Poly Sprinters Move Up in Competition

Senior sprinters Darrell Rideaux and Kareem Kelly of Long Beach Poly head a list of talented athletes from the Southern Section who are scheduled to compete in the National Scholastic Indoor track and field championships at Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury, Mass., on Friday and Saturday.

Rideaux, the defending state champion in the 100 meters, will run in the 60 and team with Kelly, Sammie Parker and Aaron Smith in the 800 relay.

Kelly, defending state champion in the 200, will run in that event and the relay.

Long Beach Poly, the two-time defending state champion, was originally scheduled to compete in the Northridge-Alemany Relays at Cal State Northridge on Saturday, but Rideaux, Kelly and Co. wanted to see how they’d fare in the national meet that began in 1984.

“They wanted to see what they could do back there,” Coach Don Norford of Long Beach Poly said. “So we said, ‘Let’s go.’ ”

Long Beach Poly and Long Beach Wilson, which tied for the girls’ title in the state championships last year, will also compete. Senior Arlene Bledsoe and junior Angelita Green of Long Beach Poly will run in the 800 and team with junior Blessing Ufodioma and sophomore Naonka Mixon in the sprint-medley relay.

Ufodioma, runner-up in the triple jump in the state championships, will also compete in that event and Mixon is entered in the long jump.

Long Beach Wilson, which was bitterly disappointed when Moore League rival Poly tied it for the state title last year, will compete in the 800 and 1,600 relays.

Seniors Latrice Borders, Joni Smith and Kim Gildersleeve and sophomore Lashinda Demus will also run in individual events for the Bruins. Borders will run in the 200 with Smith and Demus in the 400.

Gildersleeve, who teamed with Borders, Smith and Demus to set a national record of 3:36.32 in the 1,600 relay in the state championships last year, will run in the 800.

Playa del Rey St. Bernard, the two-time defending state champion in the girls’ 400 relay, will run in the 800 relay.