Jackrabbit Sets the Pace in 100

Darrell Rideaux of Long Beach Poly High won a 100-meter showdown in the Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos College on Friday night, but the Jackrabbits’ state-title hopes took a hit when teammate Kareem Kelly was disqualified for a false start.

The boys’ 100 was the most anticipated event of the meet because it included the four fastest performers in the state this year in juniors Rideaux and Kelly and seniors Miguel Fletcher of Mission Hills Alemany and defending state champion Justin Fargas of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

The four of them had run between 10.36 and 10.39 in the Southern Section divisional championships at Cerritos on May 23, but Kelly’s false start and a headwind that measured 2.8 meters per second combined to slow the winning time to 10.62.

Fargas, who had a slight lead on Kelly for the first 70 meters, finished second in 10.68 with Fletcher a distant third in 10.84.

The top five finishers in each event qualified for the state championships at Cerritos on June 5-6.

“It was important to win because this was a meeting among the four fastest guys in the state,” Rideaux said. “But I think it’s going to take the [photo-finish camera] to separate us next week.”

Kelly and Rideaux, who finished 1-2 in the 200 with times of 20.98 and 21.37, had teamed with Aaron Smith and Samie Parker to clock a blazing 40.39 to win the 400 relay at the start of the meet.

The time moved the Jackrabbits to third on the all-time state list behind a 40.24 clocking by Hawthorne in 1989 and a 40.28 effort by Pasadena Muir last year.

Senior Chad Durham won the 3,200 in a personal best of 9:11.32 and the Jackrabbits’ 1,600 relay team finished second in 3:14.75 to advance to the state meet, but Long Beach Poly Coach Don Norford wasn’t making any predictions about the Jackrabbits’ chances at a second consecutive title and seventh overall.

“Anything can happen at the state meet,” Norford said. “I been there too many times not to know that.”

Senior Rheedus Thurmond of Gardena Serra produced the top performance in the boys’ field events by winning the discus with a throw of 200 feet 4 inches.

Senior Angela Williams of Chino, Long Beach Wilson’s 1,600 relay team and Playa del Rey St. Bernard’s 400 relay team turned in the top performances in the girls’ meet.

Williams, the defending state champion in the 100, won that event in 11.40 and clocked a personal best and yearly national-leading time 23.21 in the 200. She also placed third in the long jump with a leap of 18-feet-7.

Long Beach Wilson, which will be shooting for its second state team title in three years next week, missed the national record in the 1,600 relay.

The Bruins were ahead of record pace for most of the race, but their final time of 3:37.97 missed the national record of 3:37.38 that Wilson had set two years ago.