Monarch Girls Hit a Bump in Road : Preps: Despite setbacks at Masters meet, Morningside Coach Tatum is optimistic going into state track meet.

Midway through Friday night’s Southern Section Masters track meet at Cerritos College, Morningside High Coach Ron Tatum was asked how the Lady Monarchs would fare in next weekend’s state championship meet.

Morningside, the Southern Section 2-A Division champion, was considered a favorite for the state title going into the Masters meet, yet Tatum was cautious about the Monarchs’ chances.

“There’s still a long way to go,” Tatum said after watching Morningside’s 400-meter relay team blaze to a national-best time of 45.8 seconds. “A lot can still happen, not only tonight, but at next Friday’s state prelims.”

Tatum didn’t have to wait until Friday for something to go wrong. First, in the 100-meter low hurdles, freshman Sonoma Nickson--who entered the meet with the fifth-best time in the nation at 14.42--failed to qualify after hitting the first two hurdles and coming in seventh at 14.69 seconds. Then in the final race of the evening, the Morningside 1,600 relay team failed to qualify when second leg Tai-Ne Gibson was bumped and dropped the baton.

Gibson--one of three freshmen on the relay team--was in second place through the third turn when she dropped the baton.

After dropping to last place, anchor Lashawn Stringer ran a heroic 55-second split, moving up to fifth place at one point, but the top-seeded Lady Monarchs finished seventh at 3:59.42.

The first five finishers qualified for the state meet Friday and Saturday at Cerritos College.

Gibson and teammate Santisha Arnold had already qualified at 100 and 200 meters. Arnold came in third in the 100 (11.98) and fourth in the 200 (24.71) and Gibson was fourth (12.16) and fifth (24.86). Marion Jones of Ventura Rio Mesa set a national high school record in the 100 with a time of 11.28.

Stringer qualified in the 400 meters with a winning time of 55.65.

Tatum did not count his team out of the state-title chase.

“We have to go home and evaluate who’s in and who’s not and go from there,” he said. “We’ll get to Friday and then see what happens. We may drop another stick, though, you never know what will happen.”

Especially disappointing was the 1,600 relay for the Monarchs.

“We have three freshmen and a sophomore on that team,” Tatum said. “We may have learned a lesson tonight.”

Despite the disappointments, Tatum retains hope that the Monarchs can improve on last year’s state runner-up.

“When you get this far that’s all you look forward to,” Tatum said.

While the Lady Monarchs quietly collected their belongings before going home, the Morningside boys’ 1,600 relay team of Lavester Williams, Travion Harris, Jesse Swayze and Edward Turner was exulting in its surprising second-place finish.

The Monarchs, seeded sixth, ran a season-best 3:17.67, led by Williams’ leadoff leg of 49.2.

SOUTH BAY RESULTS GIRLS 100--Santisha Arnold (Morningside), 11.98 seconds; Tai-Ne Gibson (Morningside), 12.16.

200--Arnold (Morningside), 24.71; Gibson (Morningside), 24.86.

400--Lashawn Stringer (Morningside), 55.65; Jeanette Judge (Banning), 58.72.

800--Nicole Kleiner (San Pedro), 2:25.69; Lakia Brown (Banning), 2:27.08.

400 relay--Morningside, 45.80; Banning, 49.16.

1,600 relay--Banning, 4:03.61.

300 hurdles--Nicole Haynes (Bishop Montgomery), 44.10.

High jump--Latanya Bereal (Banning), 5-5; Viveca McGuire (Gardena), 4-10.

Shotput--Yolanda Wright (Narbonne), 37-2 3/4; Lavea Taape (Banning), 36-7.

Long jump--Haynes (Bishop Montgomery), 18-9 1/4; Sonya Bryant (Banning), 18-8 1/4; Labianca Williams (Gardena), 16-11 1/2.

Triple jump--Tiffany McLeod (Banning), 37-6

BOYS 3,200--Steven Gonzales (Carson), 9:28.34.

400 relay--Hawthorne, 41.71.

1,600 relay--Morningside, 3:17.67.

110 high hurdles--Demond Smith (Hawthorne), 14.49.

300 intermediate hurdles--Smith (Hawthorne), 37.65.

Long jump--Steven Stanley (Gardena), 22-5 1/4.

Triple jump--Travis Davis (Banning), 45-2 3/4; William Martin (Gardena), 44-4 1/2.

High jump--Sean Lewis (Carson), 6-6.

Shotput--Eric Battle (Banning), 48-9 1/4.