Miller, Shaw Bide Time in Track Wins

Hoover High’s Gunnar Miller and Nikki Shaw of Fillmore both recorded impressive victories Saturday night in the Pasadena Games track and field invitational at Occidental College.

Miller, a pole vaulter, passed on the first five heights before soaring 14 feet on his first attempt to win. He also cleared 13 feet and 13-6 by nearly a foot and had three narrow misses at 14-6.

Despite the win, an apparently disappointed Miller spent several seconds alone in the landing pit after his final unsuccessful attempt at 14-6.

“He lacks strength,” Hoover Coach Greg Switzer said. “He won’t like me to say that (but) he doesn’t have the momentum to clear that height this early.

“He also overstrides. As soon as he can get that step back, he’ll be a 15-foot vaulter.”

Ayon Carlos of Rosemead also cleared 14 feet in finishing second.

Shaw, meanwhile, surged away from Buena’s Fanya Bryant just after the halfway mark of the 1,600-meter race and built a 25-meter advantage over the next half-lap en route to victory in a personal-best 4 minutes 59.67 seconds.

Shaw, formerly a sprinter, turned to the longer races at Fillmore when her coach suggested she try running the 800.

“The last couple of years I thought I’d try the mile just for the heck of it,” said Shaw, who competed in the 100 and 200 as a member of the Fillmore Condors Track Club.

Brian Gastelum of Birmingham strung together a pair of personal bests to finish second in both the boys’ invitational 800 and 1,600.

In the 800, Gastelum sprinted past Eisenhower’s Jason Jenkins and Sets Nediver of Bakersfield to record a Valley-leading 1:54.78. Mike Terry of El Modena won in 1:54.29.

Gastelum’s second race of the night was a rematch with Venice’s Danny Jordan, the defending City Section champion at 1,600 meters.

Jordan won in 4:13.15 and Gastelum again stormed by two runners in the final stretch, in a time of 4:15.14.

San Fernando’s Obed Aguirre, known more for his performances at 3,200 meters and in cross-country, clocked a 4:15.19 mile for third.

In the triple jump, Quartz Hill’s Gabe Higa bounded 46-5 3/4--more than three feet off his lifetime best--to finish third. Nogales’ Billie Ivy won the event with a 47-2 1/2 mark on his final attempt.

On the girls’ side, Pasadena Muir’s Inger Miller, the nation’s leader at 100 meters, paced the Mustangs’ 400 relay team to a 46.36 clocking, the fastest in the nation this year. She also timed 11.67 in winning the 100.

Birmingham freshman Deetra Dear put on a tremendous sprint to win the open 800 in a Valley-leading 2:21.82 despite being tripped at about the 450-meter mark. Dear, who ran even with Tania Acosta of Crenshaw and Santa Monica’s Amy Wagner after one lap, stumbled into Lane 3 when Monica Callan of San Diego Poway stepped on her heel about 50 meters later.