Taft Has a Stated Purpose

For the second season in a row, Woodland Hills Taft High is a preseason co-favorite to win the boys’ title in the state track and field championships.

But several members of this year’s team have a better idea about what it takes to win a championship after suffering through last spring’s meltdown in the state meet at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento.

“You have to be very focused to do well in the state championships,” sprinter Noah Smith said. “And you have to be even more focused if you’re the favorite.”

Taft won its second consecutive City Section title last year, but the Toreadors’ state-title hopes took a hit in the section meet when senior Daniel Clements finished a non-qualifying fifth in the 1,600 meters after sustaining blisters and cuts on his left foot in the section preliminaries while running most of his heat without a shoe.

Clements’ shoe came off about 300 meters into the race when a competitor inadvertently stepped on the back of his foot.

Things got worse for Taft on the first day of the state championships when two-time state long jump finalist Chris Morgan fouled on all three of his qualifying attempts; the Toreadors’ top-ranked 400 relay team finished a non-qualifying fifth in its heat after a horrendous final exchange; Smith failed to qualify for the final of the 100, and the 1,600 relay team was disqualified for running out of its lane after apparently qualifying for the final.

Morgan won his second consecutive title in the 110 hurdles the next day and Smith placed sixth in the 200, but the Toreadors’ 11-point total left them in 12th place, 17 points behind Arroyo Grande.

“We couldn’t get into our rhythm,” Smith said of Taft’s first-day debacle at the state meet. “We sat down before the 1,600 relay and talked about getting it going again. We started to pick it up again in that race, but then we were disqualified.”

Morgan and Clements graduated in June, but the rest of Taft’s top performers return and the Toreadors have a talented transfer in senior Justin Tryon.

Tryon ran a career-best 48.02 seconds in the 400 for Littlerock last season and is the fourth-fastest returning sprinter in the state in that event.

Smith, a junior, is the No. 3 returner in the 200 with a best of 21.47 and is tied for 11th in the 100 with a time of 10.84.

Taft returns three members from its 400 relay team that ran 41.21 last season and the Toreadors’ entire foursome is back from a 1,600 relay squad that clocked 3 minutes 16.53 seconds.

Add Tryon to the mix and Taft has the potential to break 41 in the 400 relay and the school record of 3:13.21 in the 1,600 relay.

Those times would make the Toreadors state-title contenders in each race, but Smith knows nothing is guaranteed in the state meet. Particularly in the sprints and relays where a botched baton pass or a strained hamstring can end a team’s championship dreams.

“I believe everything happens for a purpose,” Smith said. “And I believe last year was God’s way of showing us what it takes to win a state championship. I think what happened last year will help us this year.”