City Track and Field Finals : Locke Girls Overcome Mishaps to Win Again

The girls’ track team from Locke High School, which has embraced victory as its own in the City finals the past three years, was there by the fence on the far straightaway at Birmingham High in Van Nuys hugging and crying for a different reason Saturday.

Two events into the meet and the Saints, shooting for their fourth consecutive title, were marching right out of contention, what with late-arriving LaTanya Davenport a no-show in the 100-meter low hurdles and a dropped baton on a pass from LeAnn Tinkshell to Davenport in the 400 relay. Coach Jimmy Lee had already started hoping for a miracle.

“We are in trouble,” Lee said at the time. “We just have to hope. Hope and pray that we could pull it out.”

In this case, every little bit helped. Locke came back to win the title with an exciting victory in the 1,600 relay, the last event of the day, scoring 71 points to squeeze by L.A. Dorsey, which had 69.

“After the way the day started, it’s a miracle,” said Locke sophomore standout Kim McAllister, echoing her coach’s statement a couple hours earlier. “We just concentrated and prayed a lot. That had to help.”

Miracles, hoping and praying--the underlying statement for Locke. That, and McAllister (wins in the 800 and the 1,600 relay and a third-place finish in the 400), Debra Hamilton (a strong anchor leg in the 1,600 relay to hold off Dorsey’s Angela Rolfe) and the nation’s second-fastest 1,600 relay time of the year (3:46.09).

Woodland Hills Taft needed no such miracles to become the first boys’ team to win back-to-back championships in six years. Junior sprinter Quincy Watts and a solid supporting cast did just fine as the Toreadors scored 58 points to beat Carson (40), Dorsey (38), Reseda (36), L.A. University (35) and L.A. Belmont (32).

“For a win in the triple jump (Daryle Smith), Sean Roberts finishing third in the 100 and Quincy’s great times, I guess it was a great day,” Taft Coach Tom Stevenson said. “It was a great day. It was another team victory.”

Watts’ four victories for the second straight year surprised no one, as he won both sprints and anchored both relay teams to wins, but even the expected can create shockwaves for the entire country--a wind-aided 10.17 in the 100 meters and a legal 20.63 in the 200. Both are the No. 1 times in the nation for 1987.

Calvin Holmes of Carson had good views of the 100 and the anchor of the 400 relay, with two second-place finishes. But even that was notable for the USC-bound All-City running back, who gave the seemingly unbeatable Watts good battles in both despite having only one workout all week, and an abbreviated one at that, because of ongoing hamstring problems.

“The start,” said Holmes, who was even with Watts through 70 meters in the 100. “That’s the only chance I had to beat him. The last two meets, Arcadia and Mt. SAC, I got a good start and he pulled away at the finish.

“The last 10 yards. I don’t know what to do about that.”

Like the rest of California, Holmes will have a about a week to figure out what do to with Watts. Make it six days now, with the State championships opening Friday at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento.

It took a finish of fourth or better in the City meet to advance, but San Fernando’s Shelton Boykin didn’t have to worry much about slipping in. He won the 300 intermediate hurdles and the 110 hugh hurdles and established himself as one of the favorites in the latter with a 13.84 clocking, tying the second-best time in the nation this year. Dana Hall of Pomona Ganesha, the top Southern Section hurdler, also went 13.84 in the Masters meet Friday at Cerritos College.

Three girls also won two individual titles: Kara Olsen of San Pedro in the 1,600 (5:04.53) and the 3,200 (11:11.09), Laura Ainsworth of L.A. Fremont in the 300 hurdles (43.23) and 100 hurdles (14.10) and Angela Rolfe of Dorsey in the 200 (24.29) and the 400 (53.81).