HIGH SCHOOL TRACK NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC MEET : National-Leader Fisher Quickly Goes the Extra Mile

Kim Fisher of Aston, Pa., has topped the national high school list in the 1,500 meters for most of the track season. Now she leads the nation in the mile as well.

Fisher turned in a personal best of 4 minutes 46.73 seconds to win that event Saturday in the National Scholastic track and field championships at Birmingham High. She is undefeated this season.

“I wanted to run 4:42,” said Fisher, who will attend the University of Florida. “But I’m happy with the 4:46 considering the heat and the wind.”

Raymond Banner of Birmingham had the top performance by a Valley-area athlete, turning in a personal best of 14.41 to place second in the 110-meter high hurdles. The time was especially impressive because it was run into a wind of 1.47 meters-per-second.

Marcus Stokes of Thacher finished third in 14.52.

Fisher already has the best time in the nation in the 1,500 meters--4:27.68. And her mile time Saturday eclipsed the previous national best of 4:50.21, which is the converted time Shelley Taylor of Edison High in Huntington Beach ran last week to win the California state title at 1,600 meters.

Fisher, who won the mile and two-mile and ran a leg on her team’s victorious two-mile relay team in the Pennsylvania state championships, was timed Saturday in 66.5 for the first 440 yards, 2:19.8 for 880 and 3:33.5 for 1,320.

Miesha Marzell of Oakland Bishop O’Dowd, the state champion in the 800 meters, stayed with Fisher for almost a half-mile but could not maintain that pace in the last two laps and finished a well-beaten second in 4:57.81.

Sophomore Kate Landau of Grahamsville, N.Y., produced the meet’s other nation-leading mark with a sophomore-record 10:20.3 in the girls’ two-mile.

Fillmore junior Maribella Aparicio was second in 10:48.9.

In each of the boys’ and girls’ high jump competitions, No. 1 was pitted against No. 2, but neither event lived up to expectations.

Corissa Yasen of Coeur d’Alene, Ida., won the girls’ event with a third-attempt clearance of 6 feet 0 1/2 inch, with national record-holder Amy Acuff of Corpus Christi, Tex., third at 5-10.

Yasen avenged a loss to Acuff in the National Scholastic indoor championships earlier this year, but she was disappointed in her effort.

“Six feet is kind of an average jump for me,” said Yasen, who will attend Purdue in the fall. “I was hoping to jump at least 6-2.”

Mike Ledet of Morgan City, La., who entered the meet with a best of 7-3, won the boys’ high jump by clearing 7-0 1/4 on his second attempt. National leader (7-4) Jason Woodard of Norfolk, Va., was third at 6-10 1/4.

Danny McCray of Killeen, Tex., was the meet’s only double winner with victories in the boys’ 200 (21.48) and 400 (46.62). Andre Inniss of Brooklyn, N.Y., won the boys’ 800 in 1:50.35.

In other events, Margarito Casillas of Hoover placed second in the boys’ two-mile in 9:22, and Jesse Stern of Harvard-Westlake finished third in the pole vault (15-0).