Sprinters Advance by Different Routes : Prep track: Canoga Park’s Edington, North Hollywood’s Posey follow divergent strategies to gain City Section semifinals.

Alvin Edington of Canoga Park High and North Hollywood’s Oshonda Posey used different strategies, but both proved successful Friday afternoon in the City Section track and field quarterfinals at Birmingham High.

Edington just wanted to qualify for the City semifinals next Thursday, which meant he had to finish among the top four in the four events in which he was entered. Posey also hoped to advance in four events, but her pride wasn’t about to let her settle for second, third or fourth.

After placing second in the 100 meters and anchoring the Hunters’ 400 relay team to a third-place finish in its heat, Edington was leading Dorsey’s Mike Thomas in the 300 intermediate hurdles when he was forced to stutter-step the seventh barrier, in effect surrendering the win to Thomas.

Thomas finished in 38.51 seconds and a restrained Edington came in second in 40.69. But dropping a decision in a qualifying meet did not faze Edington.

“I was sort of upset with myself at first, but I knew I could do better,” Edington said. “When I slowed down over the seventh hurdle and he passed me, I wasn’t going to risk (injury) trying to win. I just wanted to qualify.”

In his final event, Edington got a little help from a friend--one who was not wearing a green-and-white Canoga Park uniform--in anchoring the Hunters’ 1,600-meter relay team to a fourth-place finish (3:26.98) and a berth in the semifinals.

While running down the stretch in third place with Crenshaw’s Elgin Chislom and Washington’s John Mosley closing fast, Chislom’s momentum carried him too close to Edington’s feet. So Chislom gave his friend a stiff forearm to the back, pushing Edington about another meter ahead.

Chislom’s last-ditch surge at the finish pulled Crenshaw into third in 3:26.64 and Edington outlasted Mosley to help the Hunters finish fourth. Washington was fifth in 3:27.19.

“(The shove) helped me more than it hindered me,” said Edington, who took the baton from Simeon Moss in fifth place and blew past Chislom and Mosley on the backstretch en route to a 50.5-second split.

Earlier, Edington, a senior, had run a wind-aided 10.81 in the 100 to finish second to Washington’s John Carter, who logged the fastest time of the day at 10.67. In the 400 relay, Canoga Park’s foursome of Troy Rodgers, Kevin Maxie, Brian Gutierrez and Edington qualified easily in 43.30.

Posey didn’t run on a relay team, but the North Hollywood sophomore rang up four wins in individual events. And it was not until her final event of the day--the 200--that she was forced to break a sweat.

Running third at the halfway point in the 200, Posey passed Chrissy Garrett of Dorsey and Washington’s Marquita Knight to win in a personal-best 25.92. Garrett was next in 26.24 with Knight third in 26.82.

Although third place would have assured her of a lane in the semifinals, third wasn’t really self-assuring for Posey.

“I was shocked to see two girls ahead of me,” Posey said. “I never lost this race before.”

She also glided to wins in the 100 low hurdles in 15.66, the 100 meters in a wind-aided 12.44 and the 300 low hurdles in 48.26. Although she won all four of her heats, Posey recorded the second-fastest marks of the day in each event.

Only Lonita Cunningham of Washington posted faster times in the 100 (12.32) and 200 (25.70). East Valley League rival Traci Anderson of Poly was the day’s fastest qualifier in the 300 hurdles (47.97) and Washington’s Samone Cole was .39 seconds faster in the 100 lows at 15.17.