Lawson Roars Past Morales for 3,200 Title

When Craig Lawson of Granada Hills High stepped to the starting line for the 3,200 meter final at the City Section track and field championships Thursday at Birmingham High, he anticipated the race being similar to last week’s semifinal.

And as the Highlander senior stormed past Wilson sophomore Martin Morales in the homestretch--as he had during their semifinal confrontation--Lawson might have experienced deja vu.

“I knew it was going to be like last week,” Lawson said. “I was hoping he would pass me on the stretch so I could gauge where he was. I didn’t like not knowing where he was.”

Lawson towed Morales through 2,800 meters (8:08) and relinquished his position going into the final curve. Morales pulled into a three-meter lead with 100 meters remaining before Lawson, pumping his arms vigorously, gunned down his adversary for the third time in a City race.

Lawson, who finished fourth in last year’s final, ran a personal best of 9 minutes, 11.63 seconds to win the event. Morales clocked 9:12.91, good for second place.

When the two met in the semifinals, Lawson used an identical tactic, sprinting past Morales in the final 50 meters to win in what was then a personal-record 9:13.79. Morales again finished second, in 9:14.96.

“This ranks right next to my City championship in cross-country,” said Lawson, who made up a 30-meter deficit on Morales in the cross-country championships and won in 15:04.2, a heartbeat in front of Morales’ 15:05.7.

The top four finishers in each event advanced to the state championships, to be held June 2-3 at Cerritos College.

Lawson’s victory in the 3,200, one of the last events of the meet, was the second for a Valley athlete. Kelly Hernandez of Poly earlier won the pole vault in 14-3.

After Lawson’s win, Melanie Clarke of El Camino Real won the high jump (5-6) and Van Nuys’ Erin Mc Conahey captured the shotput in 37-10 3/4.

Angela Rolfe of Dorsey, the defending state champion in the 400, became the first girl in City history to win all three individual sprint titles, taking the 100 meters in 12.09, the 200 in 24.81 and the 400 in 54.53.

Junior Feltina Means of Van Nuys qualified for the state meet in two of three events. Means placed third in both the 300 low hurdles (46.18) and long jump (17-7). Means, though, showed signs of fatigue as she cleared only 4-10 in the high jump to tie for eighth.

Rodney Burt of Birmingham, fifth in the 400 at the 1988 City championships, finished eighth in 50.71 after pulling a hamstring.

Dorsey’s Beno Bryant went on to win the 400, setting a City record of 46.63, which was .04 seconds off former Taft standout Quincy Watts’ mark, set in 1988.

San Fernando’s Keary Johns (13.8) and William Childs (13.9) of Reseda placed second and third in the 110-meter high hurdles. Curtis Hawkins of Carson won in 13.7.