Chrishon Has Moved to Arizona, Mission Viejo Principal Says

Marcellus Chrishon, one of Orange County’s top running backs while at Mission Viejo High School last fall, moved to Arizona in early February to live with his mother, Mission Viejo Principal Bob Metz said Thursday.

Chrishon, a senior and Times’ first-team all-county selection, gained 1,123 yards rushing and scored 17 touchdowns in 10 regular-season games last fall. His performances sparked Mission Viejo to a 9-1 record, the South Coast League championship and the No. 1 spot in the final Orange County Sportswriters’ Assn. poll.

One of the fastest backs in the county, Chrishon was expected to provide a significant boost to the Diablo track team, but he transferred before he ran a meet.

Fred Almond, Mission Viejo girls’ track coach, said Chrishon also left school because the youth said he would have had to take adult education classes three nights a week--in addition to a full slate of classes during the day--in order to graduate by June. Metz said Chrishon was not academically ineligible for track when he left.

Chrishon’s arrival at Mission Viejo sparked controversy last fall when Southern Section officials said they hadn’t received a transfer-eligibility request or hardship appeal--a requirement for eligibility--when he transferred from Temecula Valley in July.

But Chrishon, who lived in Mission Viejo with his legal guardians, was cleared by section officials after Mission Viejo administrators presented evidence that showed Chrishon’s mother had also been living in Mission Viejo.