ATHLETES OF THE YEAR / ALL-COUNTY TEAMS : Davidson Always Leads the Pack : Boys’ track: Saddleback senior, who broke 14-second barrier in 110 hurdles in State final, led every race from start to finish this season.

If there is such a thing as a perfect season, Saddleback’s senior hurdler Charlie Davidson came close in 1992.

A first-place medal in the CIF State meet 110-meter high hurdles would probably provide enough supporting evidence. An undefeated season wouldn’t hurt, either.

But leave it to Jim Knapp, Davidson’s coach at Saddleback, to put it all into proper perspective: “At no point was he behind in a race this season. He led every race he had from start to finish. I think that’s pretty awesome.”

Davidson, The Times Orange County boys’ track and field athlete of the year, was so good because he was so consistent.

Despite Davidson’s occasional protests to the contrary, his start was explosive, his technique was nearly flawless, and his finish was strong. And this season, that was too much for anyone else in the state to match.

When he put it all together, the results were nothing short of spectacular. So often, Davidson left the track saying he was disappointed that he had a minor breakdown here or there. He seemed to be his harshest--and perhaps only--critic.

But after the State meet final June 6 at Cerritos College, Davidson smiled broadly and declared: “That was the best race I’ve ever run.”

It was a rout. Davidson won in a blazing 13.94 seconds, crushing the field and smashing the elusive 14-second barrier he’d been chasing all season long. In the end, it seemed the only competition for Davidson was the automatic timer at trackside.

If not for a slight trailing wind that was barely over the allowable 2.0 meters per second, Davidson’s time would have been the sixth-fastest in county history. It goes into the record books as the second-fastest wind-aided mark.

“It’s neat to set goals and achieve them,” Knapp said. “And to win State and break 14 all in the same night. . . . “

Davidson owes much of his success to his father, known to most as Big Charlie. After all, it was Big Charlie, a former high school hurdler, who persuaded his son to shift his focus from the sprints to the hurdles last season.

The 110 high hurdles turned out to be Davidson’s ticket to the State meet in 1991. In his first State meet, Davidson showed a hint of how good he might become by finishing sixth in 14.40.

Determined to be the state’s best this season, Davidson all but abandoned other events in favor of the hurdles. He dropped the long jump, for instance, because all that pounding was putting too much strain on his legs.

Moreover, he worked tirelessly to fine-tune his form over the hurdles in order to shave hundredths of seconds off his time. And Knapp and Big Charlie filled Davidson with all the knowledge they could.

In the end, the results were more than they could have hoped for.

Davidson won at the Arcadia and Irvine invitationals, the Orange County championships and the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. He breezed at the Southern Section 3-A preliminaries and finals, then ran a slow time at the Masters meet and still won.

There was little doubt in Davidson’s mind that he was the state’s best hurdler and that he would win. The only remaining question was whether he could break 14 seconds.

In the end, it was no contest. Just like most of Davidson’s races this season.

The Times’ All-County Boys’ Track and Field

FIRST TEAM

Performer(s) School Yr. Event Kevin Alexander Valencia Sr. 100 Kevin Alexander Valencia Sr. 200 Anthoni Davis Santa Ana Valley Sr. 400 Tad Heath Foothill Jr. 800 Mike Love Katella Jr. 1,600 Shawn Frack Esperanza Jr. 3,200 Charlie Davidson Saddleback Sr. 110 high hurdles Greg Muniz Woodbridge Sr. 300 intermediate hurdles Kimiko Bandy Santa Ana Valley Sr. 400 relay Rylan Branch Sr. Terry Mayers Jr. Anthoni Davis Sr. Nate Kuchera Foothill Sr. 1,600 relay Ethan Taub So. Tad Heath Jr. Aaron Taub Sr. Terry Mann Sunny Hills Sr. High jump Tony Parrish Marina Jr. Long jump Tony Parrish Marina Jr. Triple jump Tony Mancuso Newport Harbor Sr. Shotput Chad Peare Trabuco Hills Jr. Discus Greg Van Sluis El Modena Jr. Pole vault

Performer(s) Time/Mark Kevin Alexander 10.72 Kevin Alexander 21.42 Anthoni Davis 48.33 Tad Heath 1:53.60 Mike Love 4:14.72 Shawn Frack 9:15.98 Charlie Davidson 14.22 Greg Muniz 37.69 Kimiko Bandy 42.46 Rylan Branch Terry Mayers Anthoni Davis Nate Kuchera 3:15.10 Ethan Taub Tad Heath Aaron Taub Terry Mann 6-10 Tony Parrish 22-7 1/2 Tony Parrish 49-4 1/4 Tony Mancuso 59-3 1/4 Chad Peare 176-0 Greg Van Sluis 15-0

SECOND TEAM

Performer(s) School Yr. Event Korey Alexander Valencia Sr. 100 Anthoni Davis Santa Ana Valley Sr. 200 Ryan Crane Dana Hills Sr. 400 Mark Sanchez Fountain Valley Sr. 800 Chris Lynch Laguna Hills Sr. 1,600 Chris Lynch Laguna Hills Sr. 3,200 Ryan Crane Dana Hills Sr. 110 high hurdles Charlie Davidson Saddleback Sr. 300 intermediate hurdles Ace Riggins Valencia Jr. 400 relay Korey Alexander Sr. Mario Torres Sr. Kevin Alexander Sr. Sergio Victoria Valencia Jr. 1,600 relay Korey Alexander Sr. Mario Torres Sr. Kevin Alexander Sr. Jay Lim Sonora Jr. High jump Jason Boyce Corona del Mar So. Long jump Eric Fisher Capistrano Valley Sr. Triple jump Jason Braun Villa Park Sr. Shotput Travis Kirschke Esperanza Jr. Discus Chris Yasko San Clemente Sr. Pole vault

Performer(s) Time/Mark Korey Alexander 10.78 Anthoni Davis 21.73 Ryan Crane 48.42 Mark Sanchez 1:57.46 Chris Lynch 4:22.6 Chris Lynch 9:25.55 Ryan Crane 14.34 Charlie Davidson 38.31 Ace Riggins 42.48 Korey Alexander Mario Torres Kevin Alexander Sergio Victoria 3:17.96 Korey Alexander Mario Torres Kevin Alexander Jay Lim 6-8 Jason Boyce 17-6 Eric Fisher 45-11 1/2 Jason Braun 54-7 Travis Kirschke 165-10 Chris Yasko 13-9

Marks/times are through state meet. No wind-aided or converted times are included.