Some O.C. track records appear to be safe
Some Orange County track and field records might last forever, because some events are forever gone.
Tim Martin of San Clemente holds the 50 meters indoor mark at 5.86. Nobody runs the 50 any more, and indoor meets, extinct here and rare elsewhere, run the 60 instead of the 50. Anybody remember the Times Indoor Games, or the Sunkist Meet?
The 4-pound, 6-ounce discuss record of Loara's Steve Lehmer, who threw it 161-2 in 1966, is safe. It is exclusively a 3-pound, 9-ounce discus throw now.
The late, great Eric Hulst of Laguna Beach set the steeplechase record of 9:19.2 in 1975, beating the record set by another great name of the past, Ralph Serna of Loara, the previous year. That event is antiquated. The high school marathon is a thing of the past, too; Hulst also has that record, with a 2:27:25 clocking in '75.
Of course, there are all of the yards-instead-of meters records in the Orange County track and field book, still compiled by Don Chadez, records which likely will remain for eternity.
There are some records, some converted from yards to meters, that seem ready to fall but they have seemed ready to fall for a long time. Like, how much longer until somebody bests the 4:04 1,600-meter mark set by Mark Schilling of Garden Grove back in '72? And what about the 400-meter mark of 45.84 set in '85 by Chip Rish of Marina?
A few others: Tustin's 4x100 relay record of 41.48, set in 1997 (the relay team: Dominique Degrammont, DeShaun Foster, Shane Vickers and Julius Williams ... Foster, of course, went on to a long NFL career as a running back); Edison's Jon Butler still has the county 3,200-meter mark, with a 8:17.5 (converted); and the 69-6.5 record in the shot put set by Capistrano Valley's Brian Blutreich in 1985.
Another of those extinct track and field events — the football throw. The county record, and state record, of 220 feet was set in the 1935 state meet by Fullerton's John Raitt. Born in Santa Ana, where there is a street named for his Santa Ana pioneer family, Raitt went on to a great career on stage and in film, and daughter Bonnie Raitt is a Grammy-winning singer/guitarist.
Also long gone as a CIF track and field event — the grenade throw. In 1919, it replaced the javelin throw, which was judged as more dangerous. True story.
Taking a look around Orange County high school sports:
• Some county athletes who have posted the best non-wind-aided track and field marks this season in California: Devin Harrison, Dana Hills, 400 meters, 47.94; Sam Barkley, Mater Dei, 300 hurdles, 38.35 (yes, Matt's brother); the Woodbridge 4x800 relay team, 8:00.68; and Gabrielle Scott, Woodbridge, girls 400 meters, 55.4.
• Newport Harbor has four throwers who have shot put marks among the top 15 in the state, led by Ryan Andrews, who is third at 59-5. The others: Steve Michaelsen, 55-7; Trevor Lawrence, 55-5; and Ethan Cochran, 54-6. El Toro has three in that top 15: Sullivan Parker, 58-11.75; Jake Fraser, 58-2; and Brad Bolton, 55-10.5.
• Trabuco Hills' baseball team went into this week with a 7-1 record, including a victory over Aliso Niguel on Friday, after going 7-19 last year. Sophomore third baseman Adam Vargas had eight RBIs last week. The pitching staff is led by Jake Chutney and Kevin Wade.
• La Habra baseball player Aaron Porter, who was the Freeway League's football defensive player of the year this past fall, last week drove in 11 runs and pitched a one-hitter in a league victory over Fullerton.
• Fox Sports Net will televise the Mater Dei-De La Salle of Concord boys basketball game, the CIF State Championships Division 1 final, live Saturday at 8 p.m. The state Division 1 girls game, Mater Dei vs. Berkeley, will be shown delayed at 10 p.m. That game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday, and, like the boys game, is at Sacramento's Power Balance Pavilion (formerly Arco Arena), soon to be former home of the Anaheim Royals.
• The Mater Dei and De La Salle basketball teams have scrimmaged each other the past several years. "It was very even," said Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight about how the teams matched up when they scrimmaged at Mater Dei in November. Nobody kept score but certainly McKnight and De La Salle coach Frank Allocco stored some information in their minds.
• On the De La Salle roster — 6-foot-2 junior guard Chris Mullin Jr., a son of retired five-time NBA All-Star Chris Mullin.
• Mater Dei is 1-1 against De La Salle in basketball. In the 1999-2000 season, Mater Dei beat De La Salle in the Nike National Prep Classic championship game in San Diego, then lost to De La Salle in the Nike Extravaganza at The Pyramid in Long Beach.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
