HIGH SCHOOL TRACK : Williams Hurdles Longtime Nemesis

When Escondido’s Keith Williams raised his right fist upon crossing the finish line in the boys’ 110-meter high hurdles, it was a gesture of jubilation that put aside two years of waiting.

After racing against Castle Park’s Eric Bell in several invitationals since 1989, Williams finally finished ahead of Bell, winning the high hurdles at Saturday’s Titan/Coca-Cola Track Festival at Poway High.

Williams crossed at 14.31, and Bell came in second at 14.78.

“I proved today I was the fastest,” Williams said. “I didn’t want to beat anybody else but Bell.”

Bell is not the only hurdler Williams downed--he also set a section record in the event, eclipsing the 14.33 San Dieguito’s Travis Knox ran in 1985.

But Williams has his sights set even higher. There’s this big meet Saturday night, the Arcadia Invitational, which annually attracts the best high school athletes in the nation. Williams will be there.

“At Arcadia, I’m going to be running against the No. 1 guy in the nation,” Williams said of Phillip Riley of Orlando (Fla.) Jones High. “He has run a 13.95 already. He’s going to make me run hard, just like Eric Bell makes me run hard.

“I’m going to go up there and try to beat him and take the No. 1 spot in the nation.”

There was to be another meeting between Bell and Williams later in the meet, but Bell strained a hamstring while anchoring Castle Park’s 400-relay team two events before the 300 intermediates.

Without Bell pushing him, Williams set a meet record of 38.34 anyway. It was more than a second better than the old mark, 39.51, set by Poway’s Jeff Haines in 1989.

In the girls’ invitational 100 low hurdles, Erin Blunt of San Pasqual had no competition. She won easily in 14.30. Hillary Mann of Mission Viejo placed second at 15.10.

Blunt’s showing was a big improvement over last week’s disappointing performance at the Sundevil Invitational, where she placed third at 15.02.

It was also a meet record, bettering the old mark of Lincoln’s Michelle Outlaw, who ran a 14.89 in 1986.

Blunt came back in the 300 lows for her second meet record. Her time of 44.33 erased the record she set here last year of 44.87.

Fallbrook’s Milena Glusac made her first spring appearance at a local meet and ran away from the field in the invitational 1,500 meters, finishing in 4:36.1. Her closest competitor, Deanna Hadley of San Pasqual, crossed at 4:51.9.

In the boys’ invitational 1,500, Helix’s Daniel Das Neves took advantage of the absence of San Pasqual’s Robert Walker--who last week devastated Das Neves with a strong kick in the final 150 meters of the Sundevil 1,600 race--and cruised to an easy victory at 3:57.8.

After the race, Das Neves, like Williams, announced some rather lofty goals.

“I’m going to try to run a 4:05 1,600-meters,” he said.

That would put him within four-tenths of a second of the 25-year-old section record, 4:04.6, established by Chula Vista’s Tim Danielson in 1966.

Allison Dring of Mount Carmel won two invitational events and set a meet record in one.

Her 400-meter finish of 55.47 out-dated the 56.73 that Trisha Aubuchon of Esperanza ran here in 1985.

Dring also placed first in the 100 meters at 12.46, barely edging out Morse’s Nichelle Milner, whose second-place finish was clocked at 12.48.

And then there was the battle in the boys’ 100 meters, where four sprinters are vying for the section’s three spots in the state meet.

This time, Riley Washington of Southwest made a slight surge a quarter of the way down and held on to edge the other three.

Washington finished at 10.59. Scott Hammond of Lincoln finished second at 10.66 and Darnay Scott of Kearny placed third at 10.67. All those times were better than the seven-year-old meet record of 10.68 set by Darren Norris of El Camino.

Washington said he couldn’t tell if he had the lead but remained confident throughout. “I was thinking that with every step I was getting closer to winning,” he said. “I wasn’t worrying about anyone else in the race.”

Last week at the Sundevil meet, Hammond placed first (10.79) and Washington, who had an atrocious start, was second (10.84).

“This time we all came out about the same time,” Hammond said of the start. “Then around the first 20 meters, Riley pulled up and maintained a little lead the rest of the way. In the last half, I pulled up a little, too, but Riley just had the momentum.”

Fourth-place Teddy Lawrence of Morse finished in 10.81.

Lawrence and Scott are the two seniors among the four. So far, they have been chasing two juniors.

But as far as the juniors--Washington and Hammond--are concerned, the seniors may want to forgo track and get ready for the prom instead.

“The way I feel,” Hammond said. “I think it’s going to be me and Riley all year long finishing first and second.”