High School Track Finals : Thousand Oaks Outdistances Royal

When Mike Williamson of Thousand Oaks High learned he would be running three races at the Marmonte League track and field finals Friday, he was thrilled.

“I said to him last week, ‘Mike, you know you’re running the half-mile, also,’ ” Thousand Oaks assistant Jim Dunlap said. “He said he was looking forward to it.”

The strategy of having Williamson run in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 was designed to help the Lancers win extra points in the distance events and help produce a Marmonte League team title.

The gamble worked.

Thousand Oaks, which finished first in the league dual-meet standings with a 5-1 record, scored 119 points to edge Royal (108) for the overall championship at Camarillo High.

For Williamson, though, the payoff came in the 3,200.

The Lancer senior, who won the 1,600 and placed third in the 800 earlier in the meet, covered the final 400 meters in 62 seconds to outlast Abe Valdez of Camarillo and win in 9 minutes, 19.15 seconds. Valdez finished second in 9:23.31.

“I was pretty worried going into it,” Williamson said. “I didn’t want to go out too fast the first mile.”

Valdez towed Williamson through a 4:40 first mile and had a two-meter lead with a lap to go before Williamson surged to victory.

Williamson ran 4:21.67 in the 1,600 to beat Camarillo’s Chad Malesich, who was second in 4:26.62. In the 800, Williamson faded with 130 meters to go after leading through 400 meters (59.3). Malesich and George Godfrey of Royal pounced on him in the final stretch and tied for first in 1:57.82.

Simi Valley’s Emory Nelson upset defending champion Charles Brown of Channel Islands in the 110-meter high hurdles, clocking 14.51 seconds. Brown was second in 14.55.

Brown, running in borrowed shoes, came back to win his second consecutive league title in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 38.52.

Williamson wasn’t the only performer to claim more than one title. Phillip Antoine of Newbury Park won the 100 (11.03) and 200 (22.65) and Royal sophomore Tim Ross leaped 6 feet, 6 inches in the high jump and bounded 42-5 1/4 in the triple jump to win those events.

Ross also finished third in the long jump at 20-6 3/4.

In the girls’ meet, Westlake captured a share of the league title, outscoring 11-time champion Thousand Oaks, 124-117.

Westlake’s Kim Mays was the only double winner, taking the 100-meter low hurdles (15.61) and the high jump (5-4). The Warriors also won both relays.