Southern Section 4-A Track : Peters Sprints Past the Opposition

Paul Peters of Santa Ana Valley High School demonstrated Saturday in the Southern Section 4-A track and field preliminaries that no matter who the competition is, he’s still the top runner in the 400 meters.

Peters posted the fastest qualifying time on the all-weather track at Gahr High School in Cerritos with a time of 48.18 seconds. The top nine finishers in each event qualified for the 4-A division championship next Saturday at Cerritos College, where Peters will be the favorite.

Peters appeared to glide effortlessly through the first half of the race, staying in the middle of the pack. He picked up the pace when he reached the turn and took the lead down the stretch to win.

“I use the turn like a slingshot to give me the drive for the stretch,” Peters said.

It was only Peters’ second meeting against the top competitors outside Orange County. Earlier this season, he passed up the Arcadia Invitational to run in the Orange County Championships at Mission Viejo High School.

“I wasn’t ducking anybody at Arcadia. I just try to do my best no matter who I’m running against,” Peters said when asked about the decision to skip the Arcadia meet.

Peters is undefeated in the 400, and his best time of 47.34 is the top mark in the Southern Section. He established the mark at the Mt. SAC Invitational April 25.

On Saturday, he also qualified fourth in the 200 meters, posting a time of 21.89. He was narrowly defeated by Corey Ealy of Muir in his heat race. Steve Provenzano of Arcadia had the best time at 21.80.

The other county athletes who qualified for next week’s finals include Mission Viejo sprinter Sheri Bertell in the 100 and 200 meters, Sabra Haissani of Ocean View in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, the Capistrano Valley girls’ 1,600-meter relay team and Edison shotputter Kaleaph Carter.

Track Notes

Capistrano Valley baseball star Tommy Adams showed he’s also a talented track performer, anchoring his school’s 400-meter relay team with a time of 42.28 to help the Cougars win their qualifying heat. . . . The Cougar girls’ 1,600-meter relay team also won its heat in 4:02.75 with sophomore Ginger Frank running the final leg. . . . The Hawthorne girls’ 400-meter relay team, once a favorite for the state title, did not qualify because of trouble passing the baton between the third and fourth legs. . . . Canyon sophomore Allison Franke was among the nine qualifiers in the girls’ discus and the triple jump.