HIGHLIGHTS
of the
California State Track Meet
Donn B. Kirk
David M. Cooper
Keith R. Conning
Re-typed and 'posted' by Hank Lawson & Kimberly Patton - Oct 2002
Section Results:
[AAL Meet Results (1896-1914)]
[SF Section Results (1915-2002)]
[Oakland Section Results (1919-present)]
[NCS Section Results (1915-2002)]
[SJS Past Champs]
[CCS All Time Top 100]
[CCS History (Boys / Girls)]
By YEAR (quick access)
1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
1922 1932 1942 1952 1962 1972 1982 1992 2002
1923 1933 1943 1953 1963 1973 1983 1993 2003
1924 1934 1944 1954 1964 1974 1984 1994 2004
1915 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005
1916 1926 1936 1946 1956 1966 1976 1986 1996 2006
1917 1927 1937 1947 1957 1967 1977 1987 1997 2007
1918 1928 1938 1948 1958 1968 1978 1988 1998 2008
1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
Table Of Contents
Background
Explanation
State Meet writeups
Male athletes scoring 10 or more points
Female athletes scoring 10 or more points
Male athletes scoring 20 or more points
Female athletes scoring 20 or more points
Evolution of State Meet records
Schools winning 1st and 2nd in the same event
Credits
Athlete of the Meet (unofficial)
State Meet Athletes who Won Gold at the Olympics
Highest scoring teams in State Meets
Emails & insights from Past Meets
Brief History of the CIF State Track & Field Champs (on the CIF site)
A complimentary copy of this booklet is being given to every entrant in both
the Northern and Southern State-Qualifying Meets, courtesy of NIKE, Kinney.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Our thanks go to Don Gosney (Fine Flicks) for the excellent photographs on the front
cover. We also appreciate the help we have received from Keith Conning and Howard
Willman, and especially from Plato Yanicks. Plato's extensive files of track and
field history made this book far more accurate than would otherwise have been
possible.
Appreciation is extended to the California Interscholastic Federation.
Copies of the original book covering meets starting in 1915 can be purchased for
$8.00 at the following address:
KCC Press
627 Springer Terrace
Los Altos, CA 94022
Note: The above address is no longer valid (Ed.)
BACKGROUND
This book started with the curiosity of a couple track fans. We enjoyed attending
the State Meets and wondered how the whole thing started. Had there been any
major changes in the Meet? What were conditions like in the early years?
We researched a major part of the book at the Stanford Library going through
microfilm copies of mainly the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
In the early years especially, the newspaper closest to the city where the State
Meet was held had the better coverage. Often one of the papers would have no
coverage at all. Between the two, however, a very interesting story emerged, so
interesting that we were tempted to write it up. Probably our biggest shock was
learning that the official "football throw" was a scoring event in the State Meet
for six years! We checked with the CIF office to see if they already had in their
files a similar publication and found that they had had a fire which destroyed all
their records of the older Meets. They referred us to a library.
That cinched it, but then the hard work started. There were many inconsistencies
in the newspapers. For example Hugh McElhenny's last name was spelled five
different ways. There were questions difficult to resolve. Was the "Wickersham"
who placed in the 440 in 1920 the same person as Walter Wickersham who won the 220
in 1922, or his brother? (Answer, same.) We wrote letters to a number of current
track coaches to get help in answering some of these questions. Some results
were fantastic! Walt Opp, Muir track coach, was able to talk to the 1934 Muir
coach, Albion Walton, and the star of that team, Mack Robinson, to resolve how
many points Muir scored in that Meet (which had never been reported correctly).
We were able to locate three State Meet programs from pre-World War II Meets (1929,
1931, 1932) and all programs after the War except for 1947, 1955, and 1958.
These answered a lot of questions, especially spelling and first names. Finally
we were fortunate enough to meet Plato Yanicks, track coach at Menlo-Atherton
High School, who has an extensive collection of track and field information
going way back to the early 1900's. Plato allowed us full use of his collection
and this was the frosting on the cake, straightening out many different things.
