Sports Scope : Muir Coach Says Girls Can Win State Track Title

Jim Brownfield, Muir High girls track coach, is not discounting his team’s chances entering the CIF State Track and Field Championships that start Friday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

But Brownfield realizes that Muir will need to get the most out of its five qualifiers.

“We’ve got a chance for the state title, but we have to take two firsts, two seconds and an umpth,” he said. “The umpth is Taminika Terry.”

The Mustangs are among the favorites along with defending champion Bakersfield of the Central Section, Locke of the L.A. City Section and Rio Mesa of the Southern Section, although Brownfield sees the race for the title as wide-open.

“There are going to be nine teams under the head of a dime for the state championship,” he said. “But it’s going to come down to the mile relay. We can’t dodge the bullet. We’ve got to win the mile relay.”

If that’s the case, Muir has a good chance. The Mustangs have been one of the top schools in the state in the 1,600 relay this season and finished a close second to Rio Mesa (3:48.93 to 3:48.66) at the CIF Masters Meet last week.

Muir will also be one of the favorites in the 400-meter relay with a swift time of 46.46 seconds at the Masters.

Both relay teams are anchored by junior Inger Miller. She is also among the favorites in both the 100 and 200 meters.

Miller finished second to Angela Burnham of Rio Mesa in the 100 and 200 in times of 11.53 and 23.84 last week. Miller had stayed close to the Rio Mesa senior in their previous encounters this season.

Brownfield is hoping that Terry can come through with another point or two for the Mustangs in the 200 meters where she finished third in 24.84 seconds at the Masters.

“We got all the people in who we thought we needed,” he said. “We’re not the favorite. But we’re in the hunt.”

Aside from Muir, other San Gabriel Valley athletes will be contending mostly for individual honors at the meet.

Two of the favorites are Juliana Yendork of Walnut in the long and triple jumps and Karen Hecox of South Hills in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Yendork, a sophomore, is the clear-cut favorite in her specialties. She posted strong qualifying marks of 19-9 in the long jump and 41-4 in the triple jump.

Hecox, a junior, posted the top qualifying time of 10:41:23 in the 3,200 last week and is defending state champion. She also qualified for the 1,600 in the second-best time of 5:01.45

Among the boys, the valley has a strong title hope in senior high jumper Mark Wilson of Charter Oak. In the Masters Wilson posted a winning leap of 7-0--four inches better than his closest competitor.

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s softball team, which finished fifth in the NCAA Division I World Series, has placed three players on the Division I All-West Region team.

Catcher Denise Correa and third baseman Heather DeLuca were selected to the first team and outfielder Nikki Busch to the second team. Pomona’s Carol Spanks was named Coach of the Year in the region.

Correa, a senior, earned all-region first-team selection for the second consecutive season. She led the Broncos with a .279 batting average, 27 runs, seven doubles and one home run.

DeLuca, a junior, shared the team lead in triples with Correa at six and tied for the lead in stolen bases with Busch at nine. Busch led the team in runs batted in with 25.

Spanks’ selection as top coach capped a surprising season for the Broncos. Expected to finish no higher than fourth in the Big West Conference, Pomona wound up third and reached the Division I playoffs for the eighth straight year.

The 11th-ranked Broncos, who swept two straight games from fourth-ranked Cal State Fullerton to advance to the World Series, finished the season with a 43-23 record. Spanks’ 11-year record is 474-192-8.

The site of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame All-Star Football Game on July 21 has been switched from Arroyo High School in El Monte to Citrus College in Glendora.

The game, which matches top graduated seniors from throughout the San Gabriel Valley, was played at Arroyo in 1981-88.

Hugh Von Plater, president of the Pasadena-San Gabriel Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, said the move was made because there has been a greater demand for seating and Citrus is in a more centralized location than Arroyo.

Citrus College’s stadium has a seating capacity of 10,000 while Arroyo’s field seats about 5,000.

“We’re very pleased to have the game at Citrus College,” said Pat Rasmussen, assistant to the president at Citrus and director of development. “It’s a great opportunity for Citrus College and it gives our local residents a chance to see some outstanding high school athletes.”

Cal Poly Pomona, which was already enjoying an excellent recruiting year in women’s basketball, has signed another top player to a letter of intent, Alison Jackson of Los Angeles Crenshaw High.

Jackson, a 5-7 point guard, was selected to the All-L.A. City Section first team and was named Most Valuable Player for the Cougars. She averaged 15.1 points and five assists as a senior.

Jackson is the third all-section player that the Broncos have signed for next season. Pomona had earlier signed All-Southern Section front-line players Danielle Carter of Fontana and Tara Davidson of Palm Desert.