HIGH SCHOOL TRACK : BOYS’ PREVIEW : Birmingham Poised for Run at City Title

Birmingham High appears to have all the ingredients to make a successful run at the City Section track title.

But don’t tell Birmingham Coach Scott King that his team is a favorite.

Sure, Birmingham finished second in last year’s meet, and nearly half of its point scorers return.

And, yes, the team has talented newcomers.

But color King cautious.

“I think Locke and Dorsey have to be considered the favorites,” King said. “We have some talented people coming back, but so do Locke and Dorsey. Dorsey is going to score a ton of points in the shotput alone.”

Locke and Birmingham placed first and second in the City meet last year, Locke winning the title by five points. If the Braves had been a few hundredths of a second faster in a couple of running events, they would have become the first Valley team to win a City boys’ title since Taft in 1987.

Seniors Raymond Banner and Mike Moguel are the leaders of this year’s team.

Banner won the City title in the 110-meter high hurdles last year, and Moguel finished third in the 400 and ran the second leg for the 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams, which placed fourth and third.

Relay members Tony Serpas (personal best of 11.05 seconds in the 100, 22.1 in the 200) and Patrick Abdelkerim (11.06, 22.1) also return. If they improve, they could score points in the short sprints in the City meet.

Birmingham also could score in the distance races with junior Alvaro Mejia, the 1991 City cross-country champion.

Add transfer Scott Crosby, a high jumper from North Hollywood who has cleared 6-feet-2, and Birmingham appears deserving of at least a co-favorite billing for this year’s City title.

Just don’t tell King.

“I’m optimistic about our chances right now,” he said. “But a lot can happen between now and (May).”

OTHER TEAMS TO WATCH

Thousand Oaks--The Lancers won the Southern Section 3-A Division title last year, but every one of their individual scorers has graduated, leaving Coach Jack Farrell with a team of juniors and sophomores.

“I’m not even thinking about winning and losing right now,” Farrell said. “I’m more worried about kids developing each week.”

Nevertheless, several coaches in the Marmonte League still consider Thousand Oaks the favorite for the league title.

“Thousand Oaks always has a lot of kids out,” Westlake Coach Jim Benkert said. “Just by sheer numbers, they’ll be good.”

Juniors Ryan Nugent, Manfred Wagner and Marc Musitano are three of the Lancers’ more experienced athletes.

Nugent has a personal best of 1 minute 58.38 seconds in the 800 and placed third in the league finals last year.

Wagner has bests of 49-7 1/4 in the shotput and 143-9 in the discus. Musitano has timed 15.6 in the high hurdles.

Westlake--The Warriors, one of the most talented teams in the Marmonte League, are facing the loss of key personnel.

Senior Brian Dawson might not run this season, and senior Erik Holcomb has left the team, Benkert said.

Holcomb has personal bests of 10.7 in the 100, 21.8 in the 200 and 48.42 in the 400, but he did not run in Monday’s dual meet against Crespi after his father, Buzz Holcomb, and Benkert argued at the Spartan Relays last weekend over which events Erik should enter.

On Wednesday, Benkert said he does not foresee Holcomb coming back.

Dawson led the region in the 800 last season, running 1:55.92, but he might not run this season because of the death of his father, who suffered a heart attack two weeks ago. His mother died of cancer two years ago.

Even without Holcomb and Dawson, the Warriors will be well-stocked in the sprints with Jason Haley (10.7 in the 100) and in the middle-distances with Scott Scheirmann (1:58.59 in the 800), Richie Stapp (1:58.73) and Eric Steele (1:59.85).

David Tetzlaff is the defending league champion in the pole vault (best of 13-6), and David Waldrop has cleared 6-4 in the high jump, but the question is whether Westlake has enough quality athletes in other events to contend for the league title.

Hart--From 1958 through 1988, the Indians failed to win a boys’ varsity league title, but they will be gunning for their fourth consecutive Foothill League title this season, paced by members of the state Division I champion cross-country team.

Juniors Keith Grossman and Paul De La Cerda, fourth and 11th in the state cross-country championships, will give Hart versatility in races ranging from the 800 meters to the 3,200.

Senior Bailey Montraiez is running his first season of high school track, but Coach Dan Houghton said he is the Indians’ best sprinter.

Sophomore Jason Medearis has run 15.5 in the high hurdles, and junior Jarred Halverson (6-0 in the high jump) and senior Derek Mori (12-0 in the pole vault) could give Hart a solid one-two punch in the vertical jumps.

INDIVIDUALS TO WATCH

Jeff Wilson (Newbury Park)--The Panther senior has had success over the 5,000-meter distance in cross-country--finishing second in the Kinney national championships last December--yet he is adamant about concentrating on the 1,600 in track.

He ran 4:20.39 in the event last year, but injuries limited his training in the second half of the season and he finished a disappointing eighth in the 3-A championships.

Wilson is not shy about what he wants to accomplish this season: a time of 4:10 and a state title.

Margarito Casillas (Hoover)--The junior placed fifth in the Kinney meet and is one of the co-favorites, along with Angel Martinez of San Gabriel, for this year’s state title in the 3,200 meters.

Casillas placed fifth in the 3,200 in the 4-A championships last year and won the two mile at the Sunkist Invitational indoor meet last month.

Mike Wright (Glendale)--After averaging 22.8 yards a catch in football, and 19.1 points a game in basketball, Wright will complete his senior year in the sport in which he might have the most talent.

He is the region’s leading returning athlete in both the long jump and triple jump with bests of 23-8 1/4 in the former and 48-3 in the latter.

He won the long jump and placed fifth in the triple jump in the 4-A championships last year before finishing a disappointing eighth in the long jump in the state meet.

Eugene Dreher (Antelope Valley)--The Antelope senior has run 10.64 in the 100 and leaped 23-1 1/4 in the long jump, but doubts remain about his ability to produce his best efforts in the major meets at the end of the season.

Dreher failed to advance to the 4-A championships in the 100 or the long jump last year after finishing second in the former and winning the latter in the Golden League finals.

He began the season well, winning the long jump in the Sunkist meet and improving his personal best from last season by almost four inches in the process.

Jaffers Bailey (El Camino Real)--One of the region’s more versatile track athletes, Bailey placed third in the 110-meter high hurdles and fifth in the 400 as a junior in last year’s City championships.

With personal bests of 14.89 in the high hurdles and 49.01 in the 400, Bailey is capable of leading the region in both events.