Track Flourishing, Particularly the Girls

The perception that track and field is not as popular as in the past is not true for local high schools this season.

The Southland is blessed with some of the finest talent the area has ever had, including several potential Olympians, and large crowds have attended various invitational meets.

Particularly impressive is the depth in girls’ sprints. California runners dominate the national leader board in the 100 and 200 meters, with at least five girls capable of winning state titles.

At the head of the group is Long Beach Poly senior Andrea Anderson. She has been a force for four years, leading the nation in the 100 this season with a time of 11.59 seconds.

Her teammate, senior Aminah Haddad, has the third-fastest time in the nation in the 200 with a 24.42. Anderson and Haddad often flip-flop events to avoid each other, but they figure to go head-to-head as the Southern Section and State meets approach.

Another contender is Long Beach Wilson senior LaKeisha Backus. She won the 200 at the State meet last season and would have been a contender in the 100 if she had not been disqualified in a preliminary meet.

Pasadena Muir senior Heather Sumpter, the defending state champion in the 100, has had allergies and various injuries this season but figures to contend.

Those four could receive a challenge from Chino freshman Angela Williams. She ran personal bests of 11.78 in the 100 and 24.03 in the 200 while in junior high and leads the nation in the 400 with a 54.54. She may bypass the short sprints in favor of the 400.

Because the Southern Section receives only five spots in each event at the State meet, several top sprinters figure to be squeezed out.

“You’re going to have girls who run below a 12.0 in the 100 that won’t go to State,” Muir Coach Jim Brownfield said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Doug Speck, who organizes the Arcadia Invitational and is a frequent contributor to Track & Field News, said this season’s sprint talent is the state’s best ever.

“You’re going to see nine girls line up in the 100 and 200 at State who all have a realistic chances to win,” he said. “That’s definitely a rarity.”

College coaches have noticed the talent as well. Anderson signed with UCLA in November, and Haddad is reportedly leaning toward the Bruins. Backus accepted a scholarship to Texas and Sumpter to Tennessee.

Sprinters are not the only track athletes representing California well this season. Melissa Price of Kingsburg High in the San Joaquin Valley is making history with her pole vault records.

The pole vault will be a scoring event at the State meet this season for the first time. It was an exhibition event last year, when Price went 11 feet 2. She holds the national record for all ages with a 12-2.

Paul Pierce of Inglewood and Jodi Parriott of Cerritos Valley Christian have been selected as the top boys’ and girls’ high school basketball players of the year in the Southland by The Times.

The two were honored Sunday morning at separate banquets held for all-star teams in their areas. Pierce is on the South Bay team, and Parriott is on the Southeast/Long Beach squad.

Pierce, a 6-7 senior guard/forward, was presented the George Yardley Award, and Parriott, a 6-2 senior forward, was presented the Cheryl Miller Award.

Pierce’s selection was easy. The state’s most dominating player averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds despite constant double-teaming. Inglewood advanced to the Southern Section Division II-A semifinals and finished with a record of 26-4. Pierce signed with Kansas two weeks ago.

Parriott, who signed with USC in November, was chosen over Melody Peterson of Santa Ana Mater Dei and Tawnee Cooper of Newbury Park. Parriott averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds for Valley Christian, which won the Southern Section IV-A title. The Crusaders lost to Campolindo Moraga in the State Division IV final and finished 24-4.

The Times honored players in nine circulation areas.

Notes

Palmdale’s Antonio Arce, one of the state’s top distance runners, has accepted an athletic/academic scholarship to Notre Dame. . . . Westchester guard Ben Sanders, the City Section Division 4-A co-player of the year, signed with Nevada Las Vegas last week. . . . The Ventura baseball team last week forfeited four victories for using an academically ineligible player in the first half of the season.

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Times’ Top 20 Baseball Poll The Times’ top 20 high school baseball poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Fountain Valley SS I 16-2 1 2. Mater Dei SS I 15-3 4 3. Millikan SS I 15-2 2 4. Bishop Amat SS I 18-2 3 5. Marina SS I 15-4 5 6. La Quinta SS III 19-3 9 7. Fontana SS I 16-2 10 8. GH Kennedy City 4-A 15-3 11 9. Lakewood SS I 15-5 14 10. El Dorado SS I 16-4 6 11. Glendora SS II 16-3 7 12. Calabasas SS IV 17-0 12 13. Arlington SS II 16-3 13 14. Arcadia SS I 15-3 8 15. South Hills SS II 16-1 16 16. Westlake SS I 15-3 19 17. Gahr SS II 15-3 20 18. Corona SS III 14-4 15 19. Rio Mesa SS II 13-4 NR 20. West Torrance SS I 16-5 18