Burnham Had Her Year on Track, but 1989 Has Belonged to Miller

Angela Burnham of Oxnard Rio Mesa was last season’s national high school track athlete of the year as a junior.

Burnham, the defending state champion at 100 and 200 meters, ran 11.28 for 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials, which moved her to third on the all-time high school list, and had a 23.45 in the 200, the second-best time in the nation for the year.

She was expected to dominate again this season, but Inger Miller of Pasadena Muir has shown early that Burnham will be severely tested.

Miller, a 5-foot-5 junior, has moved into the spotlight with outstanding marks in the first month of the outdoor season.

Last season, Miller burst upon the track scene by running away from local competition. She finished the season ranked nationally in the 100 with a time of 11.64 and the 200 with a 23.59. She suffered her only setbacks against Burnham and Simone Cain of Hueneme.

It did not take long this season, however, for Miller to reverse that trend. She beat Burnham in the 100 at the Northridge Relays on March 18, catching Burnham from behind.

“Last season, Angela had strength over me,” said Miller, who also posted the best time in the nation in the 200 meters, 23.62, at the Pasadena Games on March 25.

“I always had the leg speed, but I did not have the training background I needed. This season, I was able to get in distance and strength training before the season.”

Muir Coach Jim Brownfield agreed.

“She really worked hard to get to this stage,” said Brownfield, whose Mustangs have won five straight Pacific League titles and a state title in 1985, and hold two national relay records.

“Inger has had to overcome a physical problem, where her right leg is smaller than her left,” Brownfield said. “She suffers from tight leg muscles all of the time. She has to be very careful stretching.

“We want to keep her healthy for the entire season. We are not going to run her in four events, until maybe the state meet. Last season, we did not want to risk injuring her with quarter-miler workouts.”

Miller, who also anchors Muir’s undefeated 400-meter relay team, does not let her undersized right side bother her.

“To me, it has never been a problem. I did not really realize it until my parents told me,” she said. “It is my entire side that is smaller. My right foot is a half-size smaller than the left and the same goes with my calves and hands.”

Miller’s father, Dr. Lennox Miller, was a sprint star at USC and won Olympic silver and bronze medals in the 100-meter dash in 1968 and 1972.

“My dad is a role model who I use as motivation,” Miller said. “I ask him for advice and he gives it to me. He along with his old track coach, Leo Davis, help me when I have questions.”

However, Inger’s father is not the most enthusiastic in the family about her track success. Her mother is.

“My father is very laid back,” Miller said. “My mother is the outgoing one. She is always cheering and screaming for me. She is the one always ready for the next meet.”

Miller’s parents are also responsible for her being at Muir, instead of the Westridge School in Pasadena, where she went from fourth through ninth grades.

“They felt that it would be good for me to transfer to Muir,” Miller said. “I was never really pressed athletically at Westridge, where I played all sports--basketball, volleyball and softball.”

In Miller’s short career at Muir, however, she has already put every school sprint record in jeopardy, including Olympian Alice Brown’s 11.61 mark in the 100 meters.

“I do not make goals in reaching a certain time mark,” Miller said. “I just want to run the fastest mark I can in winning the state championship in the 100 and 200 meters as a junior.”

Saturday night at the Arcadia Invitational, Miller and Burnham, the country’s top two returning sprinters, will renew their rivalry. Miller is taking nothing for granted.

“I can’t let that (previous) win keep me up,” Miller said. “That was Northridge and doesn’t mean anything now. I just have to keep working out hard.”

Coach Michael Miller of the Los Angeles Cathedral boys’ basketball team, who had a 43-11 overall record in his two seasons, has resigned, citing philosophical differences with Athletic Director Joe Parlapiano, who took over at the start of the school year.

Miller, 24, was selected coach of the year in the Sante Fe League for the second consecutive season, after leading the Phantoms to their second straight league title.

Prep Notes

The sixth annual Southern California All-Star prep basketball doubleheader, matching girls’ and boys’ teams from the City against those from the Southern Section, will be played Friday at Cal State Dominguez Hills, starting at 6:30 p.m.

The City boys’ team will be coached by former UCLA and Clipper star Marques Johnson. Heading the 16-member team will be Terry Cannon of Crenshaw, City 4-A Division player of the year; Brent Lofton of Woodland Hills El Camino Real, City 3-A player of the year; Sam Crawford of Westchester and Charlo Davis of Los Angeles Manual Arts.

The Southern Section boys’ team will be coached by John Rambo, former star at Cal State Long Beach and 1968 Olympic high jump silver medalist. Leading players are Brian Camper of Lakewood, Malru Dottin of Santa Ana Saddleback, John Hardy of Rolling Hills, Corey Rogers of La Puente Nogales and Eddie Scott of Inglewood Morningside.

Karon Howell, senior guard for the USC women’s team in the recently completed season, will coach the City girls’ team. Among the athletes on her 15-member team will be Valerie Agee of Palisades, Allison Jackson, Denise Slater, Kelly Murphy and Claudia Jones of Crenshaw, Kiki Drummer of Los Angeles Fremont and Sonia Alafua of Carson.

Steve Kabaloski, a key figure in the success of local women’s summer basketball leagues, will coach the girls’ Southern Section team. Top players on his 12-member team are Heidi and Heather Burge of Palos Verdes, Joni Easterly of Anaheim Katella, Kim Gessig of Upland, Susan Peters of Hacienda Heights Los Altos and JoJo Witherspoon of Morningside.