Masters Track Meet : Mountain View’s Tracey Williams Qualifies in 2 Races

Tracey Williams sprinted to big leads in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the Masters high school track and field meet at Cerritos College Friday night, and, although she didn’t win either race, she was the only girl to qualify in both races for next weekend’s state preliminaries.

She finished second in the 1,600 with a time of 4:58.35, and fifth in the 3,200 at 10:52.37.

Williams’ tactic has always been to go out in front.

“My freshman year, not many people were saying much,” said Williams, now a senior at Mountain View High School in El Monte. “But after that, everybody noticed my style. ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have gone out that fast,’ they’d say.

“I’m satisfied with it. But a lot of people don’t think it’s any good. They’d like me to run a certain way. They tend to be critical of the way I run.”

Williams has been one of the top distance runners in the state for four years with her jump-out-and-hold-tough style, winning five Southern Section titles in track at 1,600 and 3,200 meters and two more titles in cross-country during the fall.

She won Southern Section championships in the 3,200 as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Her goal is to go sub-4:50 in the 1,600, and she came close in winning the 3-A Division title last week in 4:50.75.

The bad news of the night belonged to Crystal Irving and Long Beach Poly.

Irving, the two-time 4-A champion in the 400, two-time state runner-up in the event and the anchor of the Jackrabbits’ California champion 1,600 relay, pulled up during the 400 relay with what was thought to be a hamstring injury. Later, she said it was cramps in the left leg, but that was it for the night.

No third trip to the state meet in the 400 and no anchor on the Poly 1,600 relay, which finished in sixth place at 3:57.99, about five seconds behind Pasadena Muir for the final qualifying spot.

Angela Burnham, the state champion in the 100 in 1987 and Southern Section winner in the 100 and 200 last week, split in this meet, though still with favorable results.

The runner from Rio Mesa of Oxnard was the top finisher in the 100 in 11.59, which moves her to the No. 2 mark in the country for 1988 and qualifies her for the Olympic trials.

The state meet begins next Friday, also at Cerritos College. The finals will be held the next day.

Hawthorne, with seven girls and four boys, will be the most represented team from the Southern Section.