KATELLA RELAYS : Lim High Jumps 6-10 1/2, Tops Nordquist’s Mark

It was one of the most overlooked performances of the meet, but it was also the best.

Jay Lim of Sonora soared 6 feet 10 1/2 inches in the boys’ high jump, then took three attempts at 7-0 at the 19th Katella Jack Bighead Track and Field Relays on Saturday.

Although Lim’s attempt at 7 feet was announced, the relay races being run on the track at Rancho Santiago College drew most of the crowd’s attention. And the high jump, like all the field events, was also a “relay” team competition, making it difficult to keep track of individuals.

Lim, who had a best of 6-8 last season, broke Doug Nordquist’s school record of 6-10. Nordquist, who placed fifth at the 1984 Olympic Games, coached Lim during the summer.

“I attribute all of this to Doug,” said Lim, who won the Southern Section 2-A title last season but didn’t qualify for the State meet. “I just had to concentrate on what I was doing. I remembered what I saw on my tapes (of me jumping).

“He just tells me the basics. He says my rhythm is bad, so I’ve been working on that.”

Lim, who is only 5-9, fouled under the bar on his first two jumps at 7-0, then flew into it on his third.

Only one other section jumper--Camarillo’s Jeremy Fischer at 7-0--has gone higher this season.

Lim also moved to seventh on the all-time Orange County list. Katella’s Kevin Carlson holds the county record of 7-1, set in 1991. Brian Carlson, Kevin’s brother, jumped 6-8 Saturday.

“Jay has had this as his goal since last year,” Sonora Coach Bryan Humphrey said. “He’s one of the most focused athletes I’ve ever coached . . . I’m not surprised he jumped 6-10 1/2, but what surprises me is him doing this early in the season.

“My challenge now is to see if he can elevate his sights.”

Lim was not the only athlete chasing records Saturday. The Foothill boys’ 1,600 relay team of Tad Heath, Mike Lynch, Don Oliver and Ethan Taub broke the meet record, running 3 minutes 23.1 seconds to better Santa Ana Valley’s 3:23.2 set last season.

Esperanza also got a meet record in the discus. Tom Pellicer, Travis Kirschke and Jim Stewart threw a total of 435-2, breaking the 407-9 mark set by Foothill in 1989. Mission Viejo’s Rusty Burnett, Bill Pedigo and Travis Brown were second at 426-4. Brown had the best individual throw, 154-6. Kirschke threw 149-0.

Meet Notes

Canyon’s Laura Flatauer, Ann Liming, Kim Nelson and Carrie Hoaglund won the girls’ Division I 3,200 relay in 9:52.7, and El Modena’s Gary VanSluis cleared 14-3 in the pole vault. Jack Bighead, who originated the Katella Relays along with current Katella Coach Mike Cochrane, missed the relays for the first time in 18 years because he is terminally ill with liver cancer. Bighead, who lives in Parker, Ariz., retired in 1987 after coaching 20 years at Katella.