Bolting for the hills

Mike Sciacca

The Trabuco Hills Invitational has grown into one of the largest

track and field events in Southern California, and the 13th edition

of the event, which will be held Saturday, should only add to its

luster.

Seventy-two schools are entered in the invitational, which will

showcase the talents of some 1,150 athletes.

Due to the large number of athletes, each of the competing schools

is allowed to bring only its top athletes.

Laguna Beach High is among the schools competing Saturday and will

take five boys and one girl to the event, said Laguna’s boys coach,

Dave Brobeck, and girls coach, Earl Towner.

“This race will not be an accurate barometer of our talent,”

Brobeck said. “However, for the elite athletes on our team, it gives

us a chance to match up against the best in southern California. It’s

still an early season meet and the athletes can expect their

performances to continue to improve through April, into May.”

Laguna’s girls coach Earl Towner said that freshman sprinter

Brittany Clark will represent the Breaker girls’ team on Saturday.

Clark, in just her second varsity competition, won the 100 meters

in 12.9 during last week’s Pacific Coast League meet against Corona

del Mar.

On Saturday, Clark, who also starred on the basketball court in

the winter, will run the 200 meters.

Addison Doud showed her versatility against the Sea Kings by

running the 400 meters, 4X100-meter relay and throwing the discus

130-feet.

“This girl can do it all and is a pleasure to coach,” Brobeck said

of Doud. “If she stays healthy and improves on her spin in the

discus, I feel that she can steadily move through CIF.

“More than anything else, though, this team is a cohesive and

highly functional group of athletes. This was not the case last

year.”

Towner is working this year with a young girls’ squad, the

majority of performers, he said, being freshmen.

“This is a rebuilding year while our track is being built,” he

said. “We hope to enlarge the girls’ team on a greater scale next

year, when we have field events.

“We are working hard to improve personal times in all events as

the race season progresses. The girls are getting into training and

competing with a deeper focus and much improved work ethic.”

In the boys race against Corona del Mar, Brent Kling matched

Clark’s feat by winning the 100 meters, and Max Mullender dominated

the 3,200.

Other top performances came from Shane Riehl in the 800 meters,

George Cheng in the 200- and 300-meter hurdles and a group of

freshmen showed “real talent and room to improve,” Brobeck said.

The Corona del Mar meet was the first dual meet of the year for

the Breakers, who previously ran the Irvine Invitational in their

season opener on March 13.

Laguna ran against league foe Northwood Thursday.

“I think that we can expect individual athletes to improve beyond

their own expectations of themselves,” Brobeck said. “Barring injury

and health problems, each athlete can expect steady improvement

throughout the season, if they choose to train as we have designed

the workouts for them. We want to get as many of our kids into CIF as

we possibly can.”