21^st Annual Oakland Invitational Relays Story

Goldman Field, Edwards Stadium

University of California

Berkeley

Saturday, April 1, 2000

By Keith Conning

Volunteers run this meet. The proceeds benefit the track programs in the Oakland Public School District. This was the first high school invitational on the new Goldman Field in Edwards Stadium. The new track and field is great, but the remainder of the stadium is a disaster zone. There was no electricity. There was no public address system. Oakland had to bring in a portable sound system run by a generator, which couldn't be heard very well. The t-shirt vendor also provided his own generator. The men's bathroom was filthy. This is one of the finest universities in the world, but they certainly don't take care of this historic facility.

Boys

Senior Albert Hollis (Christian Brothers, Sacramento), the Stanford champion, 3^rd best in the state at 10.70, won the 100 in 10.67 (+1.53mps). He remains third in the state. Junior Jesse Smith (Bear Creek) placed second in 10.93. D. J. Williams (De La Salle, Concord) was third in 10.97. Hollis, who is going to Georgia, and Williams, a Miami recruit, are two of the top prep football players in the land.

Senior Denye Versher (St. Mary's, Berkeley), the Stanford champion and 4^th best in the state at 48.69, won the 400 in 49.19. Versher is still fourth in the state. Senior Robert Nunn (Gahr, Cerritos), the Pasadena champion and 8^th in the state at 48.89, placed second in 49.21. Nunn is still 8^th in the state. Kevin Vonasek (Milpitas) was third in 49.26, the 13^th best in the state.

Junior Matt Bates (Los Gatos) won the 800 in 1:56.93, 15^th best in the state. Darren Quinn (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks), 4^th at Pasadena, 6^th best in the state at 1:56.27, placed second in 1:57.01. Quinn has now slipped to tenth. Senior Zach Ardell-Smith (San Leandro) was third in 1:57.65, 21^st in the state.

Senior Chris Lanese (Moreau Catholic, Hayward), the defending champion, 13^th in the state meet 3,200, who didn't get a chance to run at Stanford, kicked in the final 100 meters to win the 1,600 in 4:19.4. Lanese is tenth in the state. Dawit Gazahgn (pronounced Dow wit Ga-zen) (Del Mar, San Jose), who is from Ethiopia, placed second in 4:19.6.Gazahgn is 12^th in the state. Sophomore Jordan Kinley (Maria Carrillo, Santa Rosa), 6^th at Stanford, was third in 4:20.20, a new school record and 13^th best in the state.

Leader splits:

1:02.1 Eddie Alaniz (pronounced a-la-niece)

2:10.7 (1:08.7)

3:15.2 (1:04.5)

4:19.4 (1:04.3)

Gezahgn's splits provided by coach Dan Cruz:

400 66.4

800 2:08.5 (62.1)

1200 3:14.9 (66.4)

1600 4:19.6 (64.7)

Junior Jason Oswalt (Amador Valley, Pleasanton) won the 3,200 in 9:33.5, 23^rd in the state. Senior Chris Eggers (Granada, Livermore) placed second in 9:36.4, 27^th in the state. Junior Efeson Yosief (San Leandro) was third in 9:40.9.

Leader splits:

400-1:09.3 Eggers

800- 2:24.6 (1:15.3)

1200-3:38.9 (1:14.3)

1600-4:52.4 (1:13.5) Oswalt

2000-6:02.8 (1:10.4) Eggers

2400-7:17.2 (1:14.5) Oswalt

2800-8:28.9 (1:11.7)

3200-9:33.6 (1:04.7) Oswalt

"I said to myself, 'If he (Eggers) does that the whole way (the fast fifth lap), he'll run a 9:20, and I can't do that," said Oswalt to Damin Esper of the Contra Costa Times.

"I'm pretty tired this week," Eggers said to Esper. "I did five miles every day before school in addition to my regular workout."

Senior Daveed Diggs (Berkeley), the Stanford champion and 4^th best in the state at 14.58, won the 110 hurdles in 14.52 (-1.66 mps). Diggs remains fourth in the state. Junior Jon Williams (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks), 3^rd at Pasadena and 10^th in the state at 14.78, placed second in 14.74. Williams is now tied for 11^th in the state. Junior Kenneth Thomas (Gardena) was third in 14.80. Thomas is 10^th in the state at 14.75.

