Prep Track : Reedus Sprints to Head of Field

Not many know of David Reedus, Westminster High School’s new sprinting sensation. But the few who have seen him in action have been duly impressed.

“He was news to me,” said El Toro Coach David Johnson, who watched Reedus blast by El Toro’s top sprinter, Rob Boldt, in a 100-meter race Tuesday.

Reedus’ time in that race--10.8 seconds--tied the Westminster school record.

“No one gave me any scouting news on him,” Johnson said. “But he was quite impressive.”

Reedus, a senior 100-meter specialist, transferred to Westminster from North Salinas High last fall. He brings with him an impressive track record.

His personal best in the 100 meters--10.56 seconds--is one-hundredth of a second faster than the Orange County record of 10.57, set by Elliott Dunning of Santa Ana Valley in 1984.

Had Reedus run 10.56 at the Southern Section Masters meet last May, he would have won by .07 seconds.

“He’ll definitely be a factor in the Southern Section,” said Doug Speck, Southern California editor of Track & Field News.

“He’s the No. 10 returning 100-meter man in the state, and the No. 3 returner in the Southern Section. With a little improvement, he could be very good.”

That would suit Reedus--but only for a moment. His high aspirations can be expressed in two words: world class.

“That’s my goal,” he said. “To be a world-class runner. That’s the direction I’m trying to take.”

Reedus’ methods involve diet (no candy, no soda pop, lots of spaghetti); training (he said he learned sprint drills from library books and he has always been self-coached), and relaxation techniques.

The latter, Reedus said, he learned from sprint great Carl Lewis at a meet last year.

“He told me how important the mental (aspect) of running is,” Reedus said. “And that relaxation and self-hypnosis is the key to everything.”

And so about 20 minutes before every race, Reedus sneaks away to a quiet spot, closes his eyes and imagines himself running with perfect form through each portion of the race.

After that, he gets up, drinks some honey he keeps in a ketchup bottle and hopes his imagined scenes become reality.

Saturday, at the 23rd Beach Cities Invitational track and field meet at Newport Harbor High School, Reedus will run the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races and will anchor the 400-meter relay.

His chance of breaking any records there are slim, though, as Newport Harbor has a dirt track. Reedus says he doesn’t care.

“I know records are meant to be broken and all,” he said. “But I’m not in any hurry. They really don’t mean that much to me anyway. I just want to see how fast I can go. That’s what keeps me going.”

Track Notes

Thirteen schools, including Orange County track and field championship winner Capistrano Valley, will compete at the Beach Cities Invitational, an all-boys meet that begins at 11 a.m. The final event--the mile relay--is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. . . . Two other county meets are scheduled this weekend. One, the 14th Katella Jack Bighead Relays at UC Irvine, is the largest, with boys’ and girls’ teams from 25 schools competing. The meet, which was originally scheduled to take place at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, was relocated to UC Irvine because the track at Mt. SAC was scheduled for resurfacing. The other, the 12th Brea-Olinda Rotary Relays at Diamond Bar High School, is scheduled to begin with the field events at 8 a.m. Boys’ and girls’ teams from 14 schools will compete in the meet, which features a combination of individual and relay events.