Morgan, Siraki Challenge Field in L.A. Invitational

Seniors Chris Morgan of Taft High and Anita Siraki of Hoover will compete in the L.A. Invitational indoor track and field meet at the Sports Arena today, but the two other defending state champions from the region will be absent.

Morgan, defending state champion in the boys’ 110-meter high hurdles, is entered in the 50-meter dash, the 50 high hurdles and the long jump.

Siraki, defending state champion in the girls’ 3,200, will run a leg on Hoover’s two-mile relay during the high school portion of the meet. But a lingering cold might prevent Siraki from running in the women’s open mile.

Seniors Jamil Smith of Palmdale and Schquay Brignac of Taft, defending state champions in the boys’ triple jump and girls’ high jump, respectively, will not compete in the meet that starts at 11 a.m.

Morgan, who has a football scholarship to USC, wants to break the meet record in the 50 hurdles and break 23 feet in the long jump.

“I went 23 feet outdoors at a [track clinic] in San Diego,” Morgan said. “So I should be able to do it again. . . . I’ve been working on my technique and that should help me go farther.”

Siraki finished second in the national cross-country championships on Dec. 9, but she has been slowed by a cold since the start of the year.

Chris Wells-Anders of El Camino Real, runner-up in the boys’ 800 meters in the state championships, will compete in the 880-yard run.

Porchea Carroll of Rio Mesa, runner-up in the girls’ 100 in the state meet, will compete in the 50-meter dash and run a leg on the Spartans’ 640-yard relay, but a tender hamstring could keep her out of the long jump.

Jason Lovell of Cleveland, fifth in the boys’ 400 in the state championships, will run in the 500 yards and the 640 relay. Lovell ran 47.5 400 in an all-comers meet at Cal State Northridge last Saturday.