If Watts Is Hurt, Legs Don’t Know

Quincy Watts of Taft High insists that he hasn’t completely recovered from a broken bone he suffered in his left foot during basketball season. But you wouldn’t believe it after watching him lead the Toreadors to a convincing 84-43 dual meet victory Friday over San Fernando at Taft, the first of the season for each team.

Watts, the defending state champion at 200 meters, won at 440 yards in a good early-season time of 50.0 and ran the anchor legs on the winning 440 (43.1) and mile relay (3:39.7) teams.

But Watts said he’s still not in shape.

“I’m only running at 90% right now,” he said after the meet. “I’m still not as strong as I’d like to be.”

In the 440 he blasted the first 220, opening up a lead of 20 yards, then cruised the second half of the race. Watts is running the 440 to increase his endurance for his bread-and-butter events, the 100 and 200 meters, which he will concentrate on later this season.

With Watts absent from the short sprints, David Sals of San Fernando won the 100 meters and the 220 yards. Sals, who placed fourth at 200 meters in the 1986 City Section championships, ran the 100 in 11.2 and the 220 in 22.4.

Sean Roberts of Taft placed second behind Sals in both events. He clocked 11.5 in the 100 and 22.5 in the 220. The 220 effort equals his personal best from 1986. Roberts also ran the second leg on the 440 relay and the third leg on the mile relay.

San Fernando’s Shelton Boykin was also busy. He won the 120-yard high hurdles in 15.5 and the 330-yard intermediate hurdles in 42.0, though looking ragged in both events. The 6-4 Boykin, runner-up in the high hurdles in the 1986 City championships played forward on the basketball team until two weeks ago.

Craig Sheets was another Taft athlete who performed well in the absence of a well-known teammate. With defending City Section pole vault champion Jay Borick sidelined by a back injury, Sheets won the event with a personal best of 13-0.

In the girls meet, Tracy Wilson and Danielle Griffin led Taft to a 65-43 victory. Wilson won the shot put with a throw of 35-5 and Griffin won the long jump at 15-9.