Thompson on the Beam After Unorthodox Start

Carolina Thompson of Washington High was 8 when she became interested in gymnastics after watching a movie about Nadia Comaneci.

Like many young girls, the movie motivated her to emulate the star of the 1976 Summer Olympics, but Thompson had extraordinary obstacles to overcome in following that dream.

In the South-Central Los Angeles neighborhood where Thompson lives, gymnastics is hardly a popular sport. So when Thompson’s father decided to build a wooden balance beam in the family’s back yard, it stood out in the neighborhood.

“People in my neighborhood really don’t know much about gymnastics, so when they saw a balance beam in my back yard, they thought it was weird,” Thompson said.

“They would come and watch me practice and ask me if I was going to the Olympics.”

Unusual or not, Thompson’s practice beam was good enough. Tonight she will be one of the most-watched athletes in the City team and individual championships at Wilson High at 6.

“I had to try and teach myself everything by myself at first,” said the 17-year old Thompson, who won the balance beam and finished third all-around in last year’s City finals. “I was horrible. I couldn’t even do a simple cartwheel.”

After several years of self-training, Thompson decided to seek private gymnastics lessons 17 months ago. She couldn’t join a club in her neighborhood, because there wasn’t one.

Instead, Thompson ended up at Mats Gymnastics near Hollywood after going through the phone book. Since then, her development has been rapid.

In August, Thompson will travel to Houston to train under the celebrated Bela Karolyi. Her teachers at Washington are helping her get to Houston.

“My goal is to go to college on a scholarship and to reach my full potential as a gymnast,” said Thompson, a junior who has a B average.

“I hope that I can get more sponsorship for my trip to Houston, because I know I will need at least $2,000 more.”

For now, Thompson’s main concern is dealing with the pressure of being one of the favorites for the the City title. It is role that she hopes to get used to in the future.

It is time for the State track and field meet to review its automatic qualifying berths for the City Section.

Last weekend’s results in the City finals and the Southern Section Masters meet show why.

Currently, the top four in each event in the City meet qualify for the State meet, as do the top five in the Masters meet.

But the performance levels in the City have dropped considerably, and nearly every State meet qualifier from the City Section would have been bypassed had he or she been competing in the Masters meet.

For example, of the 29 event winners in the boys’ and girls’ City finals, only 10 would have even placed in the top five in the Masters meet. Only five of the City’s second-place performers would have qualified and none of its third-place finishers would have made the Masters meet’s cutoff.

The imbalance was most startling in the girls’ 3,200 meters, where the City winner, Patty Trejo of Belmont, was nearly 1 minute 30 seconds slower than the Masters winner, Carrie Garritson of Fullerton Sunny Hills.

The State meet should be for the best athletes and until the City catches up, its number of automatic qualifiers should be cut down.

One City runner who should hold her own in the State meet is Deetra Deer of Crenshaw High.

Deer, a junior, won the girls’ 800 meters in 2:12.16, ahead of last year’s champion, Robin Snowbeck of University (2:16.24).

Deer finished second in the event as a freshman two years ago but did not run last season.

“I think I suffered from a sophomore jinx last year,” Deer said. “I just lost interest and quit. This year, I just came back out and tried to run well in the big races because there are not that many good 800 runners in the City.”

Deer’s winning time put her in contention for a State title, but she is not counting on it.

“I’m not really looking to win at State, but I feel like I will be competitive,” said Deer, who also qualified in the 400 meters with a second-place finish in 57.38. “As long as I can stay close, I figure I have a good enough kick at the end.”

Look for good things from Brian Newell of University High in the City individual tennis meet this week.

Last week, Newell, University’s No. 1 singles player, led the Warriors to the City team title over Palisades by sweeping his opponents in singles play.

Newell displayed poise and confidence in controlling play and is a favorite to take home the individual title, as his teammate, Sung Kim, did two years ago. Kim is competing in doubles this year.

In the fall, Newell will join former University teammate Jason Clark at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Prep Notes

The City baseball finals will be played Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, beginning at 4 p.m. with the 3-A Division, followed by the the 4-A Division. . . . The Southern Section baseball finals will begin Friday, with the Small Schools Division at Cal State Fullerton at 4:30 p.m, followed by the 1-A Division. Saturday at Anaheim Stadium, the 2-A Division final will be played at 10 a.m., followed by the 3-A, 4-A and 5-A Division championship games.

The Southern Section softball finals will be played at Mayfair Park in Lakewood on Friday, with the 2-A and 4-A divisions beginning at 5:30 p.m., and Saturday beginning at noon with the Small Schools Division, followed by the the 1-A, 3-A and 5-A divisions. . . . The Southern Section tennis finals will be played Wednesday at various sites, all starting at 3 p.m. . . . The State track and field meet will be run Friday and Saturday at Cerritos College.