Solomon Again Leads Poly’s Parade at Arcadia

The Long Beach Poly girls’ track and field team, led by senior sprinter Shalonda Solomon, won four events in the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High on Saturday night in a meet in which victories were rare for athletes from the Southland.

Solomon, the No. 2-ranked sprinter in the nation last year behind Allyson Felix of North Hills Los Angeles Baptist, won the girls’ 100 meters in 11.50 seconds and ran the anchor legs on Jackrabbit teams that won the 400 relay in 44.95 and the 1,600 relay in 3:36.43.

Sophomore teammate Shana Woods posted the other victory for Poly with a winning time of 42.70 in the girls’ 300 low hurdles in the meet that is regarded as the best regular-season invitational in the nation.

Solomon, who anchored Poly to a national record in the 800 relay Friday night, posted the fastest time in the nation this year in the 100 to defeat runner-up Jasmine Baldwin of La Puente Bishop Amat by 0.04 of a second.

Baldwin, a senior who upset Solomon in the 100 in the Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills Invitational on April 3, later won the 200 in a career-best 23.83.

Poly’s time in the 400 relay was the second-fastest in the nation this year and ranks seventh on the all-time national list while its clocking in the 1,600 relay was a yearly national leader and the sixth-fastest ever run.

In another event, Chino Don Lugo won the boys’ distance medley relay in a yearly nation-leading time of 10:16.94 when senior Nathan Wolack made up more than 30 meters on the anchor runner from Clifton Park (N.Y.) Shenendehowa on the final lap of the race.

Wolack, who ran 4:17.8 on his 1,600-meter leg, had anchored Don Lugo to victory in the four-mile relay on Friday night.

-- John Ortega

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Lionel Larry of Compton Dominguez overcame a poor start to win the boys’ 100 meters in a state-best 10.56 seconds, then won the 200 in 21.40 at the inaugural California Relays at Home Depot Center in Carson.

Gardena sophomore Myra Hassin won the girls’ 400 in a state-best 54.04.

Long Beach Wilson freshman Ebony Collins won the girls’ 300 low hurdles in 41.72, the second fastest time in the state this year. She ran a 41.43 at the Pasadena Games on March 27.

-- Steven Herbert

Baseball

Villa Park, ranked No. 1 by The Times, will take on defending champion Taylorsville (Utah) in a first-round game of the National Classic at 3 p.m. on Monday at Placentia El Dorado.Other ranked teams scheduled to compete in the 16-team tournament, which includes eight teams from out of state, are Valencia, Encino Crespi, Santa Margarita and West Torrance.

The championship game begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Cal State Fullerton.

Santa Margarita’s Doug Reinhardt won the tournament’s home-run hitting contest on Saturday.

-- Dan Arritt

Boys’ Tennis

Thousand Oaks sophomore Sam Querrey won the boys’ 16 singles title, defeating Conor Pollock of San Antonio, 6-4, 6-2, in the Easter Bowl National Championship at the Riviera Resort and Racquet Club in Palm Springs.

Querrey, the No. 5-seeded player, took little more than an hour to finish off his match. He previously won the boys’ 14s title at the 2002 Super National Hard Courts.

Despite suffering back problems, Querrey, a 6-foot-4, 15-year-old, is 25-0 in high school play on the season for Thousand Oaks.

He was a first-team All-Southern Section selection last season.

-- Elia Powers