Reseda’s Powell Is Quick Study in 50 Hurdles

Don’t get Drue Powell of Reseda High wrong.

He was plenty happy with his victory in the boys’ 50-meter high hurdles in the Sunkist Invitational indoor track and field meet Saturday night at the Sports Arena. He simply wished the race had lasted a little longer.

You see, Powell loves the high hurdles. Especially the 110-meter high hurdles, the event in which he finished third in last year’s state championships.

“The 110s are definitely my favorites, totally,” said Powell, who has a personal best of 14.01 seconds in that event. “I like the challenge of running all 10 hurdles. Here, there are only four hurdles. It goes by so fast that you really don’t have time to enjoy it.”

Powell, the defending City Section champion in the 110 highs, ran a typically clean technical race to win in 6.94 seconds.

Gerald Stamps of Pasadena Muir finished second in 7.00, followed by Jason Medearis of Hart and Bruce Dunams of Riverside North, who tied for third in 7.12.

“I felt good,” Powell said. “This gives me some confidence going into the outdoor season.”

Powell has some definite goals for the outdoor season, specifically the City Section record of 13.3 set by Philip Johnson of Gardena in 1978.

“That’s the mark I’m shooting for,” Powell said. “That’s what I want.”

Long jumper Cheaza Figueroa of Quartz Hill and the Canyon boys’ two-mile relay team also won events.

Figueroa, the fourth-place finisher last year at state, won the girls’ long jump with a leap of 18 feet 8 3/4 inches.

Canyon teammates Mike Wenz, Matt Berkeland, Gus Sobal and Charles Mansfield teamed up for a time of 8:17.87 in the two-mile relay.

Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks, the three-time defending state champion in the girls’ 100 and 200 meters, was expected to run a leg on the Lancers’ 4 x 160-yard relay team during the day, but she chose to devote her energy to her team’s basketball playoff game against Palmdale on Saturday night.

Paul De La Cerda of Hart did not run a particularly fast time (1:58.18) in the boys’ 880 yards, but his second-place effort was noteworthy because it came against a field that included six runners with personal bests under 1:55, and it left him .07 seconds behind Nathan Woods of Duarte (1:58.11), who finished fourth in the 800 meters last year at state.

“This is not the best race to show off everything you have,” said De La Cerda, who ran a personal-best 1:54.6 at an all-comers met two weeks ago. “But I feel pretty good about the way I ran. This gives me confidence that I can run with these guys.”

Sunkist Notes

Maribella Aparicio of Fillmore finished second in the girls’ two-mile and Margarito Casillas of Hoover placed third in the boys’ two-mile. Aparicio timed 11:02.27 behind winner Carrie Garritson of Buena Park (10:52.52). Twins Tim and Theo Martin of Page (Ariz.) High finished first (9:29.2) and second (9:29.6), outkicking Casillas (9:30.9). The Agoura girls’ two-mile relay team was third in 9:47.1.

* HIGH SCHOOL RECORD FALLS

Paul Turner of San Diego University City High ran 5.80 seconds to set a national record in the 50 meters. C10