Junior Kenneth Thomas (Gardena) won the 300 hurdles in 39.91, 20^th in the state. Junior Halihl Guy (St. Mary's, Berkeley) placed second in 39.96, tied for 23^rd in the state. Guy was visibly angry with himself for hitting the last hurdle while leading. Junior John Williams (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks), 2^nd at Pasadena in 40.22, was third in 40.15.

St. Mary's (Berkeley), 2^nd at Stanford and 6^th best in the state at 42.33, won the 4x100 relay in 42.88. St. Mary's is now 7^th in the state. De La Salle (Concord) placed second in 42.90, which ties them for 20^th in the state. McClymonds (Oakland), 4^th at Stanford, was third in 43.17. McClymonds is 22^nd in the state at 43.02.

St. Mary's (Berkeley) won the 4x200 in 1:28.88. San Leandro placed second in 1:30.46. McClymonds (Oakland) was third in 1:31.28.

Vallejo, 5^th at Stanford, won the 4x400 in 3:19.78, 5^th in the state. St. Mary's (Berkeley), 2^nd at Stanford and 7^th best in the state at 3:21.61, placed second in 3:20.36. St. Mary's moves up one spot to 6^th best in the state. Gahr (Cerritos), 1^st at Pasadena and 4^th best in the state at 3:18.69, was third in 3:20.37. They remain 4^th.

St. Mary's (Berkeley) won the 1600 meter sprint medley relay in 3:36.1. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) placed second in 3:38.7. Vallejo was third in 3:40.02. McClymonds, which had won the race, was disqualified for interfering with St. Mary's. The Mack runner veered out to his right in the final stretch to prevent the St. Mary's anchor from passing.

"For what we have, we did as well as could be expected," said Warriors coach Alonzo Carter to Schoen. "I'm still feeling the sting from that disqualification. We're a young team and that kind of took away our momentum."

Bellarmine (San Jose), 2^nd at Stanford, won the 4x800 in 8:17.4. Del Mar (San Jose) placed second in 8:22.8. St. Mary's (Berkeley) was third in 8:24.0.

Leader Splits:

2:00.2 Sophomore Jordan Kinley (Maria Carrillo, Santa Rosa)

4:07.3 (2:07.1) Maria Carrillo

6:12.3 (2:05.1) Bellarmine (Bell ran 2:03.2)

8:17.4 (2:05.1) Andreozzi (Bellarmine)

Bellarmine (San Jose), 4^th at Stanford, won the distance medley in 10:36.7. Granada (Livermore) placed second in 10:44.4. James Logan (Union City) was third in 10:44.7.

Bellarmine splits:

3:10.2 Neil Davis

51.9 Bell

2:06.5 Andreozzi

4:28.2 Wayne Hopp

Senior Scott Loftus (Yreka) won the high jump at 6-8, tied for 7^th in the state. Senior Ebon Glenn (St. Mary's, Berkeley), the Stanford champion and tied for second best in the state at 6-10, placed second at 6-6. Glenn is still tied for 2^nd in the state. David Glasgow (Golden Valley) was third at 6-6, tied for 15^th in the state.

Junior Ray Serrano (Reed, Sparks, Nevada) won the pole vault at 13-6. Joe Rivera (Benicia) placed second at 13-0. Senior Nate Guido (Montgomery, Santa Rosa), 6^th at Stanford, was third at 13-0.

Sophomore Solomon Welch (St. Mary's, Berkeley), 3^rd at Stanford, won the long jump at 22-8 3/4, 9^th best in the state. All jumps were considered wind legal. Sophomore Trestin George (St. Mary's, Berkeley) placed second at 22-8, 10^th best in the state. Senior Johnny Yau (Bella Vista) was third at 22-6, tied for 12^th in the state.

Sophomore Solomon Welch (St. Mary's, Berkeley), the Stanford winner and 3^rd best in the state at 47-2 1/2, also won the triple jump at 47-11 1/2. Welch is the new state leader. All jumps were considered wind legal. Sophomore Trestin George, 2^nd at Stanford and 4^th best in the state at 47-0 3/4, placed second at 46-6 1/4. He is now 6^th in the state. Derek Jones (Everett Alvarez, Salinas) was third at 45-7 1/2, 15^th in the state.

