Watts Whips 100 Field Before Injuring Back

Quincy Watts is human after all. A day after winning two individual events and running the anchor leg on two victorious relays in a dual meet against Reseda High, the Taft junior planned to run the same four events at Saturday night’s 45th Pasadena Games at Occidental College.

But he was forced to withdraw from the invitational 400 after straining his back in the 400-meter relay. Taft Coach Tom Stevenson said the injury appears minor.

Watts performed brilliantly, nonetheless. He won the 100 meters in a season best of 10.74 and ran two storming anchor legs as Taft’s 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams placed third with season-best efforts.

Four other Valley-area athletes also won events.

Christy Farrell of Thousand Oaks won an exciting homestretch duel with Tracey Williams of Mountain View in the girls 3,200 meters. Farrell ran a season-best 10.46.11 and Williams finished in 10:46.22.

Farrell’s teammate, Sharon Manship, won the 300-meter low hurdles with another season-best of 44.63

In the boys field events, Dave Swanson of Alemany won the high jump at 6-8 and Hart’s Steve Barnett won the shotput with a 52-7 1/2. Swanson, who has a personal best of 7-0, equaled his season-best.

When Watts received the baton in the 400 relay, Taft was in fifth place but he turned on the afterburners and brought the Toreadors up to third in a season best of 41.64.