Girls’ Triple Jumpers Go 2-4-5; Noon Still Waiting for His Title

Three San Diego County girls finished among the top five in the triple jump Saturday at the state track and field championships at Cerritos College.

No big deal, they said. Next year, it could be 1-2-3.

“That girl who won (Morningside High School’s Althea Moses) is gone next year,” said Grossmont junior La Frania West. “I think I can win it next year.”

Whoa.

“You can’t say you’re going to win it,” said Rachelle Johnson, a junior at Patrick Henry. “I’m looking forward to winning it next year.”

How about you, Stacey Thompson?

“I’m just a sophomore,” said the Morse athlete. “I’m looking forward to coming back next year.”

On her second-to-last jump, Moses went 40-feet 9 3/4-inches to beat West by an inch. West’s mark, a personal best that she established Friday and duplicated Saturday, gave her second.

Thompson finished fourth (39-1) and Johnson fifth (38-7). Each of the three said the triple jump is a hobby, not an obsession.

And each said that could change. West for one, will work more on the second or skip phase of her jump and indicated she may not run the 200-meter dash next year.

One person could disrupt chances for a San Diego trifecta next year. Keri Sanchez, a freshman from San Jose Santa Teresa, finished third at 39-9 1/2. Sanchez went 40-4 1/2 earlier this year.

Though West had beaten Moses before, and Sanchez entered somewhat of a favorite, Moses’ experience showed when it counted. Her mark was a personal best.

“You can’t give up anything in the state meet,” she said. “I thought I would need a personal record to win. I had been on the board on each jump.”

Another senior, Huntington Beach Edison’s Kaleaph Carter, made another youngster wait another day for his parade.

Carter, who finished second the past two years, threw the shot 64- 1/2 to win the event.

Fallbrook’s Brent Noon, who broke Carter’s state record for sophomores earlier this season, finished third at 62-3, inch behind Joe Hicks of San Benito.

Noon fouled on four of his seven tries in two days.

“Noon will come out here and win this thing next year,” Edison Coach Tony Ciarelli said. “A senior has a little more going for him. Kaleaph wasn’t going to let anyone beat him.”

Noon finished seventh last year with a throw of 58-1. This year, he and his father, Jim, attempted a more complicated technique that helped yield not only greater distance in meets, but 64- and 65-foot puts in practice this week.

“I should have thrown that (far) today; maybe I was pressing,” said Noon, who discounted the strained ligaments in his back as a factor. “I did a lot of things wrong, and when I correct that, I’m going to improve.”

Noon will concentrate on the shotput this summer, he said, because throwing the discus aggravates his back. Noon, 6-feet 2-inches and 255 pounds, said he aims to break the national record for 16-year-olds, 67-0.

Maybe that is why he referred to his mark of 62-3 as “ridiculous.”

“This might be good for (Noon),” Ciarelli said. “His path is similar to Kaleaph’s.”

Two years ago, Brian Boggess of El Capitan beat Carter by 4 inches. Last year, Carter lost by about 4 feet to Simi Valley Royal’s Dave Bultman.

Both Carter and Noon had previously thrown farther than they did Saturday.