Palmdale Leaves Rival Littlerock Lost in Woods

A so-called showdown for the Golden League boys’ track and field championship quickly turned into a rout Wednesday.

Palmdale, the No. 4-ranked team in the region by The Times, was heavily favored to defeat No. 7 Littlerock at Quartz Hill, but the Lobos’ chances at winning went from slim to none when senior standout Rodney Woods didn’t compete because of an injured left quadriceps muscle.

Woods finished fifth in the triple jump in the state championships last year and is a fine long jumper and sprinter. But he strained his quadriceps muscle in the Flo Jo Memorial Invitational at Citrus College on April 8 and hasn’t competed since.

“He really wanted to run bad,” said Coach Dolores Woods of Littlerock, Rodney’s mother. “The doctor cleared him to compete, but we thought it was best to hold him out. The rest of the season is just too important.”

Woods’ presence would not have prevented Littlerock (5-1, 4-1 in league competition) from losing, but the meet would have been more competitive.

As it was, Palmdale won, 89-46, to clinch its second consecutive league title and fourth in six years.

The Falcons (5-0, 5-0) won only seven of 16 events but swept the first three places in the 100 meters, 200 and pole vault, and took first and second in the 400, high jump, triple jump and discus.

“We won races, but we didn’t have enough depth to do anything,” said assistant Herb Wyre of Littlerock, Rodney Woods’ grandfather.

Jamil Smith and Jerrick Holmes paced Palmdale on a windless, picture perfect day in the Antelope Valley.

Smith, a junior, won the triple jump in 45-10 and had runner-up performances of 15.1 in the 110 high hurdles, 40.4 in the 300 intermediates and 20-11 in the long jump.

Holmes, whose 7-foot high jump is the best in the state this year, placed second in that event in 5-6 after taking only one jump to save himself for other events. He won the 100 in 11.0, was third in the long jump at 20-9 and ran the anchor leg on the victorious 400 relay team that timed 43.2.

Senior Travis Morse of Palmdale, who has run 10.90 in the 100, ran the opening leg on the 400 relay but nothing else because the Falcon coaching staff figured correctly that they could win the meet without him in the 100 or 200.

Junior Marcus Raines of Littlerock won the 110 high hurdles in 14.4, the 300 intermediates in 38.7 and the long jump in 21-6 1/2.

“It surprised us that Woods didn’t do anything,” Palmdale boys’ Coach Jeff Williams said. “But we had figured we were going to win even with him out there.”