Foothill Sets Record in 1,600 Relay Victory : Track and field: Engesser qualifies for State meet in girls’ 800 meters.

The question facing the Foothill boys’ 1,600-meter relay team at the Masters track and field meet Friday at Cerritos College was this:

Were the Knights chasing their Orange County record set last year or running in fear of Inglewood Morningside’s Edward Turner?

As it turned out, there was plenty of motivation on both counts and Foothill sliced .10 off its county record to win the 1,600 relay in 3 minutes 15.09 seconds. Morningside, thanks to a 45.8-second anchor leg by Turner, roared out of the pack to finish second in 3:15.43. Pasadena Muir was third in 3:16.23.

The top five finishers in each event advanced to the State meet next Friday and Saturday at Cerritos College.

“Morningside brings out the best in you,” said Foothill’s Tad Heath, whose 48.5 third leg moved the Knights into the lead for good. Heath also qualified in the 800 meters, finishing third in 1:54.41.

A 47.7 anchor leg by Ethan Taub, who finished second in the 400 meters in 48.12, gave Foothill just enough of a cushion to win.

Don Oliver led off with a 49.1, then passed the baton to Mike Lynch, who ran a personal-best 49.7. Lynch finished sixth in the 800 and used that as motivation in the relay.

“The 800 was really tough for me,” he said. “I gave it my all but was still disappointed. I wanted to get into the 49s and I did it.”

Foothill’s time is the seventh-fastest in the nation this year. Port Arthur (Tex.) Jefferson has run a U.S.-best 3:13.9.

Christie Engesser of Ocean View is still looking for a breakthrough performance in the girls’ 800 meters. She qualified for the State meet, finishing second behind Sherron Rhetta of Long Beach Poly in 2:12.88, and that’s all that really mattered.

But there is one big goal yet to be achieved--breaking 2:10.

“It’d be nice,” said Engesser, whose best is the 2:11.23 clocking set in finishing second at last year’s State meet.

“She’ll be ready next week,” Ocean View Coach Beth Chilcott said. “She’s wanted that (a sub-2:10) since last year.”

No race turned out to be as frantic as the boys’ 3,200, won by Dan Ninami of Palos Verdes Peninsula in 9:04.13. Four others broke 9:10, including Jaime Martinez of Orange (in a county-leading 9:06.48), Shawn Frack of Esperanza (in a personal-best 9:06.70) and Mike Love of Katella (in a PR 9:07.03). They finished third, fourth and fifth.

“I’m in the meet next week, so no complaints there,” said Frack, who was sixth at last year’s Masters meet.

Other qualifiers included:

--Marina’s Tony Parrish, who needed a big jump on the last of his four attempts in the triple jump and he got it. Parrish, the State champion last year, soared 49 feet, 11 1/4 inches, the fourth-longest jump in county history and the sixth-best in the nation this season. He finished second behind Ty Gaines of Palmdale, who jumped 50-1 3/4.

Parrish’s old best was 49-4 1/4 set last season. Phouphet Singbandith of Magnolia set the county record of 51-7 3/4 in the 1990 State meet.

--Kim Nelson of Canyon, who needed a 70.7-second last lap to stage a come-from-behind victory in the girls’ 3,200 meters. A 33.6-second final 200 carried her past Karin Bockel of Ojai Nordhoff and Kelly Campbell of Corona del Mar.

Nelson’s time of 10.48.13 was better than Bockel’s by .43. Campbell, a freshman in her first season of competitive running, hung on for third in 10:51.28.

--Cavetra Mitchell of Los Alamitos, who finished third in the 100-meter high hurdles in 14.84, a personal-best.

She did not qualify in either the 100 (ninth in 12.11) or the 200 (sixth in 24.52), however. Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks won the sprints in 11.31 and 23.00.

--Chad Peare of Trabuco Hills, who was second in the discus (177-1) and the shotput (57-3). Tyson Ligenfelter of Upland won both events (181-6 and 62-5 3/4).

--Jimmy Hutsell of Cypress, who ran a personal-best 48.30 to finish third in the boys’ 400 meters. Freshman Michael Granville of Bell Gardens won the race in 47.24.

--Anton Hector of Esperanza and Mel Lete of Saddleback, who finished second and fifth in the boys’ 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Hector’s time was 37.80, the fastest in the county this year. Lete ran 38.55

--Laguna Hills, which was fourth in the girls’ 1,600-meter relay in 3:55.73.