Moore Captivates Three Times as Pasadena Muir Earns Title

Obea Moore has created quite a stir in track and field.

The talented sprinter from Pasadena Muir High has become so popular among fans that a capacity crowd was on hand for the finals of the state meet Saturday at Cerritos College before the first race.

Lines at the ticket booth remained long the entire meet and many fans were forced to watch from the fence outside the stadium.

Those 12,000 inside watched Moore turn in another solid performance to help lead Muir to its third consecutive boys’ team title with 57 points. Long Beach Poly placed second with 30 points and Lynwood was third with 28.

In the girls’ team race, Long Beach Wilson used a victory in the final event of the meet, the 1,600-meter relay, to capture its first title with 43 points. Union City James Logan placed second with 42 points and Playa del Rey St. Bernard was third with 28.

Moore, a junior, had a small following his freshman year, mostly fans who had watched him break numerous age group records on the junior club level. When the Mustangs won the state title that year, the interest grew.

After winning the 400 and anchoring his team’s victorious 1,600 relay last season, Obea-mania took off. Fans mobbed him at meets last summer, asking for autographs and pieces of his hair, especially after he won the 400 in 45.14 at the Junior Pan-Am Games in Chile in August. That time qualified him for the Olympic trials in Atlanta in two weeks.

It was more of the same this season with capacity crowds at most major meets Moore appeared in. He received numerous standing ovations Saturday, especially after he won his second 400 title in a row with a time of 45.81 seconds.

He followed that up with victories in the 200 in 20.91 and the 1,600 relay in 3:08.94. The relay time established a new meet record and Moore ran the anchor leg in 44.8, his fastest split time ever.

In typical Moore fashion, however, he downplayed it all.

“I felt dehydrated out there today and wasn’t able to get the times I wanted,” he said. “After that terrible time performance in the 400, I felt like I had no energy, and I knew national records were out of the question.”

The Mustangs are not a one-man team, however. Senior Makio Haywood accounted for 18 points by winning the 300-intermediate hurdles in 36.18 and placing second in the 110-high hurdles in 13.80.

“We’re just getting this thing going,” Muir Coach Clyde Turner said. “We’re not done yet.”

Long Beach Wilson Coach Terry Kennedy is probably thinking the same thing after his freshmen-dominated team surprised almost everyone by upsetting James Logan for the team title.

Wilson got the boost it needed in the 400 with junior Kinshasa Davis winning in a near record time of 52.67 and freshman teammate Joni Smith placing second in 53.64.

Trailing Logan, 34-33, heading in the 1,600 relay, Wilson won in 3:38.50, the fourth-fastest time ever. James Logan was second, losing the team title by a point.

Wilson’s 1,600 relay team included Davis, Smith and freshmen Veronica Calloway and Latrice Borders.

Individually, Gerald Williams of Lynwood became the first boy in meet history to score in four individual events. He won the long jump (24 feet, 10 1/2 inches) and placed second in the triple jump (47-10 1/2), third in the 100 (10.77) and fourth in the 200 (21.43).

Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks won the 3,200 in a meet record time of 9:52.80. Julia Stamps of Santa Rose was second in 10:15.13.