Taft Will Make Run at Norwalk

Taft High ran away with the boys’ title in the City Section track and field championships at Birmingham High last week, but the Toreadors will have to perform superbly and have key opponents falter to win the state championship.

Taft defeated second-place Cleveland, 99-68, to win its first City title since 1987, but Gardena Serra is tabbed to win its first state championship in the meet that starts today with qualifying rounds and concludes Saturday with finals at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

The meet starts at 2 p.m. today with the girls’ pole vault. Running events begin at 5.

Sprinter Warren Rogers of Serra is not in top condition after aggravating a hamstring injury while finishing second in the 100 meters in the Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos last Friday. Yet the Cavaliers are favored to win the 400 and 1,600 relays and they have the No. 4-seeded entry in the 300 intermediate hurdles, Steven Smith.

Rancho Bernardo, Long Beach Poly and Taft are regarded as Serra’s top challengers, although unheralded Cleveland could also be in the hunt. The top six finishers in each event score points on a 10-8-6-4-2-1 basis.

“We haven’t talked about it, but I have thought about it,” Coach Bill Paden of Cleveland said of his team’s state-title hopes. “We’re just focusing on getting the kids ready to turn in their best efforts possible.”

Taft, which won the 1986 state title when Quincy Watts was a sophomore, will rely heavily on junior Chris Morgan and senior Fred Williams.

Morgan is the state leader in the 110 high hurdles at 13.94, was a finalist in the long jump last year and is entered in the 100 after finishing second to Williams in the City final.

Williams won the 100 in 10.68 and the 200 in 21.12 in the City championships and is seeded No. 7 in the 100 and No. 2 in the 200.

Cleveland is counting on big efforts from junior quarter-miler Jason Lovell, senior high hurdler Kenan Jackson and its 400 and 1,600 relay teams.

Lovell is state leader in the 400 at 47.43, but four other competitors, including 1999 third-place finisher Travon Walton of Chino, appear capable of winning.

Jackson was the No. 10-ranked high hurdler in the state at 14.44 two weeks ago but he moved to third when he clocked 14.10 to finish .03 behind Morgan in the City final.

Cleveland, anchored by Lovell, won the 400 and 1,600 relays in the City championships and is ranked fourth in the state in each event with bests of 41.39 and 3:16.06.

Taft defeated Birmingham, 80-74, to win its third consecutive City girls’ title, but Riverside North is favored to win its second consecutive state title. Berkeley, Long Beach Wilson and Long Beach Poly are expected to be the Huskies’ main challengers.

Senior Deneeka Torrey of Taft won her second consecutive City titles in the 100 high hurdles and the 300 lows, is the No. 3 entrant in the lows and the No. 4 entrant in the highs.

Senior Oliver Jackson of Royal placed second in the boys’ long jump last year and is the state leader at 24-5 3/4 this season.

Senior Jerrick Holmes of Palmdale is the state leader in the boys’ high jump at 7 feet and placed first in the Masters Meet at 6-10.

Senior Josh Spiker of Ventura sped from third to first in the final straightaway to win the boys’ 3,200 in the state meet at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento last year, but he’ll be a decided underdog to junior Ryan Hall of Big Bear. Hall ran state-leading times of 4:05.01 in the 1,600 and 9:02.57 in the 3,200 in the Masters Meet. He’ll run only the 3,200 on Saturday.

Shane Hackett of Verdugo Hills, two-time defending City champion in the boys’ pole vault, is the No. 2 seeded entrant with a best of 16-4.

Junior Chris Wells-Anders of El Camino Real is seeded No. 3 in the boys’ 800 at 1:53.00 and junior Anita Siraki of Hoover is seeded No. 2 in the girls’ 3,200 with a best of 10:18.61.

Junior Melissa Astete of Birmingham, three-time defending City champion in the girls’ pole vault, ranks No. 2 on the state list at 12-2 1/4 but has vaulted better than anyone the last three weeks.