Prep Review : A Description of a Race That’s Second to None

When it comes to post-race interviews, few are as entertaining as the those offered by Marina High School distance runner Shanon Winkelman.

Winkelman, who ran the 3,200 meters in 9 minutes, 4.19 seconds Saturday at the Pasadena Games track and field invitational at Occidental College, placed second in the event to Granada Hills’ Ian Alsen, who won in 9:02.06.

“I’m totally stoked, totally stoked,” Winkelman said. “Oh! yeah, I’m happy. It’s awesome. I mean, maybe I could’ve won. But it doesn’t matter. I’m stoked.”

Both Winkelman and Alsen bettered the former meet record of 9:05.41 set two years ago by Darrin Stonerock of Saugus. Winkelman’s mark--the best in Orange County this season--was 12 seconds better than his previous best, 9:16, set in the same meet last year.

Winkelman’s race analysis:

“When the gun went off, it was like a huge pack, about 20 guys, all trying to get out. I mean, I had to nail (Palos Verdes’) David Scudamore right in the chest just to get through the first 10 yards.

“Alsen grabbed the lead. I tried to get up there, but I had to go all the way out to the fifth lane on the first turn just to get around the pack . . . I finally worked up to third. I was like, go, go, go, just get up there.

“Scudamore grabbed the lead with 600 (meters) to go, but he totally died. I took the lead with one lap to go. I just started sprinting as hard as I could. I was tying up so bad but I wanted to win s oooo bad. I was digging deep.

“But Ian just sat right on me. He just sat and sat and waited and then went by me with 200 to go. That was history. I mean, when he ran by me, he looked, I’m not kidding, as smoooooth as silk. He was awe some.”

Add Pasadena: Mater Dei’s George Lynch won the open 110-meter high hurdles in 14.9 and placed second in the invitational 300-meter intermediates in 38.9.

Lynch’s 300-meter time was a personal best, but his performance in the 110s was just as impressive; he arrived at the meet only 15 minutes before that event.

Lynch was only an alternate for the invitational 110, but when he arrived at the track, the clerk of the course told him that Marina’s Marc Kallick, who injured his right hamstring muscles in a meet two weeks ago, had scratched and Lynch was in.

Ode to Homer: Dana Hills’ baseball Coach Bob Canary says he can’t explain it, and he says he doesn’t encourage it, but his Dolphins continue their home run barrage.

Dana Hills (7-4, 2-1) has hit 19 home runs in 11 games. Lance Marks, a sophomore right fielder leads the team with six; junior third baseman Chris Delfs has five, and senior first baseman Denny Papp has four.

“I wish I could take the credit for it,” Canary said. “But if I knew of a secret formula for it, I wouldn’t tell you. Back in ’85 we hit 28 home runs that season.”

There is an emphasis on batting practice at the school, though.

“We just emphasize real hard contact with the ball,” he said. “But with a very short, controlled swing. With arms extended, good hip action. We just think if they do that it’ll happen.”

“Really, it’s just a product of trying to make good, hard contact with the ball.”

But Canary says he rarely encourages players to go for the big swing. In fact, when a player hits one over the fence in practice, he has to go chase it.

Servite Sweet Spot: John Borowiec, Servite athletic director and tennis coach, had tried for several years to convince Angelus League athletic departments to organize Southern Section tennis play.

Until Borowiec got his wish this year, Servite and all other Angelus League schools competed as freelance teams. That resulted in scheduling an overabundance of matches in the early season when schools in league had open schedules. Then, while most teams were competing in league play, Servite had difficult filling its schedule.

“If you’re freelance, the CIF dictates you must win 70% of your total matches to even be considered for a wild-card entrant (to the Southern Section tournament),” Borowiec said.

Last season, Servite entered as a wild-card entrant, but reached the team final where it lost to Dana Hills, 11-7.

Friday, Servite (7-1, 5-0) defeated Mater Dei for the second time, virtually clinching the first league championship.

Though Servite must play three more matches--against St. Paul, Bishop Amat and Bishop Montgomery--the Friars are confident. They won their last matches against those teams by scores of 18-0, 18-0 and 17-1, respectively.

“Having a league provides an incentive for us,” Borowiec said. “Now we can at least hope for a seeding. Basically our motto is one step at a time.”

Add Servite: Senior catcher Brian Criss set two Southern Section records Saturday in the Friars’ 36-0 Angelus League victory over Pius X.

Criss went 7 for 7 in the game, bettering the former mark of six hits in a game set by Serrano’s John Kaulback in 1981. Criss also scored seven runs, bettering the former record of six set by Victor Salazar of Providence last year.

Walked out?: Servite senior Mike Robertson, who hit .340 and 5 home runs and 29 RBIs last year as a junior, has walked 24 times in 9 games this season.

Is he tired of walking?

“No,” he said. “I just got to realize I have to wait for my pitch. So it’s OK. I’ll try to steal bases and score some runs in the meantime.

Robertson, who hit four home runs during the seven-game Connie Mack World Series last summer, said he knows his reputation for hitting may intimidate some pitchers but . . .

“I don’t know what they’re thinking,” he said. “But I’m just going to wait for my pitch all day if I have to.”

In Saturday’s game against Pius X, Robertson walked five times before a pitcher finally began to pitch to him--twice. Robertson hit home runs on both occasions.