Prep Wrapup : Narbonne Sprinter DeVeaux Wins Despite Mother’s Death

Narbonne sprinter Jonathan DeVeaux ran for himself and his school Friday. Most of all, though, he ran for his mother, Grace, who died April 10 after a yearlong battle with stomach cancer.

“I wanted to win this meet for my mom,” said DeVeaux, whose four wins carried the Gauchos past visiting Banning, 67-60, and propelled them into a three-way tie for the Pacific League title with Banning and Carson.

For DeVeaux, one of the South Bay’s top track athletes and considered a contender for the L.A. City 200-meter title, it was a bittersweet ending to the dual-meet season.

“Running used to be real important to me,” he said. “It’s nice to win, but it’s not the same way it used to be.”

Friday’s meet marked the first time DeVeaux had seriously competed since his mother’s death.

Narbonne Coach Scott McQueen worried that the tragedy might take its toll on his best athlete, but DeVeaux confidently assured McQueen that he would be ready for Banning.

“It’s been very rough for him,” McQueen said. “Most of the team doesn’t even know that (his mother died). Jonathan really handled it like a young man. Even after it happened, he was very calm. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to win. And he did.”

DeVeaux, a powerfully built 6-1, 200-pound senior, swept the sprints and anchored the 440-yard relay team to a winning time of 44.2 seconds. He won the 100 meters in 10.8, the 220-yard dash in 22.2 and the 440 in 51.4.

However, in order for the Gauchos to clinch their third league title in four years, they needed a clutch effort from triple jumper Delton Walker. He went from third to first on his last jump of 44 feet, 5 1/2 inches to give Narbonne enough points to win the meet.

The Gauchos will now set their sights on the Southern-Pacific Conference prelims Friday at Banning. DeVeaux hopes it’s the first step toward another appearance in the state championships.

Last year, he qualified for the state meet by taking fourth in the 200 at the L.A. City finals. DeVeaux considers himself the favorite to win the City 200 this season, although he expects a tough challenge from Washington High sprinter Donovan Burks, who took seventh in the state 100 last year and beat DeVeaux in both the 100 and 220 earlier this season.

DeVeaux ran a personal best of 21.81 in winning the 200 meters at the Pasadena Games at Occidental College in March. A few weeks later, however, he finished a disappointing sixth at the Arcadia Invitational after overstriding down the stretch.

“I’m wondering how fast I can run,” he said.

He’ll find out in the coming weeks as the stakes become higher.

McQueen deserves a good deal of credit for Narbonne’s success in track.

In his sixth year as coach, he has built a winning program at a school primarily known for its losers. The football team has lost 22 consecutive games dating back to the 1986 season, and the basketball team has been a league doormat for several years.

McQueen said the track program wasn’t much better when he took over, but he’s been able to turn things around with enthusiasm and conveying the power of positive thinking to his athletes.

“I’m so tired of Narbonne being associated with losing,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in the track team, but sometimes I almost have to play cheerleader. When I took over at Narbonne the kids were so used to losing, when we won they thought it was a fluke. We were working with such a mental block at first.

“I love my kids, but I push them to death. They know they’re either going to win or go down fighting. I don’t accept complacency.”

McQueen said he learned his hard-nosed tactics as an assistant coach under Fred Petersen at West Torrance High.

“He taught me how to win and what it takes,” he said. “My first year at Narbonne, I told everyone: ‘Hey, we’re going to win.’ I projected that kind of attitude. If you expect that out of people, they will come through.”

McQueen said the football and basketball programs suffer because Narbonne loses many of its best athletes in those sports to Carson and Banning.

“It’s tough to go against teams with bigger people and more talent,” he said. “It’s funny, but in track we can hang with any of them. But if we keep losing athletes, it’s eventually going to kill the track team, too.”

The track season has been a welcome relief for two of McQueen’s assistant coaches. Weight coach Lynn Hughes was the coach of the winless football team, and jump coach Bob Hoppes headed the basketball team.

Mary Star took a big step toward the Santa Fe League baseball title Friday with a dramatic 6-3 victory over Miraleste at Fromhold Field in San Pedro.

George Pisano capped a five-run rally in the seventh inning by hitting a two-out grand slam to left-center field, sending the Stars (13-5 overall, 5-0 in league play) to their 10th consecutive victory.

Until the seventh, however, it was a frustrating day for Mary Star. The Stars trailed 3-1 and had stranded six runners. The first two batters reached base in both the first and fourth innings, but the Stars failed to score each time.

“We have a saying: ‘Good things are going to happen,’ ” said Mary Star Coach Frank Ponce De Leon. “We believe that, and it happened.”

Perhaps the best thing that happened to Mary Star, aside from Pisano’s homer, was Miguel Galaz’s bad-hop single with one out in the seventh. The grounder was headed for Miraleste shortstop Scott Lai when it suddenly shot into the air and sailed well over Lai’s head into left field.

Three batters later, Pisano hammered a fastball from Mirlaste right-hander Jason Mavar over the fence.

“Mary Star had a little bit of help, but give them credit,” Miraleste Coach Ken Russell said. “We didn’t give it away. We got beat.”

It was the second straight loss for the Marauders, who fell two games off the pace in the league at 4-2 and dropped to 11-7 overall.

“We’ll find out what we’re made of now,” Russell said. “Realistically we had a shot at first place, but now it’s out of our hands.”

Mary Star has not won a league title since 1985 and last won the Santa Fe League crown in 1979, when Ponce De Leon played catcher for the Stars.

Mary Star resumes league play with two games at Fromhold Field this week, facing Pater Noster in a make-up game Wednesday and Cantwell on Friday.

North Torrance’s baseball team continued its comeback Friday by routing Morningside, 14-0, for its sixth consecutive win.

Third baseman John Clem drove in three runs for the second straight game as the Saxons pulled into a second-place tie with Mira Costa in the Ocean League at 5-3 and improved to 9-8-1 overall.

North meets first-place Culver City on Wednesday and Redondo on Friday night.