Several State Bests Are Produced

Noah Bryant and Jarered Morgan didn’t treat the Southern Section Masters track and field meet Friday merely as a stepping stone to the state finals.

Bryant, a senior at Carpinteria High, and Morgan, a senior at La Quinta, took aim at personal barriers and left Cerritos College with state-leading marks in the weight events.

Bryant didn’t reach his goal of 70 feet in the shotput, but he won with a personal-best mark of 66-7 1/2. The mark is third best in the nation this season behind Kevin Bookout of Stroud (Okla.) High (70-1 1/2) and Lucas Mireles of Corpus Christi (Texas) Calallen High (66-11 1/2).

Morgan surpassed the 200-foot barrier in the discus for the first time in his career, winning with a throw of 200-3. The mark is seventh best in the nation this season and nearly 32 feet farther than the closest competitor.

“That’s the difference between runners and throwers,” said Bryant, who also qualified third in the discus. “They only run fast enough to qualify, but we’re always throwing as far as we can.”

However, Allyson Felix of North Hills L.A. Baptist and Matt Bruno of Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills didn’t follow that strategy.

Felix won the 200 meters in 22.95 seconds, tying her for fifth on the all-time national high school girls’ list. Felix, the defending state champion in the 100 meters, also retook the state lead in that event with a victory in 11.48.

Bruno made up for a loss to Long Beach Poly’s Derrick Jones in the 200 last week at the Southern Section Division I finals by winning in 20.93, the best time in the state this season and third fastest in the nation. Bruno also won the 100 in a personal-best 10.48, the second-fastest legal time in the state this season.

Other producers of state-leading marks on Friday:

* Dominique Manning of Riverside North in the 100 hurdles (13.99).

* Ashley Freeman of Long Beach Wilson in the 400 (53.71).

* Julia Pitts of North Torrance in the 300 hurdles (42.36).

Long Beach Wilson’s girls’ 1,600 relay team finished in a nation-leading time of 3:38.71.

Long Beach Poly appears headed to its second consecutive girls’ state title after dominating the sprints and relays. The Jackrabbits qualified three runners in both the 100 and 200 and were the top qualifier in the 400 relay (45.40).

The Long Beach Poly boys’ team also left in good shape, winning the opening 400 relay in 40.87 and the closing 1,600 relay in a state-leading 3:12.10. The Jackrabbits also qualified four runners in the sprints. Chreston Anderson of Long Beach Poly and Lionel Larry of Compton Dominguez nearly finished in a dead heat in the 400 relay. Larry took the baton a stride behind Anderson and ran out of room before crossing the finish line. Dominguez was second in 40.91.

Larry, who won Division II titles in the 100 and 200 last week, later was disqualified in the 100 for a false start.

Oxnard Rio Mesa had two top qualifiers: Phillip Reid won the 1,600 in 4:14.32 and Justin Johnson won the 110 hurdles in 14.26.