The final result is a publication that is as error-free as we can make it. We're
not totally pleased, however. A lot of first names are missing. We still don't
know, for example, if the "Nichols" who placed in the pole vault in 1922 was
Ross Nichols who set National records in the high hurdles in 1923 and 1924 (we
doubt it). We also don't know if the horse-race track was used when the Meet
was held at a Fairgrounds (1918, 1920, 1922), leading to a one-lap mile race,
etc. But we are nearly satisfied and hope to get feedback from readers,
especially those who attended or participated in past State Meets.
The result was a book "Highlights of the California State Track Meet 1915-1975"
published in 1976. This original book was updated each year to include the
previous year's State Meet results. However, the original records and index
sections were not updated. The present book starts with the first Meet after
World War II and continues to the present. The evolution of the records,
highest scoring athletes, highest scoring teams, and the index have been
completely updated. The final result is a publication that is as error-free
as we can make it.
EXPLANATION
A few of the ground-rules that we followed should be spelled out. We have not
considered any marks to be "State Meet Records" if they were set when the event
was an exhibition event; only when the event was a scoring event do we consider
a mark for a record. If an athlete who competed in the State Meet subsequently
won a gold medal in the Olympics, we have mentioned that fact and his mark.
However a number of other athletes from the State Meet have competed brilliantly
in the Olympics although not winning a gold, but these are not mentioned herein.
A detailed scoring breakdown of at least the top three teams is given each year
under "Team Championship." In addition the detailed breakdown is shown for all
teams that would have scored more than 10 points if the Meet were scored 5-3-2-1.
In the statistical sections, we needed a common scoring system to allow comparisons
to be made from one era to another. We have arbitrarily used a 5-3-2-1 scoring
system for this purpose. Finally, we have used a number of abbreviations throughout
and although they are fairly standard, they are as follows:
HH=high hurdles SP =shot put FB=football throw BJ=broad jump (1915-1963
LH=low hurdles Dis=discus PV=pole vault LJ=long jump (1964-present)
Jav=javelin HJ=high jump TJ=triple jump
Copyright 1984
by Donn B. Kirk and David M. Cooper
All rights reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1915 - Fresno High School; Saturday, April 3
Following establishment of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in March
of 1914, the first State Track Meet was held early in the spring of 1915. A total
of 28 schools entered 91 athletes in the events contested. Coalinga had the most
entries (11), followed by San Jose (8), Manual Arts and Visalia (7), and Berkeley
and Woodland (6). Twelve schools had only a single entry. Points were scored in
13 events (100, 220, 440, 880, Mile, 120 Highs, 220 Lows, 880 Relay, Shot Put,
Discus, Pole Vault, High Jump, and Broad Jump). In addition, there were non-scoring
competitions in the javelin and hammer throw.
Many of the athletes arrived in Fresno on Friday night, but two special trains
carrying participants and rooters arrived Saturday morning from Visalia/Tulare and
Coalinga. Special reduced rates were granted on these trains by the railroads.
The Meet was held in the afternoon.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Being the first State Meet, winners all established records, although two were
subsequently disallowed.
100 Roy Brown (Sacramento) 10.2
220 Les Wark (Long Beach) 22.2
440 George "Tuffy" Conn (Pasadena) 50.0
880 Gerald Blankenship (Visalia) 1:59.8
Mile Gerald Blankenship (Visalia) 4:30.0
High Hurdles Earl Thompson (Long Beach) 15.2 *
Low Hurdles Jud House (Riverside Poly) 23.8 *
880 Relay Manual Arts, LA 1:34.2
Shot Put Wayne Weeks (Santa Rosa) 46-2 3/8
Discus Merritt (Santa Rosa) 113-0
Pole Vault Lincoln Hall (Santa Paula) 11-6
High Jump Millarf "Tip" Webster (Santa Paula) 5-9 1/2
Broad Jump Ernie Plavan (Santa Ana) 21-2
* disallowed as State Meet record
HIGHLIGHTS
Gerald Blankenship's (Visalia) 880-mile double has to rank as the best performance
of the meet. It has only been accomplished once again in all the years since 1915,
and his mile record was not bettered until 1933. Jud House was Riverside Poly's
lone entrant and he scored in 3 events, winning the low hurdles and placing 2nd
in the high jump and 4th in the discus. Harry Lamport (Manual Arts), whose big
year was a year away, placed in an amazing 4 events: 4th in the 100, 2nd in the
220, 2nd in the lows, and 4th in the highs. Wayne Weeks of Santa Rosa placed 3rd
in the discus in addition to his shot put triumph. It was indeed a meet of
super-versatile athletes!
