Glendale Streak Rides on Conference Finale

Tom McMurray was not there when it started and he is hopeful that he will be gone when it ends.

To McMurray, the Glendale College men’s track coach, it is simply known as The Streak. A string of 122 Western State Conference dual-meet victories and 13 conference titles that dates back to 1974, two seasons before McMurray’s reign began.

There have been seasons when The Streak was in danger. But those narrow margins provided only added excitement, not losses.

Only a few times, however, has The Streak and the conference title been as vulnerable as it is this season.

Glendale (6-0) earlier this season defeated Moorpark College by only 7 points. And the Vaqueros most serious obstacle lies directly ahead in the form of Bakersfield, the conference’s only other undefeated team. Bakersfield plays host to Glendale and Santa Monica in the conference finale this Friday. Although there are three teams in the meet, each will be scored individually against the other two.

“We’re usually ready when it’s time, and hopefully we’ll be ready this Friday,” McMurray said.

Glendale has depth and talent in the middle distances and the sprints but lacks experience in several of the field events. Sophomore Rodney Bradshaw is the team’s top hurdler, having broken a 22-year-old school record last season with a 14.1 finish in the 110-meter high hurdles. Terrell Smith and Sean Johnson both have finished the 110 high hurdles under 14.5 seconds and have been clocked at 55 seconds in the intermediate hurdles.

Paul Simpson, Matt McMillian are Andreas Douglas are top sprinters. Simpson runs the 100 meters (10.7), the 200 (21.8), the 400 (49.7) and is part of the mile relay team (3:21). McMillian and Douglas have both run 10.7 in the 100 meters and have times under 22 seconds in the 200 meters.

Jose Hernandez, a two-time cross-country All-American, leads the distance runners. The sophomore competes in the 1,500 meters (4:03) and in the 5,000 meters (15:16). Humberto Quintana, also a cross-country All-American, finished fourth in the WSC last season with 4:01 in the 1,500 meters. Tim Miller and Nick Lugo both have 1:53 times in the 800 meters.

“We have to do the job in the running events and improve in the field events,” McMurray said.

Glendale’s top field perfomer and captain is Judd Goodrich. The sophomore finished sixth in the state last season with a 207-foot javelin throw. He also is competitive in the shotput (48 feet) and the discus (140 feet). Other top field performers are high jumpers Brian Robinson (6-8) and Bob Tebbe (6-6).

However, Glendale will need depth as well as talent against Bakersfield. The Vaqueros will be facing a team that has won 2 state and 6 Southern California Conference titles. Bakersfield had 68 consecutive Metro Conference victories in the 1970’s.

“We know what a string is and it has to break sometime,” Bakersfield Coach Bob Covey said. “We look forward to these meets. This is what track is all about.

“It looks like they can hurt us the most in the 800, 1,500 and the 5,000. If they’re strong they’ll be able to rack up some points there.”

Bakersfield’s top performers are sprinters Reggie Yarbrough and Sedric Gingram, who run the 100 meters--at 10.5 and 10.8, respectively--and the 200 meters, both at 21.9.

McMurray believes that many teams feel pressured to end The Streak, but are intimidated by it.

“Some teams try too hard,” McMurray said. “When you try too hard you get too intense. The intensity can work for you or against you.”

Said Tebbe: “I think more about each individual meet. I don’t think about the streak too much. I’d like to continue it.

“More or less, when it gets down to the losing of the streak, no one wants to let down. We get that extra adrenaline knowing that we have to continue the streak.”