Cain Races Past Prevost in 200 : College track: Ventura sprinter repeats come-from-behind victory in WSC finals.

Valley College sprinter Nikywa Prevost has run into a big hurdle in her bid for back-to-back 200-meter state junior college titles.

Simone Cain of Ventura stormed past Prevost in the last 100 meters, the second time in as many weeks she has done so, to win the third heat of the 200 in 24.35 seconds in the Southern California preliminaries at Cerritos College on Saturday. Prevost hung on for second in 24.57.

Cain edged Prevost in the 200 in the Western State Conference finals April 27, 24.28 to 24.49.

“(Prevost) always gets out to a fast start right from the beginning,” said Cain, a 200 finalist for Hueneme High in the 1988 state meet. “I think I’m strongest toward the end; that’s when I got her. My main goal was just to qualify.”

Cain also won her 400 heat in 56.39 and anchored the Pirates’ 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams to qualifying marks of 49.10 and 3:56.30.

Prevost also had a productive day, winning her 100 heat in 12.34, and running a 54.5 opening leg on Valley’s qualifying 1,600 relay (3:59.21).

Running the second leg of the 400-meter relay, Prevost opened a 10-meter lead over Fullerton, but a botched handoff on the final leg between Jill Cameron and Sabrina Brown gave Fullerton the win in 49.63.

Valley finished second in 49.72, but was 0.04 off the ninth and final qualifying mark.

The meet served as a qualifier for next Saturday’s Southern California finals.

The women’s 5,000 and the men’s 10,000 were run as finals with the top six advancing to the state meet May 19 at Santa Barbara City College.

Tricia Mathiesen of Moorpark placed sixth in the 5,000 in 18:14.02.

Ventura’s Ryan Rapoza, who already has qualified for the state meet in the decathlon, had the top qualifying mark in the javelin at 196 feet 8 inches and also advanced in the pole vault (14-6).

Marty Beck of Glendale recorded the third-fastest time (53.52) of the day in winning his heat of the 400-meter intermediate hurdles.

Teammate Phil Simpson also qualified in 54.42.

Beck came back to anchor Glendale’s 1,600-meter relay team, which includes Phil Simpson, Derrick Mitchell and Rick Provenzano, to a qualifying mark of 3:14.91.

Mitchell (1:54.73) and Provenzano (1:54.66) also advanced in the 800 meters.

Marji Gilles of Glendale (triple jump, 37-0 1/2, and javelin, 122-10) and Jerry Edwards of Moorpark (high jump, 6-6, and 110-meter high hurdles, 15.33) and Won Lee of Ventura (shotput, 50-6, and hammer, 140-0) were other two-event local qualifiers.

Other qualifiers from the region included Dave Swanson of Glendale (high jump, 6-6); Jaime Galindo (5,000, 15:31.88) and Ron Casson (110 high hurdles, 15.00) of Ventura; Gil Carrillo (javelin, 184-1) and Chris Edwards (110 high hurdles, 14.92) of Moorpark; Tonya King (high jump, 4-8) and Greg Crosley (1,500, 3:47.11) of Antelope Valley; and Lamark Allen (long jump, 23-2 3/4) of Valley.