Beejay Lee wins one for the little dudes at Mt. SAC Relays
West Covina’s Beejay Lee is used to having his competitors look down on him, quite literally.
The 5-foot-6 sprinter said that football players and track runners often underestimate him, thinking, “that little dude can’t get me.”
But as he stood at the starting line at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Saturday, he said to himself, “I don’t want anyone taller than me to beat me.”
He proceeded to win the 100-meter-dash in 10.61 seconds, tying Livermore Granada’s George Atkinson for the fastest time in the state. Before the race, he was ranked No. 9 in California with a time of 10.74.
“I never had height,” Lee said, “but I have heart.”
Jamison Jordan came through for Oxnard Rio Mesa, which shocked the track world by winning the 400-meter relay last week at the Arcadia Invitational. Jordan won the 400-meter-dash in 48.19, the fourth-fastest time in California.
Long Beach Poly got revenge against Rio Mesa in the 400-meter relay, winning in 40.72. California-bound Kaelin Clay anchored a come-from-behind win.
“When we were behind, I kept thinking, ‘Don’t panic,’ ” Clay said. “And I didn’t.”
The Jackrabbits also were victorious in the boys’ and girls’ 1600-meter sprint medleys. The boys clocked 3:28.01, the second-fastest time in the country, and the girls are the new national leaders with a time of 3.56.03.
Stanford-bound Kori Carter won the 300-meter hurdles in 42.12, the third-fastest time in the nation, and she clinched a victory in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.65.
She said she knew victory was hers during the race when she “started seeing the hurdles shake,” which is her telltale sign that she has “gas in the tank.”
Agoura junior Jonathan Cabral continued to dominate in the boys’ hurdles events. He won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.96 and the 300-meter hurdles in 37.39, the sixth-fastest time in the nation.
After placing fifth at the Arcadia Invitational last week, Etiwanda junior Vanessa Jones overcame “being psyched out” and won the 400-meter-dash in 54.13 seconds, the fourth-fastest time in California.
