Orange County’s Top Preps to Compete

Several talented Orange County high school athletes will compete in the 39th L.A. Invitational indoor track and field meet today. There are 35 prep events on the 61-event schedule, beginning with the boys’ shotput at 9 a.m. and concluding with the boys’ 640-yard relay at 9 p.m. The high school throwing events will be outdoors at USC; all other events will take place in the Sports Arena.

Sam Lightbody of Huntington Beach will compete in discus and shotput. Lightbody, who last season had the county’s top mark in the discus (174 feet 10 1/2 inches) as a junior, will face some tough competition from three 1998 state qualifiers, including Hughson’s Lucais Mackey, who finished second at the state finals with a throw of 194-4.

Mission Viejo sophomore Dana Bethel and Santa Margarita senior Amanda Shanklin are each scheduled to compete in two events, including separate heats in the 50-meter hurdles. Bethel will also compete in the long jump and Shanklin in the triple jump. Also competing in the triple jump is Long Beach Poly’s Blessing Ufodiama, who finished second in state last season at 39-6 1/4.

In the girls’ pole vault competition, Marina’s Caroline Rebello should be considered a favorite. She finished fifth in state last season after clearing 11-4, but will be challenged Saturday by San Diego Rancho Bernardo’s Kathleen Donoghue, who was third at state (12-4).

Esperanza teammates Pam Smith and Kristin Chadez will race in the girls’ mile, and Corona del Mar teammates Lindsay Yourman and Katie Quinlan are entered in the girls’ two-mile event.

In the girls’ 880, Corona del Mar junior Liz Morse and Esperanza sophomore Maribeth Buche are expected to race in the same heat. Buche won Sunset League titles in the 400 and 800 as a freshman, and finished third in the half mile at the Division I finals in 2 minutes 14.12 seconds. Morse was a favorite to win a Division II title in the 800 but fell during the race.

In the boys’ distance events, Loara senior Jose Herrera should be among the leaders in the two-mile race. Herrera finished seventh in state in the 3,200 meters last season in 9:14.49, which is the top mark among Saturday’s competitors.