Strahan Gets Running Start on Injury-Shortened Field : Track: Two of nation’s best 1,600-meter specialists withdraw from event at Arcadia Invitational.

And then there were two.

At the start of the week, the top four high school performers in the nation were slated to compete in the boys’ 1,600 meters in tonight’s Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High, but when the race begins at 7, Seneca Lassiter of Williamsburg, Va., and Mike Stember of Carmichael Jesuit High will not be in the field.

Lassiter and Stember, the nation’s top two returning runners, were expected to be in the event along with John Mortimer of Londonderry, N.H., and Brett Strahan of Hart, but they withdrew from the meet because of leg injuries.

Lassiter, who timed a personal best of 4 minutes 7.13 seconds in the mile last year, strained a hamstring while running a leg of the 1,600-meter relay in last week’s Colonial Invitational in Williamsburg.

Stember, who ran a personal best of 4:08.79 in the mile to finish second behind Lassiter (4:08.62) in last month’s National Scholastic Invitational at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., pulled out of the meet Friday evening because of “various” leg injuries.

“Obviously, the race has lost some of its luster, but I’m sure (Mortimer) and (Strahan) plan to run some times,” meet director Doug Speck said. “It should still be a good race between those two.”

Mortimer, runner-up in the Foot Locker national cross-country championships in December, lowered his personal best in the mile to 4:10.84 during the indoor season.

Strahan ran a personal best of 4:09.71 in the 1,600--which is approximately nine meters short of a mile--to finish third in last year’s Arcadia meet and is confident of running in the 4:04-4:05 range this season.

“All my workouts are designed with that goal in mind,” Strahan said. “I think that’s an attainable time.”

Strahan, the No. 3 returning 1,600-meter runner in the country, figured before the season that he’d have to run in the Penn Relays in Philadelphia later this month to get a shot at the top-ranked Lassiter. The Virginian’s injury, which has been described as a “massive” strain, might also keep him out of that meet.

Antonio Arce of Palmdale, who ran a personal best of 9:03.19 to finish second in the 3,200 in last year’s State final, heads a talented field in that event.

Arce ran a nation-leading time of 9:08.99 in the Pasadena Games at Occidental College two weeks ago, but he might have to break the nine-minute barrier to win tonight as five other entrants have personal bests under 9:11.

Skiy Detray and Micah Davis of Mead High in Spokane, Wash., have run 9:06.0 and 9:07.90. They are followed by Thousand Oaks teammates Jeff Fischer (9:10.42) and Keith O’Doherty (9:10.91) and Camarillo’s Eleazar Hernandez (9:10.96).

Hernandez placed fifth in the Foot Locker national cross-country championships and O’Doherty pushed the pace for most of the race in the Pasadena Games before being overtaken by Arce on the last lap.

Ramsey Jay of Ventura, Amy Skieresz of Agoura, Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks, Andrea Wasden of Rio Mesa, Stacy Hebert of Buena and Liz Giltner of Chaminade are the other top local entrants.

Jay, fourth in the 400 in last year’s State championships, is one of five entrants who have run 47.75 seconds or faster in that event.

Skieresz, the 1994 state Division II cross-country champion, is one of eight entrants who have bested 11 minutes in the 3,200.

Mortensen placed fifth in the 3,200 in last year’s State championships.

Wasden, ninth in the 100 high hurdles in last year’s State meet, and Hebert, sixth in the 300 lows, are entered in those events.

Giltner was sixth in the high jump in the State championships.

Steve Williams of San Fernando and Ronney Jenkins of Hueneme, region leaders in the 110 high hurdles (14.4) and the long jump (23-5 3/4), are entered in those events.

The invitational portion of the meet will start at 4 p.m. with the boys’ discus. The first running event, the boys’ seeded 400 relay, begins at 6:30.