Wellman Shatters Records, but Can’t Stop Simi Valley

Gary Wellman won two individual races and anchored Westlake High’s victorious 440-yard relay team, but the Warriors fell to Simi Valley at the Marmonte League track and field championships Friday night.

Simi Valley, which has won 62 of its last 63 dual meets and finished third in the state last season, defeated second-place Westlake, 172-121.

Wellman, a senior headed for USC on a football scholarship, won the 220-yard dash in a league record time of 21.75 seconds. He also won the 100 meters in 10.44.

But it was Wellman’s effort in the relay that sent most of the crowd home with various degrees of laryngitis.

As Simi Valley’s M.J. Nelson took the baton into the final 110 yards, Westlake trailed by nearly 30 feet. Wellman erased the lead with approximately 40 yards to go and won going away in a record time of 42.59.

Wellman’s finish helped the Warriors break the record of 43.08 set by Nelson and company last year.

And while he admitted the Marmonte finals was not his first priority, Wellman did say the relay win was special.

“That was more emotional, because we’ve never beaten them,” Wellman said of Westlake’s win over Simi Valley in the relay.

In the girls meet, Thousand Oaks junior Christy Farrell passed Melissa Sutton of Newbury Park in the two-mile to win in 11:02.9. Farrell’s win also set a meet record and helped the Lancers to a sizable lead in the team standings before the meet was half over. Thousand Oaks defeated second-place Westlake by a 159 1/2-125 margin.

“Every time we compete together it’s a challenge,” said Farrell of her rivalry with Sutton. “She’s beaten me the same amount that I’ve beaten her. She wasn’t going with me and I thought I was going too fast, so I dropped back a couple of times. But when I got there,” she said pointing to the 50-yard mark, “I knew I had it.”

Robert Harris of Simi Valley set a league record in the 400 meters in 49.32, breaking the old standard of 49.5 set by Bob Eddy of Thousand Oaks in 1977. Sharon Manship of Thousand Oaks won the girls 330 low hurdles in 44.0 seconds, eclipsing the 1982 standard of 45.9 set by Jenny Stachura of Newbury Park.

Stacia Pollock of Westlake and Maria Runyon of Camarillo tied the league record in the high jump at 5-7. Pollock took first on the basis of fewer faults.