Casillas to Defend Sunkist 2-Mile Title

Margarito Casillas of Hoover High and Ryan Wilson of Agoura, whose cross-country seasons ended in bitter disappointment in December, will try to kick off their senior track campaigns with victories today in the Sunkist Invitational at the Sports Arena.

Casillas will defend his Sunkist two-mile title against a field that includes twins Theo and Tim Martin of Page (Ariz.) High, the first- and second-place finishers in the Kinney West cross-country regionals.

Wilson, Brian Wilkinson of Merced and Bob Keino of Ridgewood (N.J.) High are the leading performers in the boys’ mile.

In last year’s state track championships, Wilson finished fifth in the 1,600 meters and Wilkinson placed third. Keino, the youngest son of two-time Olympic gold medalist Kip Keino of Kenya, finished fourth in the Kinney national cross-country championships in December.

Casillas, the 1992 state Division I cross-country champion, and Wilson, the Division II titlist, entered the Kinney West championships in Fresno in December with undefeated records. However, Casillas faded from fourth place to 48th in the last 880 yards of the race and Wilson dropped out before the two-mile mark.

“As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t have a good (cross-country) season,” Casillas said. “I’m going to come into track season kind of angry and frustrated. I’ll use that as motivation.”

Several of the region’s top athletes, led by Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks, also will compete in the Sunkist meet. Jones, the three-time defending state champion in the 100 and 200, will run a leg on the Lancers’ 4 x 160-yard relay team before leaving to play in a Southern Section Division I-A basketball playoff game against Palmdale.

Maribella Aparicio of Fillmore, Nada Kawar of Crescenta Valley and Drue Powell of Reseda will compete in the girls’ two mile, the girls’ shotput and the boys’ 50-meter high hurdles, respectively.

The meet, which starts at 12:15 p.m., will be preceded by a free track and field clinic at 11 a.m. featuring Quincy Watts, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 400 meters.