Hall Gains on Fame for Monroe

Blink, and you might miss Victor Hall.

One minute he could be streaking to victory in the 100 meters for the Monroe High track team.

The next minute, after ducking into the nearest phone booth to change uniforms, he will be flagging down a fly ball in the gap as center fielder for the Viking baseball team.

Hall, a high-school version of Deion Sanders, not only plays both sports, but is beginning to attract attention in both.

The latest addition to his resume came Thursday at Birmingham High when the senior doubled as Valley Pac-8 Conference champion in the 100 and 200 meters in the conference track and field finals.

He ran a career-best 10.7 in the 100 and 22.0 in the 200, qualifying for the City Section preliminaries next Thursday at Birmingham.

Earlier in the week, Hall had four hits with four runs batted in, stole two bases and scored three runs in a 14-2 baseball victory over Reseda.

His secret has little to do with training.

“I make sure I get my rest,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt myself. This is one of the few years I’ve been healthy all season.”

And this is a guy who shows up to track practice once a week.

Monroe track Coach Dean Balzarett said if Hall focused on track, he could join the elite sprinters of the region.

“He’s got some talent,” Balzarett said. “There are some good sprinters in this Valley and he would join them.”

Hall is batting .375 with three triples for the baseball team, and though he has missed three games because of track meets, he is third in the conference with 15 stolen bases.

“I’d be leading the conference if I played every game,” Hall said.

Baseball scouts are impressed when they watch Hall play, especially when they learn the left-handed hitter has played baseball for only two years.

“There’s quite a bit of interest in him,” Monroe baseball Coach Fred Pudrith said. “They love his speed.”

Hall wasn’t the only one putting on a show at the meet Thursday.

Freshman Alexis Weatherspoon and senior Angela Terry, both of Grant, came away winners in three events.

Weatherspoon, who has burst on to the track scene as one of the region’s top sprinters, won the 100, 200 and the long jump.

Terry repeated victories from last year in the 100 high hurdles, 300 low hurdles and high jump.

“We love the conference meet,” Terry said. “This is where we get all of our glory.”

Lupe Delgadillo of Monroe took the boys’ 1,600 in 4:37.7 and the 3,200 in 10:10.2.

Freshman Natalie Stein of North Hollywood took the girls’ 1,600 in 5:23.2 and the 3,200 in 11:28.5, beating teammate Meg Mitchell by more than a minute.