THE PREPS : Southern Section Track and Field Championships : Winning Titles Is Easier Than Setting County Records

Allison Franke, Kaleaph Carter and Shanon Winkelman, area track and field standouts, all have a good chance of winning individual titles in the Southern Section 4-A track and field championships today at Cerritos College.

But how do these athletes compare against the best prep competitors in Orange County history?

Let the records show that the county bests are tough to beat.

Canyon’s Franke is the defending 4-A champion in the discus. Her career best of 155-feet 11-inches leads the 4-A and is third-best nationally.

But it is far from the county record of 174-4 set in 1983 by Natalie Kaaiawahia of Fullerton. In the same year, Kaaiawahia set the county--and current national--record in the shotput at 53-7 3/4.

“Maybe I can’t get it (the discus record) this year,” Franke, a junior, said. “But I have a year to go. I’m going to spend all summer working on my technique. The mark’s not that far out of reach.”

Edison’s Carter, a UCLA-bound senior, has the nation’s third-best throw in the shotput at 63-2 3/4. He also leads the county in the discus (173-5).

Capistrano Valley’s Brian Blutreich set the records in the shotput (69-6 1/2) and the discus (210-8) in 1985.

Carter has said several times this season that he thinks a throw of 68 or 69 feet is within reach, although it might not happen until his years at UCLA, where Blutreich is currently starring.

Marina’s Winkelman is the 4-A division leader in the 3,200 meters, having run 9 minutes 3.3 seconds--fifth nationally.

Winkelman, who this season has dominated the county in the 3,200, is still far from the county record of 8:46.78, set by Edison’s Jon Butler in 1981.

In the same year, Butler set the county record in the 1,600 meters at 4:06.75. Corona del Mar’s Jim Robbins is the current county leader in the 1,600 at 4:11.6.

Only two athletes--Edison pole vaulter David Noel and Mission Viejo triple jumper Lisa Fager--have come close to breaking county records this season.

Noel, a senior, leaped 16-4 in a Sunset League dual meet last month. He failed on his next three attempts at 16-6, which would have bettered the county record of 16-6 set in 1978 by El Dorado’s Greg Ernst.

Fager, a sophomore, recorded a triple jump mark of 39-4 at the Orange County Girls’ Track and Field Championships last month. The record, set in 1986 by Debbie Orr of Ocean View, is 39-8.

Noel and Fager aside, most of the county athletes have a better chance of winning Southern Section titles today than they do of setting a county record.

More county records, and those who currently stalk them:

Girls’ 100 meters: 11.89 by Estelle White of Saddleback, 1982.

Mission Viejo’s Sheri Bertell has been the county’s best in the 100 meters for the past two seasons. Bertell, who ran a 12.57 at last week’s Southern Section preliminaries, ran a best of 11.98 at the county championships last month, but that mark was wind-aided.

Girls’ 800 meters: 2:06.36 by Rene Durrand of Laguna Beach, 1982.

Durrand, who in 1980 ran a 2:05.7 in an international meet at Taiwan, is overshadowed in Orange County history by Mary Decker.

Decker, who attended Orange High, had a time of 2:02.29 in 1974, but because it was run in age-group competition, it does not stand as a high school record.

This season, Laurinda Mulhaupt of Capistrano Valley has the fastest 800-meter time at 2:18.24.

Girls’ 1,600 meters: 4:39.92 by Polly Plumer of University, 1982. It also is a national record.

Lynne Hagan of Mater Dei (5:09.6) and Leslie Cashion of Corona del Mar (5:10.6) are the current county leaders. Plumer also holds the current national girls’ mile record with a time of 4:35.24, but it does not count as a county record because it was set in an open race at the Pepsi Invitational in 1982.

Boys’ 100 meters: 10.57 by Elliott Dunning of Santa Ana Valley, 1984, and (hand-timed) 10.4, Eddie Morris of Huntington Beach, 1940.

Villa Park’s Tien Bui (10.7) was the only county athlete to qualify for the event at today’s Southern Section finals.

Boys’ 110 hurdles: 13.41 by Steve Kerho of Mission Viejo, 1982.

No one has come within a second of this mark this season. County leaders are Mater Dei’s George Lynch (14.75) and Marina’s Marc Kallick (14.87).

Boys’ 300 intermediate hurdles: 36.74 by Keith Pontiflet of Esperanza, 1985.

In 1982, Kerho ran a better time (35.85), but that was when the 300s were low hurdles. The change to intermediates was made in 1984. Current county leaders: Garden Grove’s Anthony Hale (38.20) and Lynch (38.9).

Track and Field Notes

The Southern Section finals begin today at 11 a.m. at Cerritos College. Corona del Mar, led by sprinter d’Layne Kerr, long jumper Sandy Lucas and distance runner Leslie Cashion, is a top contender for the girls’ 3-A title. Woodbridge, led by hurdler Kaci Keffer, sprinters Michelle Munoz and Kristen Schertzer and distance runners Amy Robles and Cathi Peck, is a top contender for the girls’ 2-A title.

COUNTY PREP TRACK RECORDS GIRLS

Event Mark Name School Year 100 11.89 Estelle White Saddleback 1982 200 24.39 Annette Rogers University 1984 400 53.42 Arelise Emerson Westminster 1978 800 2:06.36 Rene Durrand Laguna Beach 1982 1,600 4:39.92 Polly Plumer University 1982 3,200 10:29.03 Teresa Barrios University 1982 100 Hurdles 14.08 Laura Mills University 1981 300 Hurdles 42.55 Sharon Hatfield Fountain Valley 1982 400 Relay 47.65 Edison 1984 1,600 Relay 3:48.89 Mission Viejo 1986 Distance Medley 11:43.53 University 1982 Triple Jump 39-8 Debbie Orr Ocean View 1986 Long Jump 19-9 Lisa Gourdine El Toro 1977 High Jump 6-0 Yleana Carrasco Anaheim 1984 Discus 174-4 Natalie Kaaiawahia Fullerton 1983 Shotput 53-7 3/4 Natalie Kaaiawahia Fullerton 1983

BOYS

Event Mark Name School Year 100 10.57 Elliott Dunning Santa Ana Valley 1984 10.4** Eddie Morris Hunt. Beach 1940 200 21.01 Chip Rish Marina 1985 400 45.7 Chip Rish Marina 1985 800 1:49.21 Eric Schermerhorn Woodbridge 1984 1:48.8* Jim Walters Estancia 1977 1,600 4:06.75 Jon Butler Edison 1981 Mile 4:05.4 Mark Schilling Garden Grove 1972 3,200 8:46.78 Jon Butler Edison 1981 Two Mile 8:44.6 Eric Hulst Laguna Beach 1976 110 Hurdles 13.41 Steve Kerho Mission Viejo 1982 300 Hurdles 36.74 Keith Pontiflet Esperanza 1985 400 Relay 41.86 Santa Ana Valley 1984 1,600 Relay 3:16.41 Fountain Valley 1981 High Jump 6-11 3/4 Doug Dreibelbis Foothill 1983 Long Jump 24-5 Tony Pitts Santa Ana Valley 1978 Triple Jump 50-4 Ken Williams Troy 1982 Pole Vault 16-6 Greg Ernst El Dorado 1978 Shotput 69-6 1/2 Brian Blutreich Capistrano Valley 1985 Discus 210-8 Brian Blutreich Capistrano Valley 1985

Distances in meters. *Converted times from yards to meters. **Hand-timed.