Banning Pair Win Track Titles

Banning High’s Sonja Bryant and Terrence Campbell exorcised year-old frustrations with victories Thursday at the City track and field final at Birmingham.

As a sophomore last year, long jumper Bryant was not a factor at the City final.

“I was scared,” she said.

Campbell, now a senior, was ineligible for the 1989 final. He would have been a top contender in both the 110-meter high and 300-meter intermediate hurdles.

But in the first field event Thursday, Bryant claimed a victory with a long jump of 18 feet, 3/4 inches. Campbell won the 110-high hurdles in 14.52 seconds.

Bryant’s performance helped the Banning girls to a fourth-place finish with 21 points. Campbell led the Pilot boys to a tie for fifth (33 points).

Bryant said she has completely adjusted her attitude for this year’s competition. “I wanted the (City) record (of 19-10 1/4),” she said, reflecting her new-found confidence.

Bryant’s victory qualified her for the state meet at Cerritos College, June 1-2. At one time, she would have dreaded such a challenge, but now she looks forward to jumping against quality competition.

“If they’re good, it makes me jump better,” she said. “I’m not going to be scared.”

Campbell said this year’s City final gave him the chance to “make my name again. People knew me before, but I faded away last year.”

Campbell edged second-place Curtis Hawkins by .05 seconds in the 110-high hurdles and also qualified for the state meet by finishing third in the 300 intermediate hurdles (39.58).

“I feel like I’ll be the state champion in the 110,” he said.

Campbell said the close finish in the high hurdles will help him at state.

“It was a race where you had to be very technical and run your own race, not anybody else’s,” said Campbell, who overcome both Hawkins and Chatsworth’s Kyle Beck down the stretch. “I’m very proud because I ran my race.”

Senior Michael Jefferson, who helped the Carson boys to a fourth-place finish (34 points), had a surprising second-place finish in the 100 meters (10.99). Five other runners in the field had better qualifying times than Jefferson.

“I tried to get a good start, but I stumbled out of the blocks a little bit,” said Jefferson, who will enroll at the U.S. Naval Academy in the fall. “I tried to pick it up right after that and get out more because I knew I had to make up that little step I lost.”

As expected, Washington’s Donovan Burks won the event. His time was 10.80.

“Burks really accelerated,” said Jefferson, who will run sprints and play football for the Midshipmen. “But if we had a 60(-meter race), I’d get him.

“But I can’t do anything about that. He has longer legs, and unless he’s way back, there’s no way he’s not going to catch me.”

Jefferson said he expects Burks to offer the toughest competition in the state meet.

“Realistically, when he’s in the race, it’s a race for second,” he said.

Two South Bay athletes qualified for the state meet in the 100-meter low hurdles: Banning’s Leshette Molette (14.8) and Westchester’s Andrea Burnside (14.9).

Gardena’s Charles Mabry took first place with a high jump of 6-5.

Other top finishers included Daniel Johnson, Banning (third, triple jump, 45-1 1/2); Fred Sims, Carson (third, long jump, 22-4 1/2); La Bianca Williams, Gardena (third, long jump, 17-3 3/4) and Yolanda Wright, Narbonne (third, shot put, 35-8).