Heck Still Looking for Serratos to Excel : Track: Coach is convinced the Canyons freshman can improve at the JC State meet.

Despite excellent showings in the 3,000-meter steeplechase over the past three weeks by Ramon Serratos, Coach Lindie Heck is still waiting for a breakthrough performance by the College of the Canyons freshman runner.

Serratos, a 1993 graduate of Duarte High, has won the Western State Conference title, posted the top qualifying mark in the Southern California preliminaries and then placed first in the Southern California championships.

His strategy of simply running to win and not worrying about times has served him well. But Heck would like to see him win and post a fast time Saturday on the final day of the State championships at Bakersfield College.

The meet starts today.

Serratos outkicked Glendale’s Jacques Sallberg to win the WSC title by a tenth of a second and then lowered his personal best to 9 minutes 18.5 seconds in the Southern California prelims.

In Saturday’s Southern California championships at Bakersfield College, he led from start to finish.

Still, he has yet to put the pedal to the metal for an entire race.

“I think he can run 9:08 or a little bit faster if he puts everything together,” Heck said. “He hasn’t really been pushed this year.”

Isaac Turner of Glendale, another Southern California champion from the region, will attempt to give the Vaqueros their first men’s 800 title since 1951.

Turner, who has a personal best of 1:49.93 and was fourth in last year’s State meet, has lowered the school record twice this season.

But the sophomore from Burbank High will be an underdog to Hartnell sophomore Brian Wilkinson, who has run 1:49.30 this year and defeated Turner in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on April 15.

Turner is one of three athletes from the region who qualified for the meet again this season.

Ventura’s Amy Blackburn, runner-up in the discus last year, won this year’s WSC title and placed second in the Southern California championships.

Teammate Josefina Sanchez, 11th in the 3,000 as a freshman, won the 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 in the WSC meet and was the Southern California champion in the 10,000--an exhibition event this season--and placed second in the 3,000.

Also qualifying for two events are George Daniels of Antelope Valley (400 and 400 relay), Kris McLucas of Ventura (110 high and 300 intermediate hurdles) and Sallberg (steeplechase and 5,000) in the men’s meet.

Heather Hanger of Moorpark (heptathlon and 400 low hurdles) has qualified in two events in the women’s meet.

The meet starts at 1 p.m. today and resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday.