THE TIMES’ GIRLS’ TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR : Endless Season Comes to an End : Orr’s Three Sports Made for a Hectic Year-Round Job

It was Monday afternoon and Ocean View High School’s Debbie Orr didn’t know what to do. For the first time in nine months, she didn’t have a practice, a match, a game or a meet.

Volleyball, soccer and track had dictated a nonstop daily schedule of workouts or competition since August. Finally, Orr had a day for herself, and she spent the spare time suntanning at a friend’s swimming pool.

“I spent the whole afternoon relaxing,” she said. “It was great.”

A typical day in the life of Debbie Orr meant attending classes until 12:30, then making a quick trip home to watch her favorite soap opera before workouts.

She spent the fall playing on the Seahawks’ volleyball team, developing into a top middle blocker with her fine leaping ability. She moved on to the soccer field during the winter, earning All-Southern Section honors.

“I’ve played soccer for 11 years, and it’s always been my best sport,” Orr said. “Everyone in my family plays soccer.”

But Orr’s claim to fame came in track. She finished second in the triple jump at the State meet with a mark of 38-feet 9-inches and was third in the high jump at 5-7. She was named The Times’ girls’ track Athlete of the Year.

Orr started competing in track as a 7-year-old in city meets in Huntington Beach, where she ran the 220-yard dash and participated in the long jump. By the seventh grade, she was excelling in the triple jump and high jump.

“My favorite events are the triple and high jump,” she said. “The triple jump almost comes naturally to me.”

So much so that she established a county record (39-8) in the State preliminaries at Cerritos College. She had a personal best of 5-10 to win the high jump in the Southern Section’s 4-A division.

In the Orange County Invitational, she won the triple, long and high jump and was named the Athlete of the Meet.

“It was probably my best meet,” she said. “My marks weren’t the best, but I won all three events and beat Yleana (Carrasco of Anaheim) in the high jump.”

Orr said she met her 1986 goals--to finish in the top three in the triple and high jump in the State meet.

This summer, Orr plans to work out at Golden West College and compete for the Roadrunners Track Club. She also will compete in a meet in Eugene, Ore.

She will graduate with a 3.0 grade-point average and is being recruited by Nebraska, Arizona, Washington, Northern Arizona University, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach. She says she plans to major in elementary education.

“I’m having a hard time deciding on college,” she said. “All of the schools I like are away from home, and I would like my parents to see me compete. About half of the schools want me to play volleyball, too.”

Decisions, decisions. At least, Orr now has some time to work on the decision.