Boys track and field: All not in order in PCL

Barry Faulkner

IRVINE - The key word at Monday’s Pacific Coast League boys track

and field preliminaries at Irvine High turned out to be “preliminary” --

as in preliminary results.

Due to conflicting criteria for separate events, there may be a few

changes in the qualifying order, and even which athletes qualify for the

each event at Thursday’s finals, at the same venue.

Coaches from at least three schools challenged qualifying procedures

and some results were reworked before the meet, hosted by Estancia High,

came to a close near 8 p.m. Monday. But, it was unclear whether all

mistakes were caught and some coaches believed a full-scale review of the

results would be forthcoming, making all prelim results unofficial, for

the time being.

At issue was the lack of consistency. Heat winners were to have

automatically qualified, with the remaining spots (eight total berths in

all running events except the 1,600) to be doled out to the best

remaining times. But, some events submitted the top four in each heat for

qualification, regardless of comparative times, creating confusion,

anxiety, even indignation.

Corona del Mar senior Jon-Luke Del Fante was among those initially

omitted from qualifiers in the 400 meters, only to be placed seventh

about 30 minutes after the first results were announced.

Costa Mesa 1,600 runner Irwin Salas was also given second life,

grabbing the eighth of 12 spots in the 1,600 (4:42.18), after being initially left off the list of qualifiers.

Meanwhile, CdM senior Josh Yelsey (1:58.05 in the 800), Estancia

sophomore Humberto Rojas (4:35.51 in the 1,600) and Costa Mesa senior

Josh Strickland (24.0 in the 200) all qualified first in their respective

events.

Strickland also won his heat in the 100 (11.88) and qualified second,

while CdM sophomore Blake Dillion did the same in the 800 (2:07.96).

Yelsey’s 4:38.18 clocking in the 1,600 was topped only by Rojas, who

posted the third-fastest time in the 800 (2:01.04).

Mesa senior Bernardo Falci qualified fourth in the 110 high hurdles (17.31) and the 300 intermediates (44.25), while CdM’s Geoff Collier

(11.98 in the 100) and Mesa sophomore Zach Powell (52.77 in the 400) also

qualified fourth.

Powell qualified fifth in the 200 (24.16), while CdM’s Chris Carpenter

and Estancia’s Justin Dykes were additional double qualifiers in both

hurdles.

Dillion qualified 12th in the 1,600, in which teammates Travis

Beardslee and Dustin Hodges qualified sixth and 10th, respectively.

Other qualifiers included CdM’s Mike Whitaker (seventh in the 100),

Marty Glyer (eighth in the 110 highs) and Alex Vinson (eighth in the

400).

CdM, unbeaten in PCL dual meets, will try to close out the title

Thursday, though Coach Bill Sumner expects competition from University

and Northwood.