DeSaussure Offers Glimpse of Potential With 4 Wins : High school track: Taft junior takes three sprints and anchors 400 relay in Northwest Valley Conference finals.

Andre DeSaussure of Taft High has never heard of Ronnie Wayne Williams, but he undoubtedly will hear about the former Chatsworth standout as he begins his quest to win all three boys’ sprint titles in the City Section championships May 27.

Williams is the only athlete to have accomplished that feat when he took the 100-, 220- and 440-yard dashes in the 1977 City meet, and DeSaussure’s performance in Friday’s Northwest Valley Conference finals showed that he is capable of equaling the hat trick.

DeSaussure won the 100, 200 and 400 and also anchored the Toreadors’ victorious 400 relay team in the meet at Birmingham High.

His time of 21.1 in the 200 was a conference meet record and capped his quadruple.

“The 200 was the race I was really concentrating on,” DeSaussure said. “I wanted to break 21, but I kind of strained a little bit in the end and it cost me some time.”

DeSaussure, who won Southern Section 3-A Division titles in the 200 and 400 as a Royal High sophomore, began his portion of the meet by bringing the Toreadors from third to first on the final leg of the 400 relay (43.2) and he followed that with times of 10.6 in the 100 and 48.6 in the 400.

The 400 was a disappointment to those who had watched DeSaussure dash to a 47.1 clocking in last week’s league preliminaries, but he had no complaints.

“I just wanted to cruise (the 400) so I could blast the 200,” DeSaussure said. “I concentrated on working the first 200 and then relaxing.”

DeSaussure figures that the best time to run an all-out 400 will be in the state championships in June, when he plans to have dropped the 100 from his racing schedule.

Danny Haag of Granada Hills also was a triple winner, timing a personal best of 39.5 in the 300 intermediate hurdles (39.5), clearing 6-1 in the high jump and spanning 21-0 1/2 in the long jump. He also placed second in the 110 high hurdles with a personal best of 15.1.

Drue Powell of Reseda won the highs in a conference meet record of 14.2 and also ran the second leg on the Regents’ 400 relay team, which placed second in 43.3.

Powell, who finished third in the highs in last year’s state championships, was sidelined by a strained groin earlier this season, but he said it is no longer bothering him.

“I’m only about 90%, but it’s coming,” Powell said. “Today was the first time since I’ve been back that I’ve stayed up on my toes the whole race. Before, I was going flat-footed after the sixth hurdle.”

Vanita Kinard of El Camino Real and Yeko Ladzepko of Kennedy were double winners in the girls’ meet. Kinard won the 100 in 12.8 and set a meet record of 36-2 1/2 in the triple jump.

Ladzepko produced personal bests of 15.3 in the 100 hurdles and 16-6 in the long jump.

The top five finishers in each event advance to Thursday’s City semifinals at Birmingham.