City’s Best Return for Another Run

Two defending state champions, three yearly state leaders and 10 defending City Section champions will compete today in the West Valley League finals at Birmingham High.

Yet, the boys’ 400-meter dash could be the premier event in the meet that starts at 2 p.m.

Five boys ran wind-aided times of 10.86 or faster in the 100 in the league preliminaries last week, but the 400 will include the top four finishers from last season’s City championships.

Jason Lovell of Cleveland, defending City champion, has run a state-leading 47.58 this season and hopes to break 47 for the first time today.

“I think I’m ready to do that,” said Lovell, who had a 46.2 split on Cleveland’s 1,600 relay team in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on April 21. “I’ve run under 48 several times this year and I hadn’t done that at this time last year.”

Lovell, who signed with Texas Tech on Tuesday, is the favorite, but there are three talented juniors worth watching.

Randy Bundy of Cleveland ranks sixth on the state list at 48.19. Ramal Porter of Birmingham has run 48.92 and Tyrone Melton of Taft has been hand-timed at 48.8.

Bundy ran 49.55 to finish third behind Lovell and Porter in the City final last year but has improved greatly this season.

He ran 48.68 to win a heat of the Northridge-Alemany Relays at Cal State Northridge on March 17 before lowering his best to 48.19 to finish fourth in the Arcadia Invitational. He followed that with a victory in 48.84 in the Mt. SAC Relays.

“I know Jason is in his own world right now,” Bundy said. “But I really think I have a chance at second in the state meet. . . . I’ll be disappointed if I get anything less than second [today].”

Porter finished eighth in the state final last year but has yet to approach his career best of 48.1 this year.

“I haven’t trained as hard as I did last year,” he said. “I don’t think our team has been as focused as we were a year ago. . . . But I still think there is time for me to run in the low 48s or high 47s.”

Melton, fourth in the City meet last year, was slowed by a hamstring injury in late March and early April, but assistant Kenny Mitchell of Taft says he’s capable of challenging his career best.

Lovell, who ran a career best of 47.43 to win the league title last season, is hoping for a 1-2 Cleveland finish today, as well as in the City championships on May 24 and in the state meet June 2. He said he and Bundy have no intention of running a “team” race.

“He’ll run his race and I’ll run mine,” Lovell said. “We compete against each other in practice and we do the same thing in races.”