Three of Nation’s Top Preps to Compete on Forum Track

Three of the nation’s leading high school track stars will be showcased in the Times/Kodak Indoor Games next Friday night at the Forum.

Two of them--Chewauakii Knighten of Locke High School and Henry Thomas of Hawthorne High School--are no strangers to area track fans. The third, sophomore Andrea Thomas, is making a name for herself in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Knighten, a senior, was ranked first in the nation at 400 meters last year by Track & Field News. Her top time, 52.31 seconds, moved her into 10th place on the all-time list.

Nicknamed Choo-Choo, Knighten also anchored Locke’s 1,600-meter relay team, which won the state championship in 3:38.65, the fastest time of 1984 and the third-fastest ever.

Knighten will face Andrea Thomas in the girls’ 500-yard run Friday night.

Thomas, from Walton High School in New York, was rated second to Knighten last year at 400 meters and finished third in the TAC Junior Championships at the Coliseum. She went on to represent her native Jamaica in the ’84 Olympics on the 1,600-meter relay team.

She recently finished fourth in the Millrose Games with a 400-meter time of 54.90.

Henry Thomas, a senior, was ranked first in the nation at 100 meters and second at 200 meters in 1984.

The California state champion had four races of 10.45 or better, including a 10.27 that moved him into third place on the all-time high school list.

Henry Thomas will run in a strong 60-yard dash field that includes Calvin Smith, Olympic gold medal winner as a member of the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team; Emmit King, defending meet champion; Mel Lattany, and Harvey Glance.