Arcadia Invitational : Keshmiri Sets Mark in Discus

The field stood firm against Team Keshmiri for a change Saturday night at the Arcadia Invitational, which is more than can be said for the record book.

Kamy Keshmiri of Reno, who had set the all-time record of 214 feet 11 inches two weeks ago in the Stanford Invitational, smashed that mark by almost 10 feet at Arcadia High School with a best of 224-3. He had another throw of 214-6.

The record-setting effort came only moments after Dwight Johnson of Tempe, Ariz., threw 212-11, which held up as the No. 4 mark of all time, making this arguably the best prep discus competition ever.

Officially, Keshmiri, who is scheduled to compete at Mt. San Antonio in two weeks, will go atop the record book alone. Unofficially, however, he will insist on sharing it with his father and lifelong trainer, Joe, a four-time Olympian for Iran. Kamy, in fact, had dedicated the meet to his father.

“Once I saw it go through the air, I felt a pull,” Kamy said of the record-setting throw, his last attempt of the night. “As a thrower, when you feel that pull, you know it’s good. I saw the thing keep going and going and going.

“Usually, at the meets, I’m the center of attention with the discus. He (Johnson) came in and did 212, and that made me more anxious to throw farther and show I could clear the field.”

Said Joe: “Last week, he was 73 feet ahead of the second guy. He looked forward to getting some competition, and he got it.”

Keshmiri has already said he will compete in the Mt. Carmel Invitational near San Diego next Saturday, but Johnson will wait until Monday before deciding. If he does go and pushes the favorite again, the game plan is a simple one for Team Keshmiri.

“He’ll be loking for another national record,” Joe said.

Keshmiri, named the boys’ athlete of the meet, came back to win the shotput with a mark of 65-2, making him one of several double winners. Even more impressive, there were 15 national bests for 1987 established, with Quincy Watts, Kira Jorgenson and Keshmiri leading the way.

Watts, the ’86 sophomore sensation in leading Woodland Hills Taft to the State title, won the 100 meters in 10.51 and the 200 in 20.89, the best in the country this year in both. He also anchored the 400 relay team to a second-place finish behind Pasadena Muir and moved the Toreadors from third to second with an impressive last leg in the 1,600 relay.

Jorgensen, from Vista, also turned in top times in two events, the 1,600 (4:51.03) and the 3,200 (10:24.23). She was named the girls’ athlete of the meet.