Lewis Slips All the Way to 5th Place : He Claims Blocks Gave Way, Spoiling His Outdoor Debut

Is Carl Lewis slipping? He certainly did Sunday at the 30th annual Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut as his starting blocks failed to support him.

So Lewis wound up fifth in the 100 meters, an unaccustomed middle of the pack finish for America’s premier sprinter.

Raymond Stewart of Jamaica, who sprints for Texas Christian University, was the winner in 10.13 seconds.

With Lewis failing to dominate the scene as he usually does in the Mt. SAC meet, either by long jumping, or sprinting, the weight people shouldered their way onto center stage.

They shared it with the UCLA 1,600-meter relay team. In the race of the day, UCLA’s anchor man, Danny Everett, barely held off Butch Reynolds as the Bruins were timed in a fast 3:00.81. That was close to their collegiate record of 3:00.55 set in last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship meet.

Everett had a 7- to 8-meter lead at the start of the anchor leg, but Reynolds started closing on the final turn and almost caught the Bruin at the finish line. Reynolds’ team, Athletics West, was timed in 3:00.88.

Reynolds, who has the fastest time ever at sea level in the 400 at 44.10, had an unofficial leg of 44 seconds.

As for weighty matters, Ramona Pagel improved on her American women’s shotput record in stirring competition with Bonnie Dasse with a throw of 63 feet 6 inches.

Earlier, Randy Barnes, troubled by a hand injury the past two years, restored his credentials with a throw of 72-6 1/2. That effort established him as the No. 3 American performer in the event behind Brian Oldfield (75 feet) and John Brenner (73-10 3/4).

Lewis usually opens his outdoor season in the Mt. SAC meet and the results are usually gratifying. But, on a clear, picture-perfect day, Lewis was never in contention in the 100.

“I was confident I could run well here,” said Lewis, the co-American record-holder in the 100 at 9.93. “But that’s hard to do when you are on all fours.”

Then, Lewis held up his fingers about four inches apart to show how much his starting blocks slipped.

Lewis said he lost about 80% of his force from the start when his blocks betrayed him. Even so, he didn’t have his customary lift at 60, or 70 meters.

Mark Witherspoon, Lewis’ Santa Monica Track Club teammate, made a late charge for second in 10.17, but Stewart, the bronze medalist in the 100 meters at the World Championships in Rome last August, held him off. Houston’s Joe DeLoach and McNeese State’s Brian Cooper finished ahead of Lewis, who was timed in 10.29.

“My first priority was not to fall,” Lewis said. “After that, nothing happened and I just ran.”

Lewis said he expected the recall gun to be fired because of his mishap in the blocks. It’s believed that Lewis’ fifth-place finish was his worst since he was ninth in the 1981 World Cup meet in Rome. He was injured at the time.

In the women’s shotput, Dasse took the lead with a throw of 62-11 1/2, presumably spurring Pagel to let loose with her winning mark of 63-6. Dasse closed out at 63 feet.

“I was ready to throw that far regardless of what she (Dasse) did, or didn’t do,” Pagel, a former San Diego State star, said, “but she was throwing like a madman.”

Even though it was an impressive performance by America’s all-time No. 1 and 2 women shotputters, they still lag considerably behind the Eastern Europeans.

Americans aren’t ranked among the top 10 in the world. Natalya Lisovskaya of the Soviet Union is the world record-holder at 74-3.

“We’re competitive with 80% of the world, but not with the Eastern Bloc,” Dasse said. “Honestly, I don’t know how they throw that far.”

Barnes, a junior at Texas A&M; who isn’t competing for the school in this Olympic year, became a surprising 70-foot thrower as a freshman.

“But I’ve been out of touch the last two years and I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to throw anymore,” he said.

Barnes’ throwing hand caused him considerable pain and he didn’t even qualify for the final round of the shotput last year in the NCAA meet.

Barnes underwent surgery last summer to remove a sheath over the tendons of some fingers of his right hand. The surgery was successful and he said his hand doesn’t pain him now.

“I hadn’t been competitive and I wanted to re-establish myself,” he said of his performance Sunday.

Barnes had an impressive series with three throws of 71 feet or better--71-0, 72-3 1/2 and 72-6 1/2.

Brenner, who beat Barnes here in close competition in 1986, was a spectator Sunday.

“He looked very impressive,” Brenner said. “It gives me an added incentive and, with him coming on, it helps the U.S.”

Track Notes

UCLA’s splits in the 1,600-meter relay: Steve Lewis, 45.9 seconds, Kevin Young, 44.9, Henry Thomas, 45.2, and Danny Everett, 44.8. . . . Everett also won the invitational 400 meters in the time of 45.37. . . . Mac Wilkins was in Olympic form as he hurled the discus 222 feet, 11 inches, best in the world this year. West Germany’s Wolfgang Schmidt was third at 200-11. . . . Doug Fraley and Mike Tully each cleared 18-8 1/2 in the pole vault, but Fraley was the winner on fewer misses at lower heights. . . . Marty Krulee won another section of the 100 meters in a wind-aided 10.06.