Dameworth Defeated in 3,200 Meters at Arcadia Meet

The 3,200-meter event at the Arcadia Invitational was not a race. It was a spectacle.

Track aficionados at Arcadia High were stunned Saturday evening when Andy Maris of White River High in Buckley Wash., slipped past Agoura’s Bryan Dameworth in the final 50 meters to hand the Charger senior his first loss in a distance race in almost a year, recording an 8-minute 53.78-second victory.

Dameworth, who won the 3,200 in last year’s invitational, clocked a personal-best 8:53.85.

“It’s more a cheap shot by me,” said Maris, who shadowed Dameworth the entire race. “But I’m the underdog and I gotta do what I gotta do.”

And Maris did just that. The senior skipped the World Junior Cross-Country Championships March 24 in France to prepare for his confrontation with Dameworth, the Kinney national cross-country champion.

“We figured this race was more important,” said Jerry Maris, Andy’s coach and older brother. “You got to be the best in the U. S. before you can race the world. This race was against the best.”

Dameworth sensed the challenge from Maris, who finished second to him in the Kinney meet.

“I knew he couldn’t be underestimated at all,” Dameworth said, but everyone was telling me, ‘Ah, don’t worry about him.’

“He got me.”

Dameworth last lost a 3,200 decision when David Welsh of Sacramento Jesuit won the event at the 1989 state championships in June. Dameworth finished second in 9:00.27, his previous best before Saturday night.

Camarillo’s Abe Valdez posted a lifetime-best 9:02.09 in finishing third. Dan Berkeland of Canyon, Eliazar Herrera of Hoover and San Fernando’s Obed Aguirre ran among the top seven for most of the race before settling for sixth (9:07.52), seventh (9:08.45) and ninth (9:10.38).

Birmingham’s Brian Gastelum shocked even himself by finishing second in the 1,600 with a personal-best 4:09.87.

Arroyo Grande junior Louie Quintana held off a strong last-lap surge by Gastelum to win in 4:09.82, but the Brave senior was nonetheless euphoric.

“I can’t believe this. This is great,” said Gastelum, who set a goal of 4:11 for himself on Wednesday but said he did not think he would meet it.

The marks are the third- and fourth-fastest in the nation this year.

Meanwhile, Rio Mesa freshman Marion Jones was shortening the gap between herself and Muir’s Inger Miller in the 100.

Jones got out of the blocks quickly but Miller, the No. 1-ranked sprinter in the nation, stormed past her with 40 meters remaining to win in 11.71. Jones clocked 11.78.

The Miller-Jones showdown in the 200 was even more of an eye-opener.

The Muir senior raced to a nation-leading 23.57 mark to win by three meters and Jones finished second in 23.80, setting a 14-year-old national age record.

In the girls’ 3,200, Agoura junior Deena Drossin finished a distant third behind Livermore’s Becky Spies and Kimberly Orlando of Carson City, Nev., in 10:42.39. Spies held off Orlando to win in 10:36.56. Orlando timed 10:36.67.

In Novemeber, Drossin edged Spies for the state Division I cross-country championship and finished third (10:36.67 personal best) in the 3,200 at the state track meet in June. Spies was third in the 800 at 2:11.85.