Senior Ryan Lockner (California, San Ramon) won the shot put at 55-2 1/4, 13^th in the state. Senior Travis Johnson (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks), 3^rd at Pasadena at 51-3 and 6^th best in the state, placed second at 54-5. Johnson is now 9^th in the state. Senior Colin Dutton (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks) was third at 51-10 1/4.

Senior Tony Arieta (De La Salle, Concord) won the discus at 160-0. He stands 22^nd in the state at 162-11. Senior Joe Traverso (Christian Brothers, Sacramento), 4^th at Stanford, placed second at 147-5. Junior Angellelo Session (James Logan) was third at 145-10.

St. Mary's (Berkeley) won the team title with 112 points. They won the 400, sprint medley, 4x100, 4x200, long jump, and triple jump. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) placed second with 39 points. De La Salle (Concord) was third with 29 points.

"It seems like each week we're exceeding expectations," St. Mary's coach Jay Lawson said to David Schoen of the Oakland Tribune. "This is probably the deepest team we've had. We've never covered the events as well as we have this year."

"We showed our stuff," said Denye Versher (St. Mary's). "We're looking good for state. We just have to keep practicing."

Girls

Sophomore Angel Perkins (Gahr, Cerritos), 6^th at the State Meet with the 3^rd best hand-time in the state at 11.8, won the 100 in 11.72 wind-aided (+2.66 mps). Perkins has the second best wind-aided mark in the state. Junior Sierra Hauser-Price (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks), 8^th at the State Meet, 2^nd at Pasadena, the 4^th best in the state at 12.02, placed second in 11.98. Hauser-Price has the third best wind-aided mark in the state. Junior Charleen Deardorff (Mt. Pleasant, San Jose), 4^th at Stanford, was third in 12.14. Deardorff has the 5^th best wind-aided mark in the state.

Senior Sani Roseby (Monterey) had to scratch from the meet because she was injured at Stanford last week. She hoped to get back to practice this week. Roseby has a 3.5 grade point average. She will attend UCLA in the fall.

Senior Aisha Margain (Berkeley) won the 400 in 54.82. The 3^rd best time in the state. Monique Jessie (Carson) placed second 56.85, the 12^th best in the state. Chloe Jarvis (St. Francis, Sacramento), 5^th at Stanford, was third in 57.51, 16^th best in the state.

Senior Spring Dawson (Vallejo), 7^th in the State Meet, won the 800 in 2:13.31, 2^nd best in the state. Junior Heather Hennessy (Los Gatos) placed second in 2:15.15, 5^th best in the state. Sophomore Bridget Duffy (St. Mary's, Berkeley) was third in 2:16.69, 12^th best in the state.

Junior Heather Hennessy (Los Gatos), 4^th at Stanford and 9^th best in the state at 5:05.02c, won the 1,600 in 5:04.9. She remains in 9^th. Sophomore Janie Nolan (Antioch) placed second in 5:07.8, 14^th in the state. Sophomore Michelle Beritzhoff (Los Gatos) was third in 5:17.6.

Leader splits:

400 1:02.4 Edwards (Holy Names, Oakland)

800 2:31.4 Nolan

1200 3:51.0 (1:19.6) Nolan

1600 5:04.9 (1:13.9) Hennessy

Clara Horowitz (Head-Royce, Oakland), the State Meet Division 5 cross-country champion, won the 3,200 in 11:30.00. She controlled the race from start to finish. Junior Sarah Bashel (pronounced bash-el) (Montgomery, Santa Rosa) placed second in 11:39.00. Freshman Jessie Baldwin (Milpitas) was third in 11:41.2.

Horowitz's splits:

400 1:14.6

800 2:35.6 (1:21.1)

1200 4:02.8 (1:27.2)

1600 5:32.3 (1:31.5)

2000 7:03.3 (1:31.0)

2400 8:34.6 (1:31.2)

2800 10:06.0 (1:31.4)

3200 11:30.0 (1:24.0)

Junior Undine Becker (Mt. Pleasant, San Jose), 7^th in the State Meet, won the 100 hurdles in 14.64 (+0.81 mps). Becker remains 7^th. Danielle Stokes (St. Mary's, Berkeley) placed second in 14.68. Stokes is 6^th in the state at 14.63. Simone Brooks (Berkeley), 4^th at Stanford and 9^th best in the state at 15.04, was third in 14.69. Brooks remains 9^th. Senior Beyonka McDowell (Vallejo), 3^rd at Stanford and 8^th best in the state at 14.70, was 4^th in 14.71. McDowell becomes 10^th. Sani Roseby (Monterey) also scratched from this event.

