IRVINE TRACK : World Class Club Dominates

Spectators came to UC Irvine Saturday afternoon expecting to see world-class performances. What they saw was a World Class show.

Bob Kersee, coach of the Westwood-based World Class Athletic Club, saw his five athletes--Tonya Sedwick, Janeene Vickers, Gail Devers, Dannette Young and Jackie Joyner-Kersee--run away with four individual victories and sweep the day’s two relays.

Joyner-Kersee, defending Olympic champion in the heptathlon and long jump, led the way for her husband’s team with victories in the 100-meter hurdles (13.01 seconds) and high jump (6-feet-2 1/4), both seasonal bests. She also ran on the winning 400- and 1,600-meter relays.

“I am very pleased with the way my whole day went,” she said. “I had some problems early in the high jump but managed to overcome that and jump pretty well.”

Joyner-Kersee, who has a personal best of 6-4, missed her first attempt at her opening height of 5-8 because of an approach problem, but a discussion with her husband relieved the problem immediately.

“We had one of those Bobby-Jackie chats, and she looked great from there on out,” Kersee said.

“He gave me a lecture,” said Joyner-Kersee, who wound up breaking the 1988 meet record of 6-2 set by Rita Graves.

Devers won the 200 in a season-best 22.94, beating Olympic silver medalist Grace Jackson of Jamaica by .04, and ran with Sedwick, Young and Joyner-Kersee on the 400 relay (43.4) and Joyner-Kersee, Vickers and Young on the 1,600 (3:32.67).

Young won the 400 meters in 51.32, third best in the United States this year.

UC Irvine graduate Buffy Rabbitt won the 3,000 meters in 9:22.22.