Ventura’s Jay Goes Out Fast, Earns Victory

Ramsey Jay of Ventura High has a simple motto when it comes to racing on the tightly banked turns of an indoor track: Get out fast--ahead of the pack--and don’t look back.

Jay did both of those things in Saturday’s Sunkist Invitational at the Sports Arena and the result was a victory in the boys’ 500-yard run.

Jay’s time of 58.5 seconds was a 2 1/2-second improvement over his 60.9 clocking in last year’s meet and gave him a comfortable margin of victory over Aaron Richberg of Union City Logan and Felix Sanchez of San Diego University City, who had the second-fastest times (59.6) of the four heats.

“I just wanted to get out, take the lead and then hold on if anyone challenged me,” said the USC-bound Jay. “I know it’s real difficult to pass someone indoors when you’re running on a 160-yard track. I knew if I got the lead, I’d be in good shape.”

Tom Brown of Oakland McClymonds High was Jay’s closest pursuer for the first 1 1/2 laps of the race before Richberg moved up to his shoulder with a lap left.

Richberg, who ran 1:50.34 for 800 meters, looked strong at that point, but the smooth-striding Jay pulled away from him down the backstretch.

Jay, who ran a personal best of 47.49 to finish fourth in the 400 in last year’s state championships, was pleased with his victory, but admitted that “the big meet is in June at the state meet and everybody will be ready then.”

Jay was one of three winners from the region as Keith O’Doherty of Thousand Oaks (two-mile) and the Thousand Oaks boys’ 4 X 880-yard relay team were also victorious.

O’Doherty, who ran the opening leg on the Lancers’ relay earlier in the meet, led from start to finish in the two-mile.

He was shadowed by Canadian Craig Bridgidear for the first 1 1/4 miles, but Bridgidear dropped off the pace after apparently straining a muscle in his leg.

O’Doherty’s personal-best time of 9 minutes 31.5 seconds gave him an 11-second margin over runner-up David McQuitty (9:42.6) of La Mesa Grossmont.

“I’ve never run (indoors) before, so I’m pretty happy with the race,” said O’Doherty, sixth in last year’s State Division I cross-country championships. “I wasn’t real concerned about time, but I figured it would be around 9:30.”

Eleazar Hernandez of Camarillo and Jeff Fischer of Thousand Oaks, second and third in the State Division I cross-country final, were listed as entrants in the two-mile, but neither ran.

Fischer anchored Thousand Oaks’ 4 X 880 relay to a time of 8:12.7, but attended a school dance Saturday night. Hernandez withdrew from the meet earlier in the month, according to O’Doherty, although meet officials listed him as an entrant earlier this week.

“It would have been nice to have them in the race,” O’Doherty said. “It was missing a little bit without them.”

In other events, Brett Strahan of Hart and Antonio Arce of Palmdale finished second and third in the boys’ mile and Liz Giltner of Chaminade placed second in the girls’ high jump.

In the mile, Billy Harper of Junction City (Ore.) led the field through the 880 mark in 2:12.4, but Micah Davis of Mead High in Spokane, Wash., blew the race open when he ran 62.2 for the third 440.

Davis finished in 4:18.34, followed by Strahan (4:22.45) and Arce (4:23.61).

Giltner was one of four competitors to clear 5 feet 6 inches in the high jump, but she placed second to Tracye Lawyer of Cate based on more total misses.

In other events of note, Melissa Price of Kingsburg High set a U.S. record of 12-2 in winning the girls’ pole vault and Julia Stamps of Santa Rosa High set a national indoor sophomore record of 4:46.73 to finish ninth in the women’s mile.