Perkins Advances Despite Difficulties

Angel Perkins of Cerritos Gahr High advanced to the state track and field championships for the fourth time in her illustrious career with two season-best performances Friday in the Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos College.

Yet Perkins, the defending state champion in the girls’ 200 meters, will find herself in the unfamiliar role of underdog when the state meet begins at Cerritos College next Friday.

Perkins, the top-ranked girls’ 200 sprinter in the nation last year, will point out that she entered the previous two state championships as an underdog to Monique Henderson of San Diego Morse in the 200 and 400. But this year will be different in several ways.

While Perkins was a slight underdog to Henderson, the national high school record-holder in the girls’ 400, she will be a longshot to win the 100 or 200 next week. The strong fields are headed by junior Allyson Felix of North Hills L.A. Baptist, who ran career bests of 11.48 seconds and 22.95 to win the 100 and 200 on Friday.

Perkins was on a roll entering the last two state meets, but she isn’t expected to be 100% next week after missing 21/2 weeks of training with an injured left hamstring in March and being slowed by a tight muscle in the upper part of her left leg Friday.

“I think it’s my left hip,” Perkins said as she walked off the track with a noticeable limp following her fourth-place finish in the 200.

“It doesn’t hurt that much, but it’s just real tight.... Everything else is fine. I know it sounds like I have a new injury every day, but I’m fine.”

Perkins’ positive attitude is admirable, especially for someone who entered the season as the fastest returning sprinter in the nation in the 100 and 200 with bests of 11.45 and 23.07, and with the second-fastest returning time in the 400 at 52.18.

In addition, she was selected as the girls’ athlete of the meet in the World Youth (under 18) Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, last July after winning the 200 and running the 300 leg on the victorious sprint medley relay team that included Felix.

“Based on what I did last year, my goals this year were to win the 200 and the 400 in the state championships and to take a shot at the national [interscholastic] records of 22.67 in the 200 and 50.74 in the 400,” said Perkins, who has signed with Arizona.

Perkins, who did not run the 400 on Friday because of the training time she lost because of her hamstring injury, got off to a great start in the 100 before being overtaken by Felix and sophomore Shalonda Solomon of Long Beach Poly in the second half of the race.

Felix led the field out of the blocks in the 200, but Perkins was in second entering the home straightaway before being passed by Solomon and Long Beach Poly junior Dominique Dorsey.

“Basically, I was happy with my start in both races,” said Perkins, who ran 11.74 in the 100 and 23.76 in the 200. “I led the 100 for about the first 30 meters and I made up the stagger on [Dorsey] in the 200.... I think I’ll be fine next week.”