Southern Section Should Go the Distance in 3,200

The Southern Section divisional track and field championships is one of the most talent-laden meets in the nation each year, but the way meet organizers stage the 3,200-meter races is unfair to the runners involved.

While Division I, II, III and IV races are contested in boys’ and girls’ track events measuring 1,600 meters or less, the Southern Section has combined two divisions in the 3,200 in recent years to save time.

The move reduces the number of 3,200 races from eight to four, but also guarantees half of the divisional champions won’t win a race.

For example, senior Lauren Fleshman of Canyon won the Division II 3,200 title in 10:55.69 at Cerritos College on Saturday to become the first girl to win the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 in the section championships in the same year.

But she finished second in her race to sophomore Anita Siraki of Hoover, who clocked 10:55.34 to win the Division I title.

Any runner who wins a section title deserves to be the first one across the finish line in their race. They shouldn’t be second, third or even sixth as Division IV girls’ champion Courtney Daniels of Notre Dame Academy was on Saturday.

If meet organizers are worried about the meet finishing too late, they should start the running events at noon instead of 1 p.m.

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Junior Brian Anderson of Burroughs was a casualty of the blistering early pace in the Division II race of the boys’ 1,600 in the Southern Section championships.

Anderson, who has a career best of 4:19.25, finished sixth in 4:24.31 after following the pace set by junior Josh Spiker of Ventura.

Spiker clocked a sizzling 58.8 at 400 meters, 2:02.8 at 800 meters and 3:09.0 at 1,200 before winning in 4:12.92.

Anderson was within five yards of Spiker for the first 2 1/2 laps before he faded badly.

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Junior Jessica Cosby of Cleveland could win her third consecutive girls’ shotput title in the City Section championships at Birmingham High today after undergoing what appeared to be season-ending arthroscopic knee surgery last month, but Coach Bill Paden would have preferred that she took the rest of the season off.

“Her doctor, her mom and her shotput coach thought she could win [a City title] on one leg and she might,” Paden said at the City preliminaries last Thursday. “But it would have been all right with me if she didn’t [come back this soon].”

Cosby, who won City titles for Granada Hills in 1997 and 1998, had a put of 38-9 in the preliminaries to qualify second behind junior Serena Boykin of Dorsey, who had a best of 41-6 3/4.

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Thirteen former City champions, who competed at the high school level in six decades, will take part in the opening ceremonies of the City championships at Birmingham.

Frank Jones, who won the 220-yard dash in the 1934 City championships for Jefferson, and Angela Rolfe, who won seven City titles in the 100, 200 and 400 for Dorsey between 1987 and 1989, will represent the oldest and youngest of the former champions.

The City championships will start with the field events at 2:30 p.m., followed by the opening ceremonies at 5:45 and the running events at 6.

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A case of anemia appears to have led to Jeanene Gerry’s sub-par senior season for Camarillo.

Gerry, who finished seventh in the Southern Section Division I girls’ cross-country championships in November, ran 10:44.4 in winning the 3,000 in the Santa Barbara Easter Relays on March 27, but struggled after that.

“She was right where we wanted to be at Santa Barbara,” Coach Sam Pinuelas of Camarillo said. “But things didn’t go as planned after that.”