Only .07 separated the first four finishers:

1^st 14.64 Becker

2^nd 14.68 Stokes

3^rd 14.69 Brooks

4^th 14.71 McDowell

Brooklyn Hahn (Burbank, Sacramento) won the 300 hurdles in 45.27, 6^th in the state. Junior Undine Becker (Mt. Pleasant, San Jose), 8^th in the State Meet, placed second in 45.35. Becker remains 8^th. Senior April Russell (De Anza, Richmond), 9^th in the State meet, was third in 46.02. Russell is now 14^th.

Berkeley, which set a new meet record of 46.87 at Stanford, the second best in the state, won the 4x100 in 46.42, a new meet record. The old meet record of 46.57 was set by Skyline (Oakland), which was coached by Darrell Hampton in 1994. Their team was composed of Katrina Keith, Aisha Margain, Raqueta Margain, and Simone Brooks. Berkeley remains second behind J.W. North (Riverside), who has run 46.08. James Logan (Union City), third best in the state at 47.40, placed second in 47.65. Logan remains 3^rd best. Gahr (Cerritos), the fifth best in the state at 47.8, was third in 48.11. Gahr remains fifth.

"We wanted to come in and prove we had fast times," Brooks said to Schoen. "But we didn't have our handoffs down. All four of us know we can do better."

Berkeley won the 4x200 in 1:37.73, a new meet record. The old meet record of 1:37.73 was set by James Logan (Union City) in 1996. Mt. Pleasant (San Jose) placed second in 1:44.09. Deer Valley (Antioch) was third in 1:44.47.

Berkeley splits:

25.2 Katrina Keith

24.1 Aisha Margain

24.0 Raqueta Margain

24.2 Simone Brooks

I was a little late in taking my split on Aisha. So she probably ran faster than her sister did.

Berkeley, the Stanford winner and second best in the state at 3:50.73, won the 4x400 in 3:52.68. Berkeley remains second. Gahr (Cerritos), second at the Pasadena Games and 4^th best in the state, placed second in 3:55.26. Gahr remains 4^th. Angel Perkins (Gahr) turned in a spectacular anchor (53.0), but Berkeley was too far ahead. James Logan (Union City) was third in 3:58.14, despite being in a slower heat. Logan is 10^th in the state.

Berkeley splits:

Raqueta Margain 58.8

T'Carra Penick 55.1

Katrina Keith 1:03.1 (she left too early and had to stop)

Aisha Margain 55.5

Gahr splits:

63.2

59.3

59.6

53.0 Angel Perkins

Logan split:

Freshman Cherie Craddock 55.8

Berkeley won the 800 sprint medley in 1:47.33. T'Carra Penick (Berkeley) anchored in 57.4. James Logan (Union City) placed second in 1:47.54. Deer Valley (Antioch) was third in 1:53.58.

Montgomery (Santa Rosa) won the 4x800 in 10:06.5 (average 2:31.3+ per leg). Their team was composed of Terribilini; Pedersen; Sara Bei, 2^nd in the State Meet 1,600 and 3,200, 2:24.9; and Handel. University (San Francisco) placed second in 10:10.3. Carondelet (Concord) was third in 10:13.3.

Leader splits:

2:22.4

2:36.4

2:34.9

2:32.8

Maria Carrillo (Santa Rosa) won the distance medley in 12:35.1. Their team was composed of Drady, A. Nelson, N. Nelson, and Jenny Aldridge, who anchored in 5:10.4. Montgomery (Santa Rosa) placed second in 12:52.1.Their team was composed of 1200-Bashel, 400-Richardson, 800-Handel, and 1600-Sara Bei, who anchored in 5:13.5.St. Mary's (Berkeley) was third in 13:00.2. Bridget Duffy (St. Mary's) opened with a 1200 in 3:41.7.

