For Taylor, It Will Take a Masterful Performance

When the Southern Section finals begin Saturday at Cerritos College, San Clemente junior Marquita Taylor will have a good chance to become the county’s first athlete to qualify for the Masters Meet in a sprinting event since Cavetra Mitchell of Los Alamitos in 1993.

Taylor, who won Orange County titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes last month, qualified for the Division I finals in both events. She ran the 100 in 12.16 seconds and the 200 in 24.69 at the preliminaries Saturday at Trabuco Hills High.

History has shown that it’s more likely that an Orange County girl will win a Southern Section title in the 100 or 200 meters, or even set a county record, than qualify for Masters in these events.

Jackie Dix of Woodbridge High set a county record in the 100 in 1997, running it in 11.99 at the Division II preliminaries.

The following week at the section finals, she finished first in a wind-aided 11.85--the county’s all-time fastest time under any conditions--but it wasn’t fast enough to qualify for Masters.

Taylor’s best chance of qualifying for Masters should be in the 200, where she posted the fourth-fastest qualifying time in Division I and the ninth-fastest among the four divisions combined.

She is also closing in on the 22-year-old county record of 24.37, a converted time from a 220-yard race by Irvine’s Michelle Kelley in 1979.

If Taylor accomplishes both, it wouldn’t surprise Doug Smith, a former Edison High coach who has been privately coaching Taylor for about two years.

“She’s such a terrific curve runner,” Smith said. “You could put her in Lane 1 and she would still run it as well as anybody in Orange County.”

Taylor was placed in Lane 8 in the 200 at the Arcadia Invitational, and finished fourth in 24.86, defeating several national-caliber sprinters, including Sierra Hauser-Price of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, the top qualifier in Division I.

Taylor hopes to draw a lane in Saturday’s race that’s a little closer to the infield.

“I’d like Lane 2,” she said. “I need to catch people. When you’re on the outside, you can’t see anybody.”

Taylor also has the seventh-fastest qualifying time in the 100 and the 13th fastest overall. If she’s going to qualify with one of the nine fastest times Saturday, she’ll need a perfect race.

ON THE HORIZON

Western High freshman Carol Rodriguez has emerged as the top sprinter in her class. Rodriguez was the sixth-fastest qualifier in the 100 in Division III, winning her heat Friday at Trabuco Hills in 12.42.

Rodriguez, who finished fourth in the 100 at the county championships and fifth in the 200, hopes to follow in the footsteps of her sister, Tameka Rodriguez, a middle-distance runner who helped Abilene Christian’s track and field team to an NCAA Division II title in 1998.

BRUNO’S BACK

A week after nearly scratching from the 100 and 200 meters at the South Coast League finals, Trabuco Hills junior Matt Bruno was the top qualifier Friday in the 100 and 200 at the Division II preliminaries at Mt. San Antonio College.

Bruno ran 10.68 in the 100 and 21.60 in the 200, a big improvement over his 10.87 and 22.11 times from league finals.

Bruno has been bothered by discomfort in his knee, which stemmed from an overzealous workout. The injury forced him to sit out for much of April.

*

If you have an item or idea for the track and field report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at dan.arritt@latimes.com