FOUR TO FEAR : The Morningside Girls’ 400-Meter Relay Team Is Undefeated and Has the Nation’s Best Time

The sun seems positioned directly above the track at Morningside High in Inglewood. Scattered teens are sweating profusely as they run around the dirt oval, which is surrounded by clumps of dying grass. Within sight are markings left by various graffiti artists. Occasionally, one is embellished with the letters “R.I.P,” a tribute to a dead friend.

Every day after school, it seems there would be a million better things to do than run around this track.

It would seem that way, but. . . .

“We all have to practice hard and represent ourselves and the school well,” said Santeshia Arnold, the anchor on the Morningside girls’ 400-meter relay team. “In terms of being focused, we just concentrate hard on doing what we have to do,”

At the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on April 20, Morningside’s foursome of Arnold, LaShawn Stringer, Sanoma Nicks and Tai-nee Gibson ran the nation’s fastest 400 relay time this year, 46.71 seconds. In their 14 meets together, they are undefeated and have helped Morningside, always dominant in Ocean League track, again clinch the league’s dual meet title.

Friday they are favored in the league final at Redondo High, and figure to be the team to beat throughout the qualifying meets leading to the state championships.

“We have to do good, but we also have to be smart,” said Gibson, a freshman. “It’s like people have the image that Morningside is rowdy. We do not have a good name. When you talk about Hawthorne, people get all ‘Ooh, ‘ like they are special. But it’s not like that at all with us.”

Said Stringer, “So, we have to watch ourselves.”

From these comments, it should be obvious that Morningside track Coach Ron Tatum has few problems motivating the girls.

“The thing that is fortunate about them is that they want to achieve,” Tatum said. “They help one another in that they try to keep everyone into practice. They really work well together and practice very hard each day.”

Before the season, Tatum meets with his athletes to set goals. In dealing with the foursome, though they are all underclassmen--Nickson and Arnold are juniors, Stringer a sophomore--Tatum knew that aiming for a state title was not just a realistic goal, but a matter of revenge.

Last year, three of the girls (Gibson was in junior high) were on the 400 relay team that was disqualified in the final of the state championships when it ran out of its zone during a baton handoff.

“They have an objective from last year,” Tatum said. “They got to the finals last year, but want to do better. We try to set realistic goals, not setting to the moon, but things that they can reach; all of them improving their times, still being competitive.

“If they continue what they are doing, they should win (the state title).”

Said Arnold, explaining the disqualification, “Last year, I was the anchor and it was my fault. I started off too quickly. Everyone was there and I was so excited that I left early and went out of the zone. There was a lot of pressure and we were close with everyone else. But this year, it is different. There was more competition last year. This year, we know. . . . Well, I know that we’ll win for sure.”

Interrupting her teammate, Nickson tried to amend the statement. “I knew last year (we would win), too, and we did not get it.”

A measure of the foursome’s talent could be the fact that all are already sorting out recruiting mail from colleges. Or that their most inexperienced competitor, Gibson, was winning national youth championships long before running against high school competition. Or that Arnold finished second in the state 100 and 200 as a sophomore. Or that three of the girls run on the 1,600 relay team that won the state title last year and recorded the nation’s second-fastest time this year (3:48.0). Freshman Felicia Williams is the other member of the team.

Or that, although they possess the nation’s fastest time, none of the girls think that the 46.71 time will be their best of the year. Or even close.

“When we ran that, I was happy at the time,” Arnold said, “but I know we can do better.”

Said Stringer: “Probably a 45-point-something.”

Added Nickson: “Once we get our handoffs down, we will be OK. Of course, nobody really has been up with us to challenge us yet.”

The squad’s dominance is well known throughout the Ocean League.

“In our conference matches, all we have to do after the first leg is hold the lead,” Arnold said. “By the time you get to the anchor, you could jog in and still win. I’m serious.”

However, it should be pointed out that the relay team is not infallible. Arnold missed three weeks early in the season with torn ankle ligaments. During that time, her replacement, Williams, was caught from behind in the final leg in two meets.

And there have been problems with baton handoffs.

“The only real problem we have in relays is working the baton,” Gibson said. “In practices and right before we run in relays, we look awful and we are always dropping the baton.”

Said Nickson, “I am not scared of other teams, but I am scared of the handoff. We all feel that if we run our best race and do our part, that nobody can beat us.”

Tatum echoes the same confidence.

“As a coach, you do not worry about everyone else,” he said. “You are concerned about where the competition is coming from, but you still have to concentrate on getting your team to achieve and do the best they can. That’s what we try to do. The best we can.”