Medearis, Fischer Set for Finals : State track meet: Hurdler and high jumper prepare for important tests against chief rivals.

Jeremy Fischer of Camarillo High and Jason Medearis of Hart are expected to play central roles in three highly anticipated showdowns at the state track and field championships at Cerritos College today and Saturday.

The meet, which starts with qualifying rounds today, consists of 31 events, but the high jump, featuring Fischer and Arthur Lloyd of Eisenhower, and the 110-meter high and 300-meter intermediate hurdles, pitting Medearis against Kenny Haslip of Muir, rate among the most intriguing contests.

Fischer is the national outdoor leader this year in the high jump at 7 feet 4 inches and is undefeated, including a 4-0 record against Lloyd. However, Fischer has shown recent signs of fallibility. He is recovering from a bout with the flu that hampered him in last week’s Southern Section Masters Meet even though he still defeated Lloyd, who has a personal best of 7-2.

“I think it’s definitely going to take a jump of 7-2 or 7-3 to win it,” Fischer said.

To improve his chances at winning his first state title--he finished second last year and tied for fourth in 1992--Fischer has withdrawn from the long jump for the state meet.

“I’m not saying I don’t have a chance at doing well in that event,” Fischer said. “But the high jump is my forte.”

Although Medearis has produced his best mark in the intermediates--his 36.80-second clocking ranks third on the national list--he’s had more success against Haslip in the highs.

He defeated Haslip last week and has split four races against him this season in the highs. In the intermediates, Medearis is 0-4 against the defending state champion, including a second-place finish last week in the Masters Meet when Haslip ran a national leading time of 36.65.

“I’ve never beaten him in the 300s, so that is definitely a goal of mine,” Medearis said. “My workouts have gone great this week so I feel really good about my chances in both races.”

Also expected to contend for state titles are Esa Sallinen of Burroughs, Jamaal Chase of Quartz Hill and Dolores Tuimoloau of Channel Islands.

Sallinen, a senior exchange student from Finland, has a personal best of 16-4 3/4 in the pole vault and ranks second behind Scott Slover (17-0) of San Jose Leland.

Chase’s personal best of 24-2 1/4 in the long jump is No. 1 in the state and he ranks third in the triple jump (49-3). Undefeated in the long jump for much of the season, Chase finished third behind Lloyd and Fischer in the Southern Section Division I championships May 21 and placed second behind Tyree Washington of La Sierra in the Masters Meet.

“He’s been way too timid on the runway the last couple of meets,” Quartz Hill Coach Don Crimin said. “If we can just get him to run through the board at full speed, he’ll produce some big marks.”

Tuimoloau is the state leader in the shotput at 49-2, although her 3 1/2-foot advantage over second-ranked Gina Heads (45-7) of Newport Harbor is a little deceiving because Tuimoloau’s performances have been in the 45- to 46-foot range for the past four meets.

Andre DeSaussure of Taft, Brett Strahan of Hart, Gabriela Rodriguez of Oxnard and Cathy Prater of Agoura each will attempt to place among the top five finishers in their respective events for the second year in a row.

DeSaussure finished second in the 400 last year and has run 47.77 this season, despite being hampered by injuries.

Strahan placed fifth in the 1,600 last year and ranks third with a personal best of 4 minutes 9.71 seconds this year.

Rodriguez ran 10:54.36 to finish fifth in the 3,200 in a tightly bunched race at the Masters Meet and could add a top-five finish to last year’s third-place effort.

Prater placed third in the 300 low hurdles last year and ranks sixth this year with a personal best of 43.88.

Today’s meet starts with the boys’ discus at 3 p.m., followed by the first running event at 5.

Local Qualifiers

STATE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Cerritos College

Marks in parenthesis are season bests if better than qualifying mark.

Times in hundredths are fully automatic. To equate hand times to fully automatic times add .24 to hand times in races 300 meters or less; add .14 to hand times in 400-meter races.

* best high school outdoor mark in the U.S. ** best high school outdoor mark in California.

*

Boys

400 Meters

Andre DeSaussure, Taft: 47.77

Ramsey Jay, Ventura (48.05): 48.06

800 Meters

Mike Wenz, Canyon: 1:53.40

1,600 Meters

Brett Strahan, Hart (4:09.71): 4:14.70

Jeff Fischer, Thousand Oaks: 4:16.69

3,200 Meters

Antonio Arce, Palmdale: 9:09.21

Eleazar Hernandez, Camarillo: 9:11.26

Jose Padilla, Monroe: 9:42.18

110-Meter High Hurdles

Jason Medearis, Hart (14.12): 14.21

Danny Haag, Granada Hills (14.4): 14.81

Paul Kokorowski, ECR (14.5): 15.09

300-Meter Intermediate Hurdles

Jason Medearis, Hart: 36.80

Danny Haag, Granada Hills: 38.75

High Jump

Jeremy Fischer, Camarillo (7-4 *): 7-0

James Lincoln, Birmingham (6-10i): 6-8

Pole Vault

Esa Sallinen, Burroughs (16-4 3/4): 16-0

Paul Kokorowski, ECR (15-6): 14-0

Craig Wobig, El Camino Real: 14-0

Long Jump

Danny Haag, GH (23-2 1/2): 22-11 1/4

Jamaal Chase, QH (24-2 1/4): 22-10 1/4

James Lincoln, Birmingham: 22-8

Triple Jump

Jamaal Chase, Quartz Hill (49-3i): 48-10 3/4

James Lincoln, Birmingham (46-0 1/2): 44-8

Shotput

Brian Tade, ECR (57-7 1/2): 56-0 1/2

Damon Blechen, Agoura (57-9 1/4): 54-4

Jeff Macrea, ECR (51-7): 50-8 1/4

Discus

Anthony Cady, Birmingham: 120-0

Mauro Navarro, Birmingham: 112-1

David San Vicente, Birmingham: 112-0

Girls

100 Meters

Tinika McThomas, ECR (12.69): 12.5

200 Meters

Tinka McThomas, El Camino Real: 25.98

800 Meters

Jennifer Chipello, Van Nuys: 2:20.26

Melinda George, Chatsworth: 2:21.75

1,600 Meters

Brooke Page, North Hollywood: 5:21.98

3,200 Meters

Kim Mortensen, Thou. Oaks: 10:53.65

Gabriela Rodriguez, Oxnard: 10:54.36

Kristin Kabo, Ken. (11:43.5): 11:50.89

100-Meter High Hurdles

Andrea Wasden, Rio Mesa (14.40): 14.65

300-Meter Low Hurdles

Cathy Prater, Agoura (43.88): 43.96

Stacy Hebert, Buena: 44.39

High Jump

Liz Giltner, Chaminade: 5-8

Kathy Watson, Saugus (5-10): 5-6

Adriana Garcia, Birmingham (5-1): 4-10

Long Jump

Kim Pickup, Chatsworth: 16-4 1/2

Triple Jump

Neisha Henderson, Cle. (36-7 1/2): 36-7

Shotput

Dolores Tuimoloau, CI (49-2): 45-1 3/4

Darvena Merritt, North Hollywood: 43-2

Monica Dopson, Palmdale: 39-7 1/2

Samantha Fargeon, N. Hollywood: 38-0 1/4

Discus

Dolores Tuimoloau, CI (145-0): 137-1

Kristi Rose, Palmdale: 135-10

Compiled by John Ortega