Berkeley Is Back on Track

Throughout the mid-1970’s and 80’s Berkeley High was the dominant force in girls’ track and field, winning five state titles.

The Yellowjackets have struggled since, but if Saturday’s performance at the Mt. San Antonio Relays is any indication that struggle is over.

Berkeley’s 800-meter medley relay team of Aisha Margain, Kaztrina Keith, T’Carra Penick and Raqueta Margain set a national automatic-timed record of 1 minute 42.08 seconds. That broke the record of 1:42.12 set by Houston Sterling in 1986. The hand-held record is 1:42.0 set by Hawthorne in 1987.

Margain won the 200 last week at the FloJo Memorial Arcadia Invitational in 23.85, the nation’s fastest legal mark. On Saturday, she defeated Monique Henderson of San Diego Morse in an outstanding race. Henderson ran a very hard turn and led after 100 meters, but a relaxed Margain pulled away to win in a wind-aided 23.10. Henderson was second in 23.16.

Penick won the the 400 Saturday in 55.54.

Calvin Redden of North Las Vegas Mojave took advantage of a wind-reading of 1.9-meters per second to win the boys’ 200 in 21.15, the second-fastest time in the nation. Freddie Williams of Woodland Hills Taft was second in 21.23, the third-fastest time in the nation.

Other noteworthy boys’ performances: Bennie Robinson of Long Beach Poly won won the 100 in 10.47; Chris Morgan of Taft won the 110 high hurdles in 14.04; and Rhuben Williams of Eagle Rock won the shotput in a state-leading 63-0 1/4 and the discus at 178-1.

Porchea Carroll of Oxnard Rio Mesa won the girls’ 100 in 11.60, defeating Henderson, who finished in 11.61. The times were the third- and forth-fastest in the nation, respectively. Sara Gorton of Phoenix Mountain Pointe won the 3,000 in a nation-leading 9:36.24.