With luck, Whiteside keeps climbing

ARCADIA — Cecil Whiteside was packing up his things to leave the throws area Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational when his already good fortune escalated with the prospect of found money.

The Newport Harbor High sophomore had just thrown his personal-best of 176 feet, 9 inches in the discus throw, good enough for third place.

Then he found a $10 bill in his shoe.

The third-place finish was the best among Newport-Mesa athletes Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational, now in its 41st year. Whiteside, however, was just as thrilled with his newfound prosperity as he was with the day’s successes.

“Hey coach,” he called over to Newport Harbor boys’ throws coach Tony Ciarelli. “I just came up with 10 bucks.”

Ciarelli looked over to the ever-improving thrower with a grin.

“You didn’t know you had it?” he asked, and Whiteside shook his head.

It was that kind of day for Whiteside in the discus, too. A week after setting a personal record whilst winning the event at the Trabuco Hills Invitational, he bettered that mark by a full foot against some of the top competition in the state. This after the best of his first three throws was only 161 feet, which tied him for eighth headed into the finals.

Only the top nine throwers advance to the finals. Senior Nate Talbott, who has been recovering from a back injury, placed 15th in the event with a 134-01.

“[Whiteside’s] rhythm was a little off to start with,” Ciarelli said. “He got a little lucky and made the finals, even though he wasn’t throwing very well. That’s the key; once you get that opportunity then you’ve got to take it. He’s a competitor.”

Whiteside scratched his first and third throws in the finals, but it was the second throw that bumped him up to a medalist.

“I’m really happy with it,” said Whiteside, the only sophomore competing in the event. “I came out with the mind set that I had nothing else to hold back, so just try to give it your all. It’s one step closer to getting the top ranking in the state, and trying to get to the state meet.”

But Newport Harbor’s luck didn’t transfer to its Back Bay rival.

The Corona del Mar High girls’ distance medley relay team finished fourth in the event, releasing a four-year stranglehold on first place at Arcadia.

But the Sea Kings still came away smiling after their medal-earning fourth-place finish.

Sophomore Marisa Cummings and juniors Claire Schmidt, Tina Theriot and Kim Condino combined to cover the 4,000 meters in 12 minutes, 18.63 seconds, beating the 12:20 goal that Coach Bill Sumner had set for them.

Cummings ran about 3:44 in the opening 1,200 meters, according to Sumner’s watch. Schmidt (58.9 seconds in the 400), Theriot (2:17 in the 800) and Condino (5:14 in the 1,600) all followed with their fastest times of the season.

Theriot ran a particularly strong leg, getting the Sea Kings to second place before handing off the baton.

“It’s a new team from last year, but we did what we needed to do,” Condino said. “We’re getting some experience … the mile’s not my strongest, but I did it.”

The Sea Kings’ medley was missing the services of UCLA-bound senior Shelby Buckley and Duke-bound senior Allison Damon, who has been training for just two weeks while recovering from mononucleosis. Damon was in each of the last three record-setting distance medley relay wins at Arcadia, beginning in her freshman season of 2005.

Schmidt was the only returning runner from last year’s distance medley team which won in 11:41.28. That time still stands as the Arcadia girls’ meet record.

Schmidt said this team should only continue to improve, since none of the four runners is graduating.

“They made all their goals,” Sumner said. “It either makes me very smart, or it makes them look like guinea pigs, because they do exactly as they’re told.”

Buckley placed sixth in the invitational mile run in 5:00.99, but it was a disappointing sixth. She was a close third after each of the first three laps, but was passed by at least two runners in the final 100 meters.

“On the first lap I felt like I couldn’t swallow already,” said Buckley, who was fifth in the race last year at Arcadia. “I was like, ‘OK, this is going to be an off race, just try not to swallow.’ I tried to go at 250 meters, because that’s what coach told me to do. I just died with 100 to go. Disappointing, to say the least.”

Alexandra Dunne of San Clemente won the race in 4:54.72. By comparison, Buckley’s personal-best in the 1,600 meters is 4:45.39, which earned her third place at last year’s CIF State meet.

On Saturday, Buckley elected not to race the 800 meters about an hour after her first race.

“Our beach kids don’t do so well in the heat, so whenever we see a problem we stop,” Sumner said. “After the first lap [in the mile], her throat felt so dry, she had to tilt her head back. When she ran, it was about 90 degrees … some of the girls it affects a little more than others. It was much too hot for Shelby today.”

The Newport Harbor boys’ distance medley team, consisting of seniors Rex Nelson, Bucko Theriot, Murphy Hitchcock and Mike Puncel, placed ninth with a time of 10:21.79. They shaved 13 seconds off their second-place time at Trabuco Hills, and Nelson said they’re about seven seconds away from the school record in the event.

The Sailors’ Jake Dawson placed 11th in the invitational 5,000 meters, a new event this year at Arcadia. He finished in 15:29.98.

Several Newport-Mesa area athletes also competed in the open division events earlier Saturday morning and afternoon. CdM’s lone male athlete Saturday, junior Blaine Bolus, broke his own school record in the triple jump. Bolus, who finished third, out-performed his seed time by nearly five seconds in leaping to a mark of 45-11.75.

Condino was seventh in the open 800 meters, in 2:17.93. Sumner said the time is just 0.2 seconds off her personal-best.

Sage Hill School junior Cait Williamson was 27th in the open girls’ mile run, in 5:22.89.

MATT SZABO can be reached (714) 966-4614 or matthew.szabo@latimes.com.