Southern Section Track and Field Masters Meet : Taylor, Whitcomb, Nichols Are Surprises : Twenty-Five Other Orange County Athletes Qualify for the State Meet

It was difficult to decide which was the most surprising outcome Friday night at the Southern Section Masters meet at Cerritos College.

Was it Edison High School freshman Shelley Taylor, who, with less than a year of competitive running experience, won the girls’ 1,600 meters?

Was it Valencia’s Eric Whitcomb, who broke an 18-year-old school record while winning the pole vault?

Or Edison’s Doug Nichols, who ran a lifetime best 1 minute, 51.94 seconds for second place in the 800--despite the fact that his shoe came untied early in the race and nearly flopped off his foot?

Whichever the biggest surprise, the outcome was much the same for the 28 county athletes who placed fifth or better in their events. They were the fortunate few who will advance to the State meet June 2-3 at Cerritos College.

“I was so scared, so scared I might not make it,” Woodbridge’s Louie Muniz said after running a lifetime best 38.76 in the 300-meter hurdles. “I was excited, but really, really scared the whole race. I just counted the guys and said I gotta get fifth.”

Muniz got his wish, placing fifth, though ever so slightly. Only .03 seconds separated him from sixth.

For others, the night was not quite so anxiety-ridden.

Allison Franke of Canyon won her third consecutive Masters title in the discus with a throw of 153-feet-11 to beat season-rival Candy Roberts of Don Lugo. Roberts was second at 152-2.

“I was surprised she didn’t beat me,” said Franke of Roberts. Each girl has beaten the other three times this season. Franke’s personal best of 160-6 is sixth-best nationally.

Franke also placed fourth in long jump (17-8 3/4) behind Mater Dei’s Melissa McDonald, who took third in 17-10 1/2.

In the triple jump, an event Franke won at last Saturday’s Southern Section meet, she placed seventh with a leap of 37-7 1/2. Mission Viejo’s Lisa Fager was sixth in 38-0, missing a State meet berth by 2 3/4 inches.

Taylor, who last year won both the Southern Section 4-A 1,600 and 800, had little trouble winning the 1,600, again with a lifetime best, 4:59.25, which is the ninth-fastest in the nation this season.

Taylor cruised behind the early leaders for 1,300 meters, and with 200 to go, got between Hesperia’s Nicole Robins and South Hills’ Karen Hecox, who slowed ahead of her. When Taylor used a subtle shove to pop through to take the lead, the judge standing nearby signaled disqualification.

As Taylor kicked her way to a comfortable lead--Hecox finished second in 5:01.45--the crowd of 4,680 waited to see if Taylor would actually be named the winner.

After about 10 minutes, it was announced that no disqualification would be made.

“I felt terrible about almost getting disqualified, but it really wasn’t my fault,” Taylor said. “She (Robins) had no right to cut me off and slow down. There really wasn’t anywhere else I could go.”

Taylor steered clear of trouble in her second event, the 800, using a final 200-meter kick that took her from last to second place in 2:13:10, a personal best by two seconds.

Nichols also ran an impressive race, despite almost losing his shoe. Nichols came off the final turn in fourth but swung wide around three runners to place second in 1:51.94. Coley Candaele of Carpenteria won the race in 1:51.58.

“On the first turn, I wanted to get a good lead, but then I noticed my shoe was untied,” he said. “The whole race I was waiting for it to flip off. I lost my concentration thinking about it until about 200 to go. Then I figured, heck, it’s made it for 600 meters, it can make it the rest of the way.”

Whitcomb, who leaped 15-4 for the victory, said he was one of few to master the swirling tail winds common at the Cerritos College pole vault area.

“I felt good, it all came together for me today,” Whitcomb said. “I knew all year I could get it (the school record of 15-2 set by Ron Morris).”

Mater Dei’s Mike Nielsen qualified in the 1,600, placing third in 4:12.44, after outkicking Corona del Mar’s Eddie Lavelle (fourth in 4:13.16). Nielsen almost made it in the 3,200 as well, but, after coming off the final turn in fourth, he was passed by two runners on the final stretch and finished sixth in 9:16.63.

Agoura’s Bryan Dameworth won the 3,200 in 9:07.24, and Santa Ana Valley’s Jimmy Rodriguez was third in 9:08.10.

Meet Notes

Other county athletes that qualified for the State meet include: Irvine’s Sean Rogan in the pole vault; Katella’s Martha Pinto in the 3,200; Irvine’s Bev Oden and Edison’s Leslee Briggs in the girls’ shot put; Edison’s Greg Thurston and Esperanza’s Chuck Underwood in the boys’ shot put; Capistrano Valley’s Laurinda Mulhaupt in the 800; Sonora’s Shannon Bryant in the 300 low hurdles; Westminster’s Shelly Tochluk in the 400 (in a county-leading time of 55.77); Magnolia’s Phouphet Singbandith in the triple jump; San Clemente’s Tim Martin in the 100; Mater Dei’s Melissa McDonald and Mission Viejo’s Allison Axtell in the long jump; Foothill’s Elizabeth Bauer and El Dorado’s Lori Svoboda in the high jump, and Edison’s boys 1,600 relay.