Boys track and field: Sailors prevail

Tony Altobelli

IRVINE - It was a battle of the top two boys track and field teams

in the Sea View League, but in the end, Newport Harbor High showed it

wasn’t about to fall of the top of the mountain.

The Sailors used double wins from John Peschelt, Dan Moyer and Dave

Sprenger to post an 82 1/2-53 1/2 win over the host Warriors.

“We’re definitely on the right track,” the always-clever Coach Bim

Barry said. “Woodbridge always does a good job and we knew we had our

hands full today. Nothing is a given around here. I’m always worried

before each meet.”

Peschelt helped calm Barry’s blood pressure with solid first-place

runs in the 400- (52.7) and 800-meter runs (2:02.0).

Dede Johnson (53.6) and Daniel Fletcher (54.9) followed Peschelt in

the 400, while Chris McMillen came through with a solid second-place time

of 2:02.7 in the 800.

Johnson edged out the rest of the field in the 200, posting a time of

23.1. “That was a great time for Johnson,” Barry said. “That was his best

200 in some time now.”

Moyer and Sean Tupy went 1-2 in both hurdles events. Moyer (15.5)

edged Tupy (15.7) in the 110 high hurdles, and prevailed in the 300

intermediate hurdles by just over a second.

Sprenger came through in both the long jump (20-feet-4) and triple

jump (41-10). His 41-10 in the triple jump was his best-ever mark in that

event.

McMillen (4:30.0) and Jesus Santana (4:32.3) went 1-2 in the 1,600 and

withstood the elements for some quality times. “Given the wind factor and

the track conditions, those were some very good times for those two,”

Barry said.

Santana led from start to finish in the 3,200 and posted a strong time

of 10:03.6, bettering the field by 17 seconds.

The meet started off on the right foot, or feet so to speak, when the

Sailors’ foursome of Johnson, Sprenger, Adam Kerns and Rich Weber

scorched the track with a time of 45.0 in the 400 relay.

“After recovering from a injury sustained in a pickup basketball game,

Adam Kerns is starting to come into his own,” Barry said. “He’s one of

the more talented athletes we’ve got and we expect some pretty big things

from him.”

Peschelt, Fletcher, Chris Negrete and Kevin Artz prevailed in the

1,600 relay (3:47.3).

Newport will compete in the Orange County Championships on Saturday,

beginning at 8 a.m. at Trabuco Hills High.