SIXTH SENSE

Ever since Huntington Beach High sprinter Eddie Morris won four individual titles between 1938-40, Orange County boys have made their share of history at the state track and field finals.

Garden Grove’s Mark Schilling won the mile in 4 minutes 5.4 seconds in 1972, breaking the meet record by more than a second and forever engraving his name in the record books once the event was replaced by the 1,600 meters a few years later.

Mission Viejo’s Steve Kerho and Capistrano Valley’s Brian Bluetreich are also among the 45 Orange County boys who have won individual titles in the last 43 years.

Kerho won the 110- and 300-meter hurdles in 1982, single-handedly leading the Diablos into a tie for the team championship. Bluetreich won two shotput titles and one discus title between 1984-85, joining Morris as one of 13 boys across the state to win more than two individual titles during the 85-year history of the meet.

This season is setting up to be one for the record books as well.

Six Orange County boys are among the favorites in their individual events at the state finals Saturday at Cerritos College. The best Orange County has done in a single year was four individual boys’ titles in 1984 and three each in 1975, 1982, 1985, and 1996.

Esperanza’s Ryan Bousquet has a good chance to be the first atop the podium. The boys’ 1,600 begins at 4:28 p.m. and Bousquet is the top-seeded runner in the event.

At the Southern Section Masters Meet Friday, Bousquet finished second behind Big Bear’s Ryan Hall and just in front of Ventura’s Josh Spiker. But Hall and Spiker have dropped the four-lap race in favor of the 3,200, in which Hall is the top-seeded runner and Spiker is the defending state champion.

“Hall told me at the [Southern Section] prelims that he was going to drop the mile before state,” Bousquet said. “At Masters, Josh said he didn’t think he had the speed to be successful in the mile. That kind of shocked me. It’s a little less pressure, but at the same time it’s a lot more.”

Spring Valley Monte Vista’s Jon Rankin has the state’s third-fastest time in the event this season (4:10.08), but Rankin faded to last at the San Diego Section II finals last weekend and failed to qualify (5:04.37). That leaves Evan Fox of Santee West Hills as Bousquet’s main challenger Saturday. Fox ran 4:10.32 at the San Diego Section II finals, the second-seeded time in the event and the fourth-fastest in the state this season.

“I know he’s real fast and that will make it a great race,” Bousquet said. “We raced at state last year and he got fourth and I got sixth.”

Tustin junior Alonso Smith held the state-leading mark in the 800 for much of the season after winning the event at the Orange County Championships in 1:52.87.

But Smith will also get a big test from the south as San Diego Rancho Bernardo’s Sean Ricketts moved to the top of the state list after winning the event at the San Diego Section II championships in 1:52.69. Smith can also expect pressure from Chris Wells-Anders of Woodland Hills El Camino Real (1:53.00) and Jared Emmons of Vista (1:53.13). The boys’ 800 is scheduled to begin at 5:42 p.m.

If Bousquet and Smith come through, Newport Harbor’s Trevor Jones will be in good position to give Orange County its third running title. Jones is the state leader in the 300 hurdles, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Jones has owned the state’s leading time in the event for much of the season, lowering it for the third time at Masters (36.89). Jones’ closest pursuer on the state list, Marcus Raines of Littlerock, was arrested on suspicion of murder last week after allegations that he and two other Littlerock students beat up a 19-year-old man who later died.

Jones will keep his eye trained on Bobby Salimi of Rancho Bernardo, who was clocked at 37.27 last weekend. Jeff Hunter of San Diego Granite Hills, Steven Smith of Gardena Serra, Jeremy Thornburg of Cathedral City and Kurt Siebert of Norco have also broken 38 seconds this season.

Jones has an outside shot of matching Kerho’s feat and winning both the hurdle events. Jones is seeded fourth in the 110 high hurdles, an event he also won at Masters.

In the field events, Esperanza senior Travis Pendleton has the best shot at bringing home a state title. Pendleton finished third in state in the discus as a junior and has been the state leader all season.

Pendleton’s best effort came at the Southern Section Division I finals, where he won his third consecutive section title with a throw of 199-2. Pendleton has been aiming for the 200-foot barrier all season and said surpassing that would be bigger than winning a state title.

“If I threw 200 feet and got second, I’d never be disappointed,” Pendleton said. “You can’t ask for more than that, getting your [personal record] in a big meet like that.”

The gap between Pendleton and the second-best performer on the state list became narrower last weekend when Tony Miranda of San Francisco Sacred Heart threw 194-4 at the section finals. Sean Shields of Arroyo Grande has also surpassed 190 feet this season.

“Good competition makes you throw better.” Pendleton said. “I’m happy that there will be guys there that have thrown 190. The discus is competition-driven. Throwing against a bunch of guys who have only thrown 160 is not going to make me throw well.”

The boys’ pole vault also begins at 5 p.m. and Marina senior Logan Odden heads that event. Odden cleared an Orange County-record 16-7 at the Mt. Carmel Invitational last month, which is the top mark in the state this season.

Odden has been shooting for the 17-foot barrier all season and if he wins the state title he might go straight for the meet record of 17- 1/2 set by Anthony Curran of Encino Crespi in 1978.

Clarence Moore of Cypress is the biggest longshot among the favorites. Moore, a senior, is seeded eighth in the boys’ triple jump, but this tends to be a wide-open event at the state level and Moore has shown he’s capable of huge efforts. Moore jumped to the top of the state leaders in the first week of the season after going 47-5 in a dual meet, then was sidelined for several weeks with an abdominal pull.

But Moore showed his early-season jump was no fluke at the Division II finals, winning the event with a jump of 48-3. That jump was the second-best wind-aided effort in the state this season. The boys’ triple jump is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.