Finally, Irvine’s Williams Basks in Glow of Title

Al Williams was lost in the shadows of Tustin’s Dominique DeGrammont and Long Beach Poly’s Ken-Yon Rambo last season. His third-place finish in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles was barely noticed when compared with DeGrammont’s state title in the 110 high hurdles and Rambo’s in the 300 hurdles.

But Williams knew his time would come.

DeGrammont and Rambo graduated, and Williams returned for his senior year at Irvine. At Saturday’s state track and field finals at Cerritos College, Williams won a state title in the 300 hurdles.

“I’ve been thinking about this as soon as I came in third last year,” Williams said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to come back next year, all these people are graduating, so I’ve got to come back and get first.’ ”

Before Williams could fully concentrate on winning a state title, he planned to play his senior football season. That was cut short by a nagging deep thigh bruise, but he was impressive enough to earn a scholarship to Arizona State.

“Well, I knew football would get me into college, but as far as the bragging rights, I knew I could achieve more at Irvine in track than I could in football,” he said.

Williams didn’t run his best race of the season. He came down hard on the second hurdle, but still had the lead when he came out of the turn. He brushed a couple more down the straightaway, then held off Leonard Lexion of San Bernardino to win in 37.17.

“Even on the stretch, in my mind I was thinking of people just rushing forward like it was a 400, coming to get me,” Williams said. “So I never knew it was mine. I guess at the very end . . . I didn’t see any shadows.”

Williams ran the fastest time in the state (37.14) in Friday’s qualifying round. He said his second-place finish at the Masters Meet the week before didn’t sit well with him, so he had something to prove at the state meet.

“At the Masters I was just suppose to qualify, but it didn’t feel good coming in second, regardless,” he said. “And then people are saying, ‘Why did you lose, why did you come in second?’ And I was saying, ‘I just wanted to qualify.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, right.’ So I had to come out and just kind of show everybody that I could win.”

Orange County athletes also won two second-place medals and set a county record in the process.

Katie Rorem of Marina broke her county record in the pole vault, clearing 12 feet 4 inches to finish second.

“I slid over it, it was close,” Rorem said. “I was very happy. It was a memorable feeling.”

Tracey O’Hara of Rancho Bernardo improved on her state meet record, which she had set in Friday’s qualifying, clearing 12-8 to better her mark by an inch.

Sunny Hills sophomore Stevie Nicholas took second in the girls’ high jump. Nicholas was among four who cleared 5-8, but none cleared the next height of 5-10. Nicholas and Cajon’s Tia Hanson each cleared 5-8 on their first attempt, so the judges looked at the fewest misses on the previous two heights, 5-6 and 5-7.

“I had a miss at 5-6 and 5-7, she only had a miss at 5-6,” Nicholas said. “Because of my really bad miss at 5-6, they gave her first.”

Trabuco Hills senior Darnesha Griffith was also among four to clear 5-10 and finished third. Griffith also took sixth in the triple jump and ninth in the long jump.

Mission Viejo’s Ashley Bethel completed a stellar high school career with a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles. Bethel ran a season-best 13.88. Natasha Neal of Union City James Logan won in 13.57. Mission Viejo freshman Dana Bethel was sixth (14.61).