arreola of Grossmont vs. Laura Chapel of University City. Noll beat them both last year, but each has been the national leader at one time during 1986. Arreola (2:10.0) is the current national leader, but Chapel (2:11.91) ran a fast 2:11.95 in the preliminaries without any competition. Upsher isn’t far behind (2:13.5). Chapel and Arreola will be shooting for Noll’s year-old section record of 2:08.0.

1,600 meters--Again, Chapel ran the faster time at the preliminaries (4:50.14) and looked smooth. Arreola (4:51.39) probably will set the pace. Arreola beat Chapel every time they met last year but has lost to her all three times this year. The first time Chapel beat Arreola was on San Diego State’s track at the Poway Invitational in a 1,500-meter race.

3,200 meters--Without Chapel and Arreola, Kira Jorgenson (10:55.3) of Vista is the favorite. Jorgenson, an All-American in cross-country, prefers longer races. Arreola was the county leader at 10:36.0. If Nicole Nugent of Torrey Pines can set a fast pace and then hang on, she could win. Coming off an injury, Lisa Lechner of Valhalla will contend.

100-meter low hurdles--Considered to be a runaway early in the season, this should be one of the meet’s best events. Outlaw (14.1) won last year. Junior Darla Vaughn of Mira Mesa (14.1) was second coming over the last hurdle a year ago but fell down and slid over the finish line in third. Point Loma’s Michelle Collum has the county’s best time (13.9) and the state’s fifth-fastest time.

300-meter low hurdles--If she wins this race, Outlaw will have doubled in the hurdles the last two years. Vaughn has good speed and technique but doesn’t have the stamina to win a longer race. Too bad Collum was disqualified in league preliminaries. She may be the county’s best.

400-meter relay--Morse (48.75), which has won seven straight section titles in this event, has been the county leader all year and should have no problem in the finals. But Crawford and Mira Mesa also will challenge.

1,600-meter relay--Morse should have no problem winning this relay, either. Like the boys’ team, it has numerous strong middle-distance runners like Fitch and Matthews. Fallbrook may push the Tigers under four minutes. Mount Carmel misses Noll, but the team that set the section record of 3:54.3 has three back from last year.

High jump--This could be the first of three for junior Jackie Anderson of Mount Miguel. Anderson cleared 5-8 early in the season and should win easily. Heidi Ivie of Vista has cleared 5-6, but the next week she made only 5-0. If she is on, she could push Anderson. So could Jennifer Clinger of El Capitan.

Long jump--This will almost certainly be a victory for Mount Miguel, but who will win, Anderson or Strachan? Strachan (19-4) jumped 18-10 in preliminaries, though she said she felt weak. Anderson (18-8) and Outlaw (17-10) also are expected to contend.

Triple jump--No question here. Anderson won last year and was the national leader (40-3) part of this season. She’s been in a slump and hasn’t gone 40 feet since, but she should still have enough to beat West (38-4 3/4), who has been steadily improving. Sherice Poole of Patrick Henry (37-9 1/2) is the only other competition.

Shotput--Even though she says she hates the event, Tracy Crawford of Southwest is expected to win. She has gone 42-11, a foot better than Kartsi Leppaluoto of Madison, last year’s champion. Starla Ahu of Vista and Terri Mann of Point Loma will fight for third.

Discus--Another featured event. Crawford has beaten Lori Parker of Ramona only once in five tries this year, and that was the first meeting. Parker should surpass her nation-leading mark (162-0) and set a new section record. Mann (136-6) is only a junior, and relies on strength now.