BOYS’ TRACK AND FIELD 1995: PREVIEW : Tustin’s Curry Has Plenty of Faith in His Leaps This Season

If it snows in June, you can bet Reggie Curry will be ready.

The Tustin senior has had personal bouts with the weather during his jumping career, but his fear of the cold appears to be conquered.

Curry believes his poorest performances during his junior season will serve as fuel for his fire this year.

“I had a mind set that I wasn’t going to jump well if it was cold outside,” Curry said. “I would say to myself, ‘Oh no, it’s cold, I’m not jumping far today.’ ”

There was no day colder for Curry last year than the one in May, when the Masters Meet was held. Curry finished sixth in the triple jump, failing to qualify for the State meet by just three inches.

“Was that all it was?” said Curry, as if already putting the jump behind him.

The mark of 46 feet 10 1/2 inches on that day has given Curry plenty of motivation for this season.

“I’ve learned not to (let the weather get to me) anymore,” Curry said. “I have been jumping and training at night when it’s colder so I can get used to any conditions.

“I looked back and thought about all the practices I missed and all the things I wish that I had done, but it was obvious that it just wasn’t meant to be that day.”

On even most of Curry’s bad days, he posts marks that are the envy of his competition. He is among the top 10 returning triple-jumpers nationwide.

As a sophomore, he burst onto the local scene by winning the Sea View League title. In his junior year, he finished second at the prestigious Sunkist Indoor Invitational.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder leaped to national attention last April, when he won the Trabuco Hills Invitational by 3 1/2 feet with a then-personal best of 48-7 3/4.

Three weeks later, in the Orange County Championships at Trabuco Hills, Curry unleashed the fourth best jump in county history on his first effort--a wind-aided 49-8 1/2. The county’s top mark is 51-7 3/4, set by Magnolia’s Phouphet Singbandith in 1990.

“I am really comfortable at Trabuco Hills,” Curry said. “I think it was the heat that makes my legs loose.”

Curry went on to win the Sea View League finals, then cruised to a Southern Section Division II title before his downfall at the Masters.

“It’s difficult being so far out in front sometimes, but I’ve been training for every situation so I can handle them when they come around,” he said.

Curry’s training has given him new goals for his senior season, the ultimate being the State title that he believes he let slip away a year ago.

“I just want to get that 50-footer out of the way early,” Curry said. “That will show everyone out there that I am serious and I am coming to get them this season.”

If the other playing fields at Tustin are any indication of Curry’s new frame of mind, you can believe he’s serious.

Curry was the leading receiver for the Tillers’ football team in the fall, catching 18 passes for 392 yards and four touchdowns. Against cross-town rival Foothill, he caught the game’s first pass and took it 80 yards for a touchdown.

Curry also came out strong on the soccer field, where, from his forward position, he scored 10 goals.

But in the back of his mind, no matter what season or sport, Curry’s thoughts were always focused on track and field, where he begins his run at the State title this spring.

“I am just trying to stay level-headed about everything,” Curry said. “A big reason why I lost at the Masters Meet was that I lost my train of thought. I was jumping to look good for the camera rather than just giving it everything I had.”

Curry has drawn attention from many of the nation’s elite track and field programs, visiting Arizona in January. UCLA and Kansas State have also shown interest.

“I want to do both in college,” said Curry, referring to track and football.

Colorado State, USC, California and San Diego State have shown an interest in letting Curry stretch himself between the two sports.

However, before he picks his school, Curry is concentrating on June at Cerritos College, when and where the State finals will be held.

“You have to train for one specific day,” Curry said. “And that is going to be my one day.”

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Boys’ Track and Field at a Glance

Top jumpers: Todd Bartlett, El Toro, Sr.; Matt Byrd, Fountain Valley, Sr.; Kareem Clark, Esperanza, Sr.; Reggie Curry, Tustin, Sr.; Cory Johnson, Los Alamitos, Jr.; Clay Kilbarger, Canyon, Sr.; Korei Kilburn, Loara, Sr.; Pete Kovaks, El Modena, Sr.; Steve Michaels, Brethren Christian, Sr.; Matt Nickels, Santa Margarita, Jr.; Sven Northcott, Marina, Sr.; Steve Sherwood, Esperanza, Sr.; Roger Van Sluis, El Modena, Sr.; Danny Vasquez, Century, Sr.

Top sprinters and hurdlers: Greg Cleave, Cypress, Sr.; Dominique Degrammont,Tustin, Jr.; Dahrin Footman, Esperanza, Sr.; Dan Foote, Foothill, Sr.; Stan Guyness, Los Alamitos, Jr.; Bryan Harrison, Dana Hills, So.; Anton Hector, Esperanza, Sr.; Lonnie Tape, Esperanza, Jr.; Jeremy Womack, Ocean View, Sr.

Top distance runners: Johann Appell, Estancia, Sr.; Mike Balderas, Garden Grove, Sr.; Matt Blasdell, Santa Margarita, Sr.; Shahram DeZahd, Newport Harbor, Sr.; Chuck Gatchell, La Habra, Sr.; Garrett Jensen, Sunny Hills, Sr.; Andy Morgan, Mission Viejo, Sr.; Brian O’Bannon, Ocean View, Sr.; Joel Orozco, Santa Ana Valley, Sr.; Brendan Pacheco, Brethren Christian, Sr.; Martin Pennell, El Toro, Sr.; Adalberto Sanchez, Capistrano Valley, Sr.; Brian Slingsby, Corona del Mar, Sr.

Top throwers: Jason Bader, Edison, Sr.; Paul Fulbright, Capistrano Valley, Sr.; Randy Hein, Dana Hills, Sr.; Sean Jarne, Esperanza, Jr.; Jeremiah Lynn, Capistrano Valley, Sr.; Sephar Sharifi, University, Sr.; Griffin Wayne, Esperanza, Jr.

League favorites: Century: El Modena; Empire: Century; Freeway: La Habra; Garden Grove: Garden Grove; Golden West: Ocean View; Orange: Brea Olinda; Pacific Coast: Laguna Hills; Sea View: El Toro; South Coast: Capistrano Valley; Sunset: Esperanza.

1995 preseason poll: 1. Esperanza; 2. El Toro; 3. Santa Margarita; 4. Ocean View; 5. Woodbridge; 6. Capistrano Valley; 7. Marina; 8. Tustin; 9. Century; 10. Dana Hills.

Key dates: Katella Relays, March 17-18; Pasadena Games, March 25; Trabuco Hills Invitational, April 1; Tustin Relays, April 7-8; Arcadia Invitational, April 8; Mt. San Antonio relays, April 14-15; O.C. Championships, April 22; Southern Section prelims, May 13, and finals, May 20; Masters Meet, May 27; State Championships, June 2-3.

Notes: The first Golden West League race should be a close one as Ocean View, Tustin and Saddleback are all in the running. . . . Dana Hills, Capistrano Valley and Mission Viejo should stage an equally exciting battle in the South Coast League. . . . Fountain Valley has an abundance of talent in several events.