HIGH SCHOOL TRACK NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC MEET : Thacher’s Stokes Launches His Bid for Redemption

Senior Marcus Stokes of Thacher School in Ojai is looking for redemption and his forum is the national scholastic outdoor championships at Birmingham High.

Stokes, who finished a disappointing fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles in last week’s state championships, won the second heat of the hurdles Friday in a wind-aided 14.30 seconds to qualify for today’s final.

“I’d like to make up for last week at this meet,” said Stokes, who will return home to Canton, Ohio, on Sunday. “I’m a little upset with the way I ran in the highs. I really felt that I had a chance to beat Charlie (Davidson of Saddleback) going into that race.”

Davidson won the high hurdles in the state meet in a wind-aided 13.94, and Stokes was fourth in 14.17.

Raymond Banner of Birmingham, who finished fifth in the high hurdles in the state meet, ran a wind-aided 14.11 to place second in heat one behind Demetrick Powell (13.89) of Edison High in Miami.

Stokes’ time was the third-fastest among qualifiers.

Qualifying heats of the 400 intermediate hurdles also were run Friday, but Stokes chose not to enter because the standard distance for high school intermediates is 300 meters.

“I really haven’t been training for the 300s,” said Stokes, who finished fifth in the intermediate hurdles in the state meet. “So I didn’t think it would have been too wise to run the 400s.”

Qualifying heats were scheduled to be conducted in 16 running events Friday, but because of a lack of entrants only eight events were run.

The boys’ 800 was promoted as the meet’s most talent-laden event and, based on qualifying, today’s final could live up to the billing.

Andre Inniss of Brooklyn, N.Y., the defending champion, led qualifiers with a time of 1:51.31 in heat one. Paul De La Cerda of Hart was fourth in that race with a school record of 1:55.16, but that was not fast enough to qualify for the final.

In other events, Benita Kelley of Greenville, S.C., led qualifiers in the girls’ 100 with a time of 11.66, and Kyle Lane of Harrisburg, Pa., had the fastest time in the boys’ 400 with a time of 47.6.

Jermaine Stafford of Rochester, N.Y., led qualifiers in the boys’ 100 with a time of 10.65, and Tony Serpas of Birmingham grabbed the eighth--and last--qualifying berth with a personal best of 10.87.