Taft Might Have a Hair-Raising Season

WOODLAND HILLS —  Ask Coach Mel Hein of Taft High about his boys’ track and field team’s goals this season and his answer is succinct and to the point.

First, the Toreadors want to beat arch-rival Birmingham for the West Valley League title.

Second, they want to win their third City Section title and first since a Quincy Watts-led squad won its second consecutive championship in 1987.

But Hein wavers when asked about Taft’s chances at a state title.

“To be honest with you, I haven’t given that any thought,” he said. “But you just got the hairs on the back of my neck standing up by talking about it.”

Taft placed second to Dorsey in the City championships last year and tied for 13th in the state meet. But the Toreadors are favored to win the City title this year and some prognosticators figure they could win a state meet that will lack a dominant team.

Blaine Bussey, the 1999 state champion and region record holder in the 400 meters at 46.3, has moved on to Long Beach City College, but state finalists Chris Morgan and Fernando Lopez are back.

Morgan, a junior, placed ninth in the 110 high hurdles and long jump in the state championships and has bests of 14.44 in the hurdles and 23-8 1/2 in the long jump.

He is defending City champion in the long jump and is favored to win the high hurdles after a third-place finish last year.

Lopez, a senior, placed seventh in the high jump in the state meet and has a best of 6-10.

In addition, he won the City title in the high jump last year and placed fifth in the long jump.

“I think the experience from the state meet will help both those guys,” Hein said. “Fernando didn’t have a great experience there, but I think that will help him this year.”

Seniors Jamaal Crawford and Fred Williams, juniors Daniel Clements, Alex Ackerman, Josh Zeichik and Percy Harris, and sophomore Tyrone Melton could also play key roles for Taft.

Crawford bounded a career best of 45-1 to place third in the triple jump in the City championships last year.

Williams, a sprinter, chose not to run track last year, but ran well in two indoor meets earlier this year and could be an adequate replacement for Marquis Brignac, who placed fifth in the 100 in the City meet last year.

Clements ran 4:31.55 to win the freshman-sophomore 1,600 in the City meet, Ackerman was the runner-up in the 400 in 51.02 and Zeichik placed second in the 800 in 2:02.20.

Harris is expected to be a member of Taft’s highly touted 400 and 1,600 relay teams.

Melton will run on the 1,600 relay and has run 50.30 in the 400 and cleared 6 feet in the high jump.

“Overall, we feel good about our team,” Hein said. “We’ve got most of the events covered and we have some talented individuals with a lot of experience.”

TEAMS TO WATCH

BIRMINGHAM--Junior John Walker, sophomore Ramal Porter and freshman Damian Rinaldi are some of the top performers on a depth-laden Patriot squad that will meet host Taft in a West Valley League showdown on April 7.

Walker won the freshman-sophomore races of the 110 high hurdles and the 300 intermediates in the City meet last year and clocked 14.40 in the highs in a meet against Thousand Oaks last week.

Porter has run 11.10 in the 100, 22.24 in the 200 and 49.2 in the 400 this year.

Rinaldi, a native of Australia whose older brother is one of that country’s leading 800 runners, ran 50 seconds in the 400 and 2:00.0 in the 800 last summer.

CLEVELAND--The Cavaliers lack the depth of Taft and Birmingham but have three highly-regarded seniors--James Bethea, Ontae Chaney and Kenan Jackson.

Bethea placed fifth in the 400 in the City final last year and has run 48.3.

Chaney placed fourth in the 800 with a career best of 1:57.72 and Jackson was sixth in the 110 high hurdles for Chatsworth, but transferred to Cleveland earlier this year.

PALMDALE--Seniors Jerrick Holmes and Travis Morse and junior Jamil Smith will lead a Falcon team that has won three of the last five Golden League titles.

Holmes placed a disappointing ninth in the high jump in the Southern Section Division I final, but cleared a career best of 6-10 in winning the Mt. San Antonio College Relays last April. He also placed ninth in the long jump in the Division I meet and ran 49.89 in the 400 earlier in the season.

Morse placed ninth in the 100 in the Division I final.

