High School Track Preview : Weighty Matters: Fallbrook’s Noon Has Lofty Goals

It bothers Brent Noon that his sport--track and field--is mired in a steroids controversy.

Noon, a Fallbrook High School junior, is one of the top athletes in San Diego County. His specialties are the shotput and discus, perhaps the two field events most readily identified with steroids.

During a current Canadian inquiry into drug use, for example, sprinter Angella Taylor Issajenko said that in 1981 she went to American shotputter Brian Oldfield to obtain a steroid because “it was assumed that the throwers were on steroids.” (Oldfield denies using or supplying them to others.)

Noon also has heard rumors that he’s bulking up with steroids, which promote muscle growth but have variety of undesirable side effects.

“People just suppose that here’s a big strong kid, so he’s got to be on steroids,” says his father, Jim. “But people who know us know we’d never cheat by using steroids. It’s like robbery or theft, you’re just stealing from your opponent. It’s immoral and illegal.”

The rumors surface, Jim Noon says, for two reasons. No. 1 is Brent’s size: 6-feet-2, 258 pounds. What people fail to notice, Jim says, is that Brent lacks the well-defined muscles that steroids help develop.

“I read that in Florida kids are using steroids just so their muscles look good when they go to the beach,” Jim said. “But look at Brent--he looks more like the Pillsbury Doughboy.”

Another reason people jump to conclusions may be Brent’s performances. He already has a shotput mark of 66-4 1/2, at an indoor meet in Idaho in February. His top discus throw is 177-4.

Those two personal bests are not likely to last long as Noon shoots for the next plateaus: a shotput of more than 70 feet and a discus throw over 200 feet--both in the same meet.

“My dad and brother keep telling me that I can throw the discus 200, 205 feet,” Brent said. “But I’ve still got a few things to work out before I can do that.”

As for the shotput, Brent says he’s shooting for 73 feet this year, knowing full well that the national record for a high school junior is 71-10.

“Hopefully, within the next couple meets, I’ll go up to 70,” he said.

Noon is one of several area athletes who will be reaching for higher marks as the track season moves into the meat of the schedule.

The outlook in the boys’ events:

Sprints--There already have been three 100-meter times under 11 seconds this year. Castle Park’s Kiyoshi Moody and Mira Mesa’s Bobby Nelson both have been timed at 10.8, and Orange Glen’s Glen Reyes has run 10.9. Nelson and Hoover’s Jerome Gross have run 21.8 in the 200.

Middle distances--Poway’s Craig Ross ran a 49.4 in the 400 meters at the Pacific Rim Invitational at Poway Wednesday; it was one of several county-best times that day. Nelson (50.6) and Gross (50.3) are contenders in the 400. Mira Mesa’s Jason Jackowski has the section’s fastest time in the 800, running 1:56.6 in the Pacific Rim meet. Fallbrook’s Enrique Rodriguez (2:00.1) and Mount Carmel’s Clay Biddle (2:00.1) also will be factors in the 800, as will Poway’s Jesus Luna (2:01.7).

Distances--San Pasqual’s Francis O’Neill has been cruising so far and has not approached last year’s county best of 4:13.83 in the 1,600 or his times of 1:52.8 in the 800 or 9:23.4 in the 3,200, both second best in the section. Rodriguez and Biddle have run 4:22.5 and 4:23.7 in the 1,600.

Hurdles--Poway’s Jeff Haines (14.9 in the 110 high hurdles, 40.5 in the 300 intermediates) has plenty of competition. Mira Mesa’s Todd Stevens ran a 15.1 in the 110 Wednesday. In the 300, Oceanside’s Fred Dunn appears to be a rising star. He was a jumper last year, but in his first try at the intermediates this season, all he did was turn in the county’s best time, 39.2. Mira Mesa has a pair of 300 hurdlers at the 40-second mark, Benny Lewis and Gene Metcalf. Haines’ teammate, Alan Meadows (40.7), will not be left behind.

High jump--Oceanside’s Joe Buchanon and Hilltop’s Kurt Klaser showed in the Mustang Relays two weeks ago that they have the proper form to carry them higher than their current marks: 6-8 1/4 for Buchanon, 6-6 1/4 for Klaser.

Pole vault--Mount Carmel’s Derrick Roth is the only county vaulter with a decent mark (14-6) so far this year.

Long jump--Reyes--last year’s section leader at 23-10 3/4 and whose top mark this year is 22-9--will be pushed here by University City’s Jerome Price (23-3), Castle Park’s Tom Brown (23-0) and teammate Lenny McGill (22-7).

Triple jump--McGill is way out in front of the competition with a mark of 48-8.

GIRLS

Sprints--University City’s Angela Kimmey (12.4) and Mount Carmel’s Vicki DeJesus (12.7) lead the pack in the 100. DeJesus (25.4) and Morse’s Nicola Stennis (26.3) top the 200 field.

Middle distances--Mount Carmel has three of the top middle distance runners in the county: Allison Dring (59.0 in the 400), Angie Cooper (2:25.7 in the 800) and Charity Stowell (2:26.3 in the 800).

Distances--Kira Jorgensen. This is the fourth track season in which Jorgensen will dominate the headlines. Her resume is impressive. Besides her two state titles in the 1,600, Jorgensen won the Kinney National cross-country championships in 1987. But her 21st-place finish in the same race last fall has people wondering if Jorgensen’s dominance on the track also will end. Don’t count on it. She won the invitational mile at the Mustang Relays two weeks ago with a 5:17.9 and ran a 5:19 leg in the distance medley at the same meet, helping Rancho Buena Vista to set a meet record of 13:02.87. For her efforts, slow as they were (Jorgensen ran a 4:49.54 1,600 last year for the state title), Jorgensen was named the meet’s outstanding female athlete.

Hurdles--Poway’s Kim Dill (15.4 in the 100 lows, 48.5 in the 300 lows) gets competition from San Pasqual’s Kathy Stark (15.5 in the 100 lows), and Mount Carmel’s Cassandra Tyson (46.4 in the 300 lows).

High jump--With Serra’s Lynn Patrick, who finished first and second at state the past two seasons, forgoing track for volleyball, the area’s best is Torrey Pines’ Karyn Armstrong (5-8).

Long, triple jumps--Oceanside’s Michelle Dimry, at 16-4 1/2 so far this season in the long jump, should at least match her section best of 18-2 1/2 last year. Oceanside’s Angela Sims is the top triple jumper at 35-5 1/2.

Throws--Madison’s Jennifer Viavia is one of the state’s top performers in the shotput (43-1 3/4 last year) and discus (131-3 last year).