Cooksey Holds Off 800 Field

For Travis Cooksey of Rio Mesa High, the Ventura County track championships at Camarillo High on Friday night accomplished two things:

First, it was a chance for Cooksey, the defending Southern Section 4-A Division champion in the 800 meters, to redeem himself after last week’s poor performance at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, where he finished dead last. Second, and more important, the meet served as a springboard for the next five weeks, during which Cooksey wants to defend his 4-A title and win the state meet as well.

“Tonight was the start,” Cooksey said after winning the boys’ 800 in 1 minute, 55.4 seconds. “I want to go undefeated from here on. I don’t want to lose again.”

Losing is something that Cooksey was unaccustomed to last season. He entered the state meet in Sacramento with an unblemished record and was picked by some as the favorite. However, his front-running tactics backfired in the state final. After leading for the first 700 meters, he finished a disappointing sixth.

That experience has made Cooksey a wiser runner this season, one who realizes that running well at the end matters most.

Cooksey’s second consecutive Ventura County title did not come easily.

Paul McCarter of Thousand Oaks, who has run 4:16.04 for 1,600 meters, pushed Cooksey for the entire distance.

“That really helped,” said Cooksey, who led the field through an opening 400 of 55.3. “I wasn’t able to relax because Paul was always right there. I could see his shadow the whole way.”

McCarter placed second in a personal best of 1:55.7 and Mike Esparza of Newbury Park passed a fading Gerardo Vaca of Fillmore to place third (1:57.6).

“I wanted to run faster,” Cooksey said, “But the win is what matters. That’s what counts.”

Cooksey’s teammate, junior Angela Burnham, remained undefeated and defended her county titles in the 100 and 200 meters.

Burnham, who won the 1986 100-meter state title, ran a wind-aided 11.6 in the 100 and a legitimate 24.20 in the 200.

Both times were short of her personal bests of 11.65 and 23.94, but the 5-5, 109-pound Spartan looked as smooth as ever.

In the 200, she never broke into her patented sprinting gallop, but still ran a time that few high school girls have bettered this season.

Burnham has won three consecutive county titles in the 200.

She also ran strong anchor legs on the Spartans’ victorious 400- (48.8) and 1,600-meter (4:02.98) relays. She took the Spartans from fourth to first in the 1,600 relay with a 55.7 leg.

In the boys’ sprints, Chad Sourbeer of Royal matched Burnham’s 100/200 double.

Sourbeer exploded to early leads in each race, then held off his pursuers. He ran a wind-aided 11.07 in the 100 and a legitimate 22.31 in the 200, narrowly defeating Scott Atkins of Thousand Oaks, who also clocked 22.31.

Earlier in the meet, Atkins had set a county meet record of 49.0 to win the 400.

Other Valley-area winners included Agoura’s Deena Drossin, Jenny Whelchel and Bryan Dameworth, and Royal’s Carol Myszkowski.

Drossin, the defending state Division I cross-country champion, won the 1,600 (5:07.46) and 3,200 (11:01.9); and Whelchel, the defending state champion in the shotput, won that event with a throw of 42-10 3/4. She also won the discus with a effort of 125-0.

Both of Whelchel’s efforts established county meet records, as did Dameworth’s in the boys’ 3,200.

The Agoura sophomore ran 9:17.75 after pulling away from Esparza at the midway point.

Myszkowski, who placed fourth in the triple jump last year, jumped a season best of 36-5.

Oak Park swept the boys’ relays, winning the 400 relay in 43.1 and the 1,600 relay in 3:21.41.