Smith was fifth in the Division I triple jump, but was disqualified from the final of the high hurdles for a false start.

RIO MESA--Seniors Chris Muller, Brian Tillquist and Diran Balekian had second-place finishes in the Pacific View League meet last year to help the Spartans win the team title.

Muller was second in the 800, with Tillquist the runner-up in the 110 high hurdles and Balekian second in the 300 intermediates.

Freshman Phillip Reid won the league cross-country title last November.

NOTRE DAME--Seniors Travis Johnson and Darren Quinn are the Knights’ top returning performers.

Johnson, who has committed to Florida State on a football scholarship, is defending Southern Section Division III champion in the shotput with a best of 58-2 3/4.

Quinn is defending Mission League champion in the 800 and placed fourth in the Division III final last year.

NEWBURY PARK--Versatile senior Will Svitek and a solid supporting cast give the Panthers a decent shot at winning their third consecutive Marmonte League title.

Svitek set a career best of 57-6 in winning the shotput in the Southern Section Division I final. He also excels in the discus and is a solid performer in the 110 high hurdles and the long jump.

LITTLEROCK--The Lobos are not blessed with depth but have three standouts--senior Rodney Woods, junior Marcus Raines and junior Jose Galeana.

Woods bounded a career best of 47-10 to place fourth in the triple jump in the state championships.

Raines placed third in the 110 high hurdles and ninth in the 300 intermediates in the Southern Section Division I final and won the 55-meter high hurdles in the L.A. Invitational indoor meet at the Sports Arena last month.

Galeana’s freshman season was cut short by a hamstring injury, but he ran 49.0 in the 400 before he was sidelined.

CAMARILLO--Juniors Chadd Smith and Ryan Creadick and senior Shad Hopkins should be the Scorpions’ top performers.

Smith, defending Ventura County champion in the high jump, placed fifth in the Southern Section Division I final last year and raised his career best to 6-9 in winning the San Diego Indoor Games in January.

Creadick finished third in the shotput and discus in the Pacific View League meet last year and Hopkins placed second in the 800.

VENTURA--The defending Southern Section Division II champion Cougars have been hit hard by injuries but could still win their third consecutive Channel League title.

Senior Josh Spiker, defending state champion in the 3,200, suffered a stress fracture in his lower right leg in late October, but hopes to race again in late April.

Junior Chris Foster, defending league champion in the 110 high hurdles and 300 intermediates, will miss the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while jumping on a trampoline earlier this year.

Seniors Clark Goodwin and Preston Biller will lead the Cougars.

Goodwin is defending Division II champion in the 400 and will compete in the 200 and run on the 400 and 1,600 relay teams.

Biller is defending league champion in the long jump and triple jump who will also run on the relay teams.

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AT A GLANCE

* THE PROVEN: Oliver Jackson of Royal High, who has committed to UCLA, was the runner-up in the long jump in the state championships last year and won Marmonte League titles in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300 intermediates. His long jump best of 24-4 3/4 makes him the No. 5 returning jumper in the nation. . . . Senior Shane Hackett of Verdugo Hills placed sixth in the pole vault in the state championships and has a career best of 15-4. . . . Junior Tom Kubler of Viewpoint ran a career best of 9:17.78 to place sixth in the 3,200 in the Southern Section Masters Meet and is coming off a fine cross-country season in which he won the state Division V title and placed 12th in the West regional. . . . Junior Seth Amoo of Highland ran a career best of 21.57 to finish fifth in the 200 in the Southern Section Division I final and clocked 49.31 in the 400 last summer.

* THE PROMISING: Senior Tony Herr of L.A. Baptist placed fifth in the 800 in 1:58.78 in the Southern Section Division IV final last year, but his victory in the L.A. Invitational indoor meet at the Sports Arena last month seems to indicate he could run substantially faster this season. . . . Junior Wes Felix of Valencia didn’t run track last year, but has run 10.7 in the 100 and 21.8 in the 200 this season.

* FAST FACT: Birmingham has compiled a 78-2 dual-meet record over the last 13 seasons. The Patriots’ losses were to Taft in 1998 and ’99.