Senior Amber Nixon (Amador Valley, Pleasanton), 3^rd at Stanford at 5-4, and tied for 5^th best in the state at 5-6, won the high jump at 5-6. Nixon is tied for 6^th in the state. Sophomore Tracey Johnson (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks), 3^rd at Pasadena at 5-4, placed second at 5-6. Johnson is tied for 6^th in the state. Senior Amber Baker (Red Bluff) was third at 5-2.

Veronica Garcia (Newark Memorial, Newark), 4^th at Stanford, won the pole vault at 10-0. There was a tie for second between sophomore Chaunte Mitchell (Tracy) and senior Jenika Heim (Las Lomas) at 10-0.

Junior Tanisha Johnson (Reed, Sparks, Nevada), who placed second in the state meet for Archbishop Mitty, won the long jump at 18-7. Beyonka McDowell (Vallejo) placed second at 18-4 3/4, 9^th best in the state. Junior Trinety White (Marysville), 3^rd at Stanford, was third at 17-11 3/4, tenth best in the state. There were no wind readings taken, but Peter Jensen, the field event announcer, thought that most of the jumps were wind-aided. Senior Sani Roseby (Monterey), the state champion, scratched (see note after 100).

Freshman Nicole Duhart (Gahr, Cerritos), 8^th best in the state at 37-5, won the triple jump at 38-8 1/4. Duhart is 3rd in the state. All jumps were considered wind legal. Junior Tinisha Johnson (Reed, Sparks, Nevada), 2^nd in the state meet for Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), placed second at 37-11. Junior Trinety White (Marysville), 7^th at the state meet, 2^nd at Stanford, and fifth best in the state at 37-9 1/4, was third at 37-7. White is now 6^th in the state.

Duhart's series:

Foul

38-0 3/4

38-4

38-8 3/4

Senior Michelle Daggs (Bishop O'Dowd, Oakland), 6^th at Stanford, won the shot put at 43-4. According to Peter Jensen, her throw was actually farther because they were measuring from the front of the toe board instead of the back. According to high school rules the toe board should be 4 1/2 inches wide. Therefore, Daggs mark was actually 43-8 1/2, which is 5^th best in the state. Amanda Garcia (Carondelet, Concord), 9^th in the state meet, placed second at 40-6 1/2. Adjust her mark to 40-11 (40-6 1/2 + 4 1/2), 14^th in the state. Garcia has a 3.5 grade point average and plans to attend Cal Poly. Sophomore Kamaya Warren (St. Mary's, Berkeley) was third at 40-0 3/4. Adjust her to 40-5 1/4, 16^th in the state.

Senior Michelle Daggs (Bishop O'Dowd, Oakland), 9^th in the State Meet, 3^rd at Stanford, and 2^nd best in the state at 143-11, also won the discus at 139-1. Daggs is now third in the state. Sophomore Kamaya Warren (St. Mary's, Berkeley), 6^th at Stanford and 7^th best in the state at 136-0, was second at 127-3. Warren is now 6^th in the state at 138-4. Senior Annie Farnady (Los Gatos), 4^th at Stanford and 9^th best in the state at 133-6, was third at 119-11. Farnady is now 12^th in the state.

Berkeley won the girl's team title with 61 1/2 points. They won the sprint medley, 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400. Margain won the 400. St. Mary's (Berkeley) was second with 41 points. There was a tie for third among Gahr (Cerritos), Los Gatos, and Mt. Pleasant (San Jose) with 30 points.

"This is our home. We had to represent," said Berkeley sprinter Aisha Margain to David Schoen, staff writer for the Oakland Tribune. "We couldn't come and let anyone beat us in our house."

"We did well," Berkeley coach Darrell Hampton said to Schoen. "It was good for the kids to be able to run in front of their parents and family and friends."

Athletes of the Meet

Boys Track-Denye Versher (St. Mary's, Berkeley) 400, 4x1, 4x2, 4x4

Boys Field-Solomon Welch (St. Mary's, Berkeley) LJ, TJ

Girls Track-Aisha Margain (Berkeley) 400, 4x1, 4x2, SMR

Girls Field-Michelle Daggs (Bishop O'Dowd) SP, DT