THE TIMES 1993 SPRING ALL-COUNTY TEAMS : Parrish’s Bid for State Title Gets Jump Start : Athlete of the year: Meet is rescheduled, giving Marina senior another shot.

Tony Parrish of Marina had just pulled into the Cerritos College parking lot when he heard the awful news. Someone said the State track and field meet had been canceled because of rain, and Parrish felt devastated.

That was June 5, and Parrish still hasn’t gotten over the disappointment.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said one day before learning that the meet had been rescheduled for next Saturday at Cerritos College. “It was the last thing I expected.”

He put so much into winning his second consecutive State triple jump championship, arranging his workouts so he would peak at just the right time. June 5 was going to be his day.

At first, it seemed as if he was living through a nightmare. “I was in shock,” he said. “I was all ready to go.”

Now, he’ll have to wait until Saturday to jump again.

Parrish, more than any other Orange County boys’ track athlete, seemed primed for a State title. His wind-aided 51-foot jump in the qualifying rounds June 4 was the day’s best, and the third-best in county history under any conditions.

“I know I could have gone farther (June 5),” said Parrish, The Times Orange County boys’ track athlete of the year. “It was just the way I was feeling. I felt so much better than the night before.”

Needing one good qualifying jump to advance, Parrish blocked out the pain of a stress fracture in his left foot and soared 51-0 on his first attempt in the preliminaries.

Certainly, Parrish would have faced challenges from Xavier Powell of Long Beach Poly, who jumped 49-10 3/4 in the preliminaries, and Ty Gaines of Palmdale (49-3 1/4). But because of the two-week delay, it’s anyone’s guess how the final will develop.

Parrish believes meet management should have waited longer to see if the rain would stop, particularly since so many athletes had so much at stake. “I thought it was real premature,” he said. “They made their decision around 1:30 and the first event wasn’t for another hour and a half. The sun was out when I got there.”

A victory in the finals will be a perfect finish to an almost flawless season for Parrish.

He won the Orange County championship in the long and triple jumps, finished second in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump at the Southern Section Division I final and finished second in the triple jump at the Masters meet.

His best legal triple jump was 49-11 1/4, good for second place at the Masters meet. His best long jump mark was a 22-7 winner at the county championships April 24.

He will attend Washington on a scholarship and plans to play football and track.