TRACK : Trejo Helps Lead Belmont Sweep of Conference Finals

Patty Trejo of Belmont High won the 3,200 meters and lost the 1,600 at the Northern Conference track and field finals Thursday night at Occidental College, but the senior did not seem to mind.

Trejo and Auria Roberto, who helped the Belmont girls to an unprecedented fourth consecutive City cross-country title in November, led a 1-2-3 Belmont sweep in the girls’ 1,600 and 3,200.

“It doesn’t make a difference who wins because we’re all on the same team,” said Trejo, the defending City 3,200-meter champion.

The Belmont boys, winners of nine City cross-country titles in 11 seasons, were even more dominant in the distances. The Sentinels, who won their 15th consecutive conference dual-meet championship this season, took the first three places in the 800, 1600 and 3,200 meters.

The top five finishers in each event qualified for Thursday’s City semifinals at Birmingham High.

Roberto overtook Trejo at the finish to win the 1,600 in 5 minutes 16.91 seconds and break the conference record of 5:21.07 set by Eagle Rock’s Kim Ojeda in 1985. Trejo and Yolanda Gomez were second and third in 5:17.43 and 5:29.31.

Trejo (11:36.37), Roberto (11:43.33) and Gomez (12:05.69), came back to place first, second and third in the 3,200. The three ran together during the early stages before Trejo pulled away a little less than halfway through the eight-lap race.

Trejo passed the 1,600-meter mark in 5:31 and was on pace to break Ojeda’s 9-year-old conference record of 11:28.5 in the 3,200 before slowing in the final three laps.

“We plan for all of us to go out hard together,” Trejo said. “Whoever is feeling stronger later will win.”

Among the Belmont boys, Ricardo Valenzuela was the strongest, winning the 1,600 and 3,200 in 4:33.75 and 10:04.18. Teammate Helton Perdomo won the 800 in 2:02.89.

“It’s hard to beat someone when they are your friend and you have something in common,” Valenzuela said. “There will be a lot more competition at the semifinals. I won’t feel the same way against someone from Birmingham.”

Belmont’s Yohannes Measho (2:03.38) and Oscar Fuentes (2:04.07) were second and third in the 800, while Wilburd Estrada (4:35.38) and Fabricio Flores finished second and third in the 1,600 (4:38.35). Measho (10:13.73) and Estrada (10:17.41) completed a sweep in the 3,200.

Ben Martinez of Belmont won the 200 and 400 in 22.83 and 50.85 and anchored the 1,600-meter relay team to victory in 3:33.72. Other Belmont winners included Stanley Carranza in the pole vault (13 feet 6 inches) and Imelda Flores in the girls’ 800 (2:26.50).

Ti’Wanta Copeland of Wilson High broke a conference record to win the 100 in 12.90. She also won the 200 (26.63) the 400 (59.39), and anchored the Mules’ triumphant 400-meter relay team (52.43).

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Kory Jones of Fremont had a hand in four victories at the Southeastern Conference finals at Cal State Los Angeles on Wednesday, winning the 100, 200 and 400, and running a leg on the Pathfinders’ 400-meter relay team.

Jones timed 49.22 to win the 400 and edged teammate Brian Clark to win the 100 and 200 in 10.94 and 22.54. Clark, who won the long jump with a leap of 21-6 1/4, finished second in the 100 and 200 in 10.98 and 22.59. Jones and Clark also teamed on Fremont’s 400 relay team, which ran 43.6.

Fred Bailon of Garfield was a surprise winner in the 1,600, squeaking by Jaime Moreno of Roosevelt to win by a hundredth of a second in 4:23.69. Moreno held off Bailon down the stretch of the 3,200 to win by .22 in 9:43.45. Jorge Perea of Huntington Park, the City cross-country champion, was third in the 1,600 and 3,200 in 4:26.30 and 9:45.60.

Locke only managed victories by Greg Jones in the shotput (54-0) and Roy Edwards in the 110 high hurdles (15.70). The Saints finished third in the City finals last year, but were weakened this season by the transfer of Clark to Fremont and Charles Gates, the defending City 100 champion, to Gardena.

Brenda Stewart of Locke, a state finalist in the 800 meters last season, won the 400 in 26.56 and the 800 in 2:18.75, and ran a leg on the Saints’ winning 1,600-meter relay team (4:10.50).

Cynthia Midkiff of Fremont won the 100 and 200 in 12.82 and 26.33. Juan Camacho was the lone Bell conference champion, winning the 800 by nearly two seconds in 1:58.61.

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The Dorsey boys emerged as a favorite to knock off defending City champion Birmingham at the Southern Pacific Conference finals at Long Beach City College on Thursday. The Dons won seven events, including all three sprint races.

In the meet’s biggest turning point, Leon Settle won the 100 in 10.87 and the 200 in 22.06 after Gates failed to finish the 100 after pulling his left hamstring.

Gates had anchored Gardena’s 400-meter relay team to victory in 42.38, but the senior was unable to run in the 200 or on the Mohicans’ 1,600-meter relay team.

Anthony Williams, who won the 400 in 49.81, combined with Anthony Wheeler, Ramone Clark and Scott Miles on Dorsey’s winning 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:21.66. Washington finished second in 3:26.93, followed by Crenshaw (2:28.22) and Gardena (3:29.81).

Other winners included Lee Brannom and Anthony Smith of Dorsey in the 110 high hurdles (15.57) and long jump (21-6), and Charlton Jordan of Washington in the 300 intermediate hurdles in 39.87.

Deetra Dear of Crenshaw, the defending City champion in the 800, won her specialty in 2:20.69 and also won the 400 in 58.74.

Keisha Griffis of Washington won the 100 hurdles in 15.79 and the 300 low hurdles in 45.84. Roneshia Norwood of Crenshaw, who sat out last season after qualifying for the 1991 state meet as a sophomore, was second in the 300 hurdles in 45.92.

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The Manual Arts 400-meter relay team of Gilbert Augustine, John Prosser, Kemore Morrison and Emmett Beatty clocked 43.6 to win at the Coastal Conference finals at Venice High on Thursday. Augustine finished second and third in the 100 and 200 with wind-aided marks of 10.9 and 22.3.