Inglewood’s Childs Is Winner in Long Jump With Leap of 24 Feet : Finals: Sentinel boys finish in a six-way tie for eighth place. Morningside girls finish in a three-way tie for sixth.

Long jumper Leandrew Childs of Inglewood High said he didn’t have a lot of practice going into the state track and field meet Saturday at Norwalk.

After the meet was canceled June 5, Childs said he practiced only three times and that was informally with a teammate.

So Childs was perhaps the most surprised of all when he leaped 24 feet to win the event.

“With everything that happened, I was thinking somewhere in the high 23s would win it,” Childs said. “I didn’t think I’d hit 24.”

Childs was also concerned because he hadn’t competed last week. Several of his rivals competed in invitational meets.

“I was kind of hesitant going in and then when I went under 23 on my first two jumps, I didn’t know what to think,” Childs said. “But I finally hit it on my fourth jump.”

Childs, who became the first member of the Sentinels to win a state title, was the only South Bay athlete to win an event.

Childs’ victory also enabled Inglewood to finish in a six-way tie for eighth place with 10 points. In the girls division, cross-town rival Morningside finished in a three-way tie for sixth with 20 points.

Gardena distance runner Morris Giddens and Morningside sprinter Joronda White also came through with outstanding efforts.

Giddens finished second in the boys 1,600 in 4 minutes 10.50 seconds and White was second in the girls 400 in 55.72 seconds.

Although he broke his school record by more than four seconds, Giddens wasn’t entirely pleased with his effort.

“It’s hard for me to be satisfied with finishing second because I don’t like to think that way,” he said. “But I was kind of happy with it. It was the last race of the year, so I can’t complain.”

White was overjoyed with her showing in the 400.

“For myself, I really ran a very good race,” she said. “I did way better than I ever thought I was going to do. I didn’t have that kind of time on my mind going in, but when push came to shove, that’s where I was.”

White said she entered the finals with limited expectations because of a two-week layoff from competition.

“I didn’t expect anything,” she said. “I was out for two weeks, so I thought whatever happens happens.”

Morningside’s LaShawn Stringer finished fourth in the 400 in 55.81 seconds.

Monarch Coach Ron Tatum said Stringer was slowed because she practiced only once during the week.

Morningside freshman Nicole Thomas finished fourth in the 300 hurdles in 45.52 seconds and the Monarch 400 and 1,600 relay teams finished fifth with times of 47.88 and 3:53.25.

“I’m still proud of our team,” Tatum said. “They gave it their best and they always do.”

Morningside’s chances in the boys division were dashed when senior Edward Turner decided to skip the meet to compete in the Keebler Invitational in Chicago.

Turner was regarded as one of the best in the state in the 100 and 200 meters and the long jump. He also ran the anchor leg on Morningside’s 1,600 relay.

“Edward had planned to go to that meet and I told him, ‘School’s out for you and you have to make your own decision,’ ” Tatum said. “He committed to that meet before the state meet was canceled and then he felt obligated to go and I don’t blame him.”

With Turner missing, the only participant for the Morningside boys was its 1,600 relay team. The Monarchs finished seventh but were disqualified for stepping out of their lane.

Morningside sprinter Felesha Williams also did not participate because of a commitment.

Perhaps the most disappointed area athlete was Dan Minami of Peninsula, who finished ninth in the 3,200 in 9:20.64.

Minami had entered the meet with a state best of 9:04.13, but struggled most of the way after staying with the leaders early in the race. Matt Farley of Sacramento Jesuit won in 9:04.39.

Other South Bay participants included Morningside’s Tai-Ne Gibson, who was seventh in the 200 and eighth in the 100, and Mira Costa’s Nikki Lawson, who was eighth in the triple jump.