Cosby Gets a Lift, Then Slips

The ups and downs of lifting weights.

Jessica Cosby of Cleveland High experienced both recently.

Cosby, three-time defending City Section champion in the girls’ shotput, credits a rigorous weightlifting program for her career-best mark of 48-6 1/4 that placed second in the Flo Jo Memorial Arcadia Invitational track and field meet at Citrus College on Saturday.

But her heavy training also contributed to a disappointing second-place effort of 36-4 in a West Valley League meet at Birmingham on Wednesday.

Cosby, fifth in the last two state championships, had a heavy leg workout Monday that bore its effects Wednesday.

“She couldn’t figure out what had happened,” said Cosby’s mother, Beverly. “We were driving home and she said, ‘What happened to my legs? I couldn’t get my legs to do what I wanted them to do.’ ”

Cosby exploded for a City record Saturday and a series in which three of her six throws were better than her previous best of 45-6 1/2.

“It just felt so effortless,” the UCLA-bound Cosby said. “I threw in the 44s in the first two rounds so I just told myself to speed it up and try to get a little lower [across the ring] in the third.

“As I was coming across the ring, I thought to myself, ‘Man, I think this is going to be a pretty good throw. I didn’t even see the shot. It just came off [my hand]. But I heard the crowd and and I was like, ‘It must have been pretty good.’ ”

Cosby obliterated the City record of 47-2 1/4 set by Lynn Richardson of Jefferson in 1979, moved to second on the all-time region list behind the 49-2 of Dolores Tuimoloau of Channel Islands in 1994 and ranks third in the state this year.

Not bad for someone who in June had arthroscopic surgery on her left knee to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Cosby tore the ligament while playing basketball as a junior, but didn’t play last season while rehabilitating her knee.

“I knew that I couldn’t keep running from the weights,” Cosby said. “I told myself that if I wanted to take it to another level, I had to get in there and start working out on a regular basis.”

*

Chris Wells-Anders of El Camino Real seemingly came out of nowhere to run 1:57.03 and place second in the boys’ 800 meters in the City championships last year.

But he won’t be sneaking up on anyone this season.

Not after running a career best of 1:54.26 to place second in the first heat of the open portion of the Flo Jo Memorial Arcadia Invitational.

Wells-Anders, a junior, ran 1:55.2 in an all-comers meet at Cal State Northridge in February, but hadn’t come close to that time in a high school meet until Saturday.

“I was hoping for anything under 1:55,” Wells-Anders said. “After I heard my time after the first lap, I was just running for whatever I could get.”

Wells-Anders had a 10-meter lead on the field after a 54.3 first 400, but he said the pace was two seconds faster than he wanted. The pace took a toll on him in the final 200 and senior Mike Serratos of Chino Don Lugo surged past him with 60 meters left to win in 1:53.41.

“I knew he was coming,” Wells-Anders said with a laugh. “But I pretty much couldn’t do anything about it.”

Wells-Anders’ performance was particularly impressive because his cross-country season was cut short by a knee injury that required 15 stitches after he was inadvertently tripped by a teammate in practice.

The injury sidelined Wells-Anders for four weeks, but he hopes to approach the meet record of 1:50.44 in the 800 when the City championships are held at Birmingham on May 25.

“He’s real motivated,” said Coach Vic Lepisto of El Camino Real. “He’s affable, he talks up a blue streak and he just works his tail off.”

*

Birmingham defeated Taft, 70-57, in a West Valley League girls’ meet last week, but Taft could be favored to win its third consecutive City title.

That’s because Taft seniors Deneeka Torrey and Erin Reed and junior Schquay Brignac could have a hand in eight victories in the City finals.

Torrey, defending City champion in the 100 high hurdles and 300 lows, has posted section-leading times of 14.26 and 43.75 this season.

Reed leads the City in the 400 at 55.30 and is ranked second in the 200 at 24.80.

Brignac, two-time defending City champion in the high jump, leads the section in that event at 5-8 and in the long jump at 17-11.

The three also run legs on teams that have clocked a City-leading 47.52 in the 400 relay and 3:52.24 in the 1,600 relay.

Taft appears capable of scoring 70 or 80 points, which Birmingham will be hard-pressed to do.

*

A suspected tear in Chadd Smith’s left patellar tendon will limit the number of meets he’ll compete in and require arthroscopic surgery after the season.

Smith, a Camarillo junior, cleared a career best of 6-9 to win the San Diego Indoor Games in January, but has been hampered by soreness in his left knee.

He cleared 6-8 in March, but tied for eighth at 6-4 in the Flo Jo Memorial Arcadia Invitational.

“I think Chadd would have been a consistent seven-foot jumper this season if he had been healthy,” said Dennis Riedmiller, a Camarillo assistant. “Now, we’ll just do the best we can.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Track Top 10

Rankings of teams from the region

BOYS

*--*

RK LW School (League) 1 1 Taft (West Valley) 2 2 Birmingham (West Valley) 3 3 Cleveland (West Valley) 4 4 Palmdale (Golden) 5 5 Notre Dame (Mission) 6 6 Rio Mesa (Pacific View) 7 7 Littlerock (Golden) 8 NR Royal (Marmonte) 9 8 Oak Park (Tri-Valley) 10 10 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte)

*--*

*

GIRLS

*--*

RK LW School (League) 1 1 Birmingham (West Valley) 2 2 Taft (West Valley) 3 3 Rio Mesa (Pacific View) 4 4 Cleveland (West Valley) 5 5 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 6 7 Notre Dame (Mission) 7 6 Camarillo (Pacific View) 8 8 Westlake (Marmonte) 9 9 Crescenta Valley (Pacific) 10 NR Highland (Golden)

*--*

STAT OF THE WEEK

When Anita Siraki of Hoover High ran 10:18.61 to win the girls’ 3,200 meters in the Flo Jo Memorial Arcadia Invitational track and field meet at Citrus College on Saturday night, she moved to fifth on the all-time region list.

The following is a list of the top 10 performers from the region.

*--*

Time Name, School) Year 9:48.59# Kim Mortensen, Thou. Oaks 1996 10:11.78 Vickie Cook, Alemany 1982 10:15.99 Denise Ball, Newbury Park 1982 10:16.42 Amy Skieresz, Agoura 1995 10:18.61 *Anita Siraki, Hoover 2000 10:18.81 Lauren Fleshman, Canyon 1999 10:19.10 Tania Fischer, Chaminade 1983 10:19.55 Andrea Neipp, Highland 1997 10:19.63 Deena Drossin, Agoura 1991 10:26.75 Michelle Mason, Buena 1981

*--*

#national high school record. *junior. Others are seniors.