Burnham Runs Down 2 Elusive Sprint Titles

Southern Section track titles never come easily, especially for Angela Burnham.

Two years ago as a freshman, the Rio Mesa High sprinter placed second behind Hawthorne’s Tami Stiles in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, then went on to win the state 100 title. Last year, she pulled a hamstring in the 400 relay and watched the rest of the meet from the stands.

Burnham exorcised last year’s memories at the Southern Section track championships Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk, winning the 4-A Division 100 in a wind-aided 11.38 seconds and the 200 in a state-leading 23.58.

The Spartan junior also anchored Rio Mesa’s 400 relay team to a third-place effort of 48.02 and ran the third leg on the 1,600 relay, which placed fourth in 3:58.80. Both times are Valley-area season bests.

Led by Burnham’s efforts and Mary Bitner’s 18-2 victory in the long jump, Rio Mesa totaled 40 points to place second behind Hawthorne (77) in the team standings.

Neighborhood rivals Oak Park and Agoura swept the boys’ and girls’ 1-A team titles.

Oak Park, powered by a 1-2 finish in the 400 and victories in the 400 and 1,600 relays, scored 54 points to defeat runner-up Cabrillo (38).

The Eagles got a big break when Agoura’s Jeff Ingalls won the 400 but was disqualified for running out of his lane. With Ingalls ousted, Jason Stein’s second became a first and Kent Richter’s third became a second, giving Oak Park 18 points in the event. More importantly, it cost Agoura, which placed fifth with 32 points, 10 points.

The Chargers could not be denied in the girls’ meet, however, scoring 65 points, 18 ahead of runner-up Paso Robles.

Agoura received victories from Deena Drossin in the 1,600 (5:07.16), Jenny Whelchel in the shotput (42-7 1/2) and the 1,600-meter relay team (4:05.76).

Del Rey League rivals Notre Dame and Crespi placed second and third in the boys’ 2-A Division, scoring 37 and 36 points. Morningside won its third consecutive title with 52 points.

Tom Parker’s pole vault victory (15 feet) led Notre Dame, while Russell White, Dave Lefner and Eric Kieling scored all of Crespi’s points.

White won the 100 in a wind-aided 10.72 and placed second in the 200 with a 21.71. Lefner won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in a personal best of 38.75 and Kieling was runner-up in the 110-meter high hurdles in a wind-aided 14.57.

Though pleased with her victories, Burnham was disappointed with the way she felt.

“I kind of struggled,” she said. “I felt very sloppy in the 100 and 200 meters. I was just off. I felt uncoordinated.”

You could not tell by her times.

The 200 clocking qualified Burnham for the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis in July and the 100 time would have if not for the 2.95-meter-per-second tail wind, which exceeded the maximum allowable of 2.0.

“I wasn’t really thinking about qualifying for the trials,” Burnham said. “But I’m glad to get it out of the way.”

Burnham was grateful for the impetus provided by Muir sophomore Inger Miller, the daughter of two-time Olympic 100-meter medalist Lennox Miller of Jamaica. Miller ran 11.43 in the 100 and 23.59 in the 200. She led Burnham until the last five meters in the 200.

“I’m glad she was there,” Burnham said. “It’s hard to run fast if you’re running all by yourself.”

Morgan Bateman of Crescenta Valley, who won the boys’ 4-A 800 in a personal best of 1:52.87, might disagree with Burnham.

Bateman led the field through an opening 400 of 55.5 seconds, then ran the next 200 in 27.9 seconds to blow the race open.

“I felt very comfortable with 200 meters to go,” said Bateman, who placed third in the 800 last year as a sophomore. “I could have shifted into another gear if I had to.”

Cindy Byrne of Canyon was one of the meet’s biggest surprises, winning the girls’ 4-A 300 low hurdles in 43.47, a Valley-area leading time as well as a personal best by more than 2 1/2 seconds.

Other Valley-area winners included Saugus teammates Joe Devine in the 4-A 1,600 (4:14.69) and Damiean Jenkins in the discus (170-0). Crissy Mills of Campbell Hall defended her 1-A title in the girls’ high jump with a mark of 5-8.