Four-Time Champion Lagat Going Extra Mile to Help Meet

The 43rd Los Angeles Invitational indoor track meet will be a homecoming for USC alumna Angela Williams, the only female sprinter to win four NCAA 100-meter titles. It will also be a homecoming of sorts for Bernard Lagat of Kenya, who has his pick of international events but chose to compete in the underfunded meet for the fifth consecutive year.

Lagat, the second-fastest 1,500-meter runner in history and a bronze medalist at the Sydney Olympics, today can become the first runner to win the L.A. Invitational mile five times. Although he commands appearance fees of $10,000 or more, he’s taking substantially less -- no one will say how much less -- to run today at the Sports Arena. He will donate his fee to a foundation he established for student-athletes in his homeland.

“He could make a lot more money running in Europe,” said Don Franken, co-promoter of the meet with his father, Al. “He’s obviously competing to support the meet, and we’re delighted to have him.”

Lagat’s top challengers figure to be Ibrahim Aden, whose mile time last year of 3 minutes 55.53 seconds was the second-fastest among U.S. runners, and rising star Jonah Mayo of Kenya.

Lagat, Williams, and sprinter Jon Drummond, who won a gold medal with the 400-meter relay team at Sydney and will run the 55-meter dash today, are the headliners in a meet that has struggled financially since it lost title sponsor, Sunkist, in 1995. Although several new sponsors are providing cash or services this year, they don’t equal the heft of a title sponsor, and Franken is hoping the event breaks even.

Williams, the 2001 world indoor silver medalist in the 60, finished second in the 60 at Boston two weeks ago in 7.19 seconds and second at last week’s Millrose Games in 7.23 seconds. She said she’s less concerned with time than refining her form as she adjusts to a new coach, John Smith, and a new environment with the HSI track group.

“There are some minor things I need to fix,” she said. “My emphasis indoors is that I need to be perfecting the 60 so I’ll do well outdoors in the 100. So far, so good, although as an athlete you sometimes get frustrated when things don’t go the way you want.”

Her new training partners, who include Drummond, Inger Miller, Torri Edwards and Maurice Greene, “push each one of us,” Williams said. “They’re constantly encouraging each other. It’s a challenge. I’ve never been with a group of athletes of top caliber.”

She’ll run the 55-meter dash today.

“It’s all about mechanics for me,” she said. “I just need to improve some things.”

The men’s 55-meter field also includes USC cornerback Darrell Rideaux. Also of note, in the men’s triple jump, is Kenta Bell, whose top jump of 57 feet, 10 1/4 inches last season ranked first in the U.S. and fourth in the world.

The men’s pole vault field includes four 19-foot vaulters: Dean Starkey, former NCAA champions Toby Stevenson and Russ Buller, and Kurt Hanna. Top competitors in the women’s pole vault are former NCAA champion Tracy O’Hara of UCLA and Mel Mueller, the third-ranking U.S. women’s pole vaulter in history.

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L.A. Invitational

* What -- The 43rd Los Angeles Invitational indoor track meet.

* Where -- Sports Arena.

* When -- High school events begin at 9 a.m. today. Men’s and women’s events begin at 4:30 p.m.

* Story line -- The L.A. Invitational returns, despite a perennial shortage of funding and the sport’s inability to attract fans locally. Many world-class athletes have competed here over the years, but few have done so in the last decade because, without a title sponsor, promoters Al and Don Franken can’t pay lucrative appearance fees. However, miler Bernard Lagat of Kenya is an exception and will compete for the fifth consecutive year. The high school meet is a strong tradition.

-- Helene Elliott