Prep Invitational : Meet Hit by Rain, Halted

Many of the best high school track athletes from around the country, and a handful of others from Canada, Jamaica and Ireland, came to this Chicago suburb for the 16th annual Keebler International Invitational only to be summarily whipped by an opponent who wasn’t entered in any events: Mother Nature.

She first brought heat and humidity, which was bad enough. Then came a pouring rain that did much more than knock the energy out of competitors.

It KO’d the entire meet.

After a 95-minute downpour, with only about half of the 18 events completed, officials called off one of the top invitational meets in the nation rather than try to wait it out until night. Something about a conflict with the post-meet awards dinner.

“No way,” said Joe Newton, the meet director. “We paid too much for the banquet room.”

Needless to say, there were as many victims as winners on this day.

Kamy Keshmiri, the UCLA-bound record holder in the discus, was both. He left the dry air of Reno Friday morning looking to become the first prep ever to throw 230 feet and arrived here to find temperatures in the high 80s and a humidity level not far behind.

After a slow start, he regained control in the event he has dominated like no other, going 217-2 on the sixth and final attempt to beat Dwight Johnson of Tempe, Ariz., who had a best of 204-2. Three months ago, Keshmiri’s mark would have smashed the national record by almost four feet, but these days, it became another in a long list of great numbers for someone who now has the 19 best marks all-time in the event.

“The wind wasn’t that great and I’m not used to the humidity,” said Keshmiri, who finishes his high school career with the record of 225-2. “I had to slow down a bit and adjust.

“It could have been worse. I can’t always break a record. I have to be happy some days.”

Steve Slocum, the California state pole vault champion from Santa Ana Foothill, partly blamed the heat and on-and-off winds for his limited success. He cleared 15-0, and then three misses at 15-6 put him out of the competition only minutes before the rain would have anyway.

“I can see I’m spoiled in California with the weather,” he said. “Like they say, this is the Windy City. . . . I made 15 and the wind changed all of a sudden.”

The pole vault, like the high jump, was over before it was over. And no one even knew the Fat Lady was in town.

Nine of the 11 events got in before the weather made its lasting impression and three others--the long jump, pole vault and high jump--were given impromptu champions. Kelly Riley of Garland, Tex., with a 1987 best of 17-0, never even got to vault because he was still passing as the bar was at 15-6.

Among the events rained out in the all-boys, seniors-only invitational was the 110 high hurdles, where Dana Hall of Pomona Ganesha was scheduled to compete. The rest of the L.A.-area contingent didn’t fare well, with Percy Knox of Antelope Valley taking fifth in the long jump, despite being No. 2 in the country coming in, and Aaron Mascorro of Rosemead finishing last in the two mile.

“I didn’t plan on doing great,” said Mascorro, who hadn’t worked out in the two weeks since his second-place finish in the State 3,200. “I thought of it as a fun run.”

Officials, who paid transportation and lodging for all the athletes, would certainly be glad to hear that.

Anyway, the meet was called at 4:15 p.m., by which time there was no