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Although winning only one event, the 880 relay in 1:34.2, Manual Arts had 9 other
point scorers to win the championship easily. Blankenship gave Visalia a strong
second place, with Long Beach, Santa Rosa, and Riverside Poly's one man gang
(House) closely bunched.
Manual Arts, LA 25 pts 5-1st in 880 relay
8-Lamport, 2nd in 220, 2nd in LH
4th in 100, 4th in HH
4-Repath, 3rd in 100, 3rd in 220
3-Hughes, 2nd in 440
3-Maurer, 2nd in PV
2-Stuart, 3rd in BJ
Visalia 18 3-2nd in 880 relay
10-Blakenship, 1st in 880, 1st in Mile
3-Lucas, 2nd in 100
2-Sparks, 3rd in PV
Long Beach 14 9-Thompson, 1st in HH, 2nd in HJ, 4th in Disc
5-Wark, 1st in 220
Santa Rosa 13 7-Weeks, 1st in SP, 3rd in Disc
5-Merritt, 1st in Disc
1-Russell, 4th in LH
Riverside Poly 11 11-House, 1st in LH, 2nd in HH, 2nd in BJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1916 - YMCA Field, Los Angeles; Saturday, April 8
All day Friday, trains from the North brought in little bunches of athletes to
compete in the 2nd State Meet. The athletes were selected by the process of
elimination. In each of the four associations into which the high schools of the
State were divided, sectional championships were held. Only the athletes who
finished 1-2-3 in these meets made the State Meet. Thus no more than 12 entries
competed in any event.
Fourteen events this year scored points, the thirteen from last year plus the
javelin. The only sad note was the fact that Frank Sloman (SF Poly), champion prep
quarter miler in the U.S., was not allowed to compete. He attended one of the three
California high schools which stayed unaffiliated with the CIF, and was even denied
the chance of running an exhibition. Sloman set his record of 48.2 on a
straightaway in October of 1915. Advance thinking about the Meet was centered on
Charley Paddock, Pasadena's 16-year-old sophomore sprinter, and on the anticipated
great half mile between Kilby of Coalinga and Loveland of LA Poly. Two winners from
last year's Meet were back, Wayne Weeks of Santa Rosa in the shot put and Lincoln
Hall of Santa Paula in the pole vault. In addition, Manual Arts' Harry Lamport was
returning. The Meet started at 2 o'clock with the grandstand crowded.
STATE MEET RECORDS
In four field events, 1915 marks were bested and the 880 relay mark was tied. In
addition, records in both hurdles were established because the 1915 marks had been
disallowed, and a javelin mark was established in its first Meet as a scoring event.
Shot Put Wayne Weeks (Santa Rosa) 47-04.25
(old 46-02 3/8, Weeks, 1915)
Discus Wayne Weeks (Santa Rosa) 117-00
(old 113-00, Merritt, 1915)
Pole Vault Lincoln Hall (Santa Paula) 11-09
(old 11-06, Hall, 1915)
Broad Jump Harry Lamport (Manual Arts) 21-05.25
(old 21-02, Plavan, 1915)
880 Relay Manual Arts, LA 1:34.2
(ties old, Manual Arts, 1915)
High Hurdles Harry Lamport (Manual Arts) 16.4
(1915 record disallowed)
Low Hurdles Harry Lamport (Manual Arts) 25.8
(1915 record disallowed)
Javelin Neilson (Oakland) 143-11.5
(new event)
HIGHLIGHTS
Four individuals stole the show in the 1916 State Meet, but first and foremost was
Harry Lamport of Manual Arts. He won three events (both hurdles and the broad jump)
and was credited with new Meet records in all three. Winning three events has only
been accomplished three more times since Lamport did it in 1916! Lamport also ran
on the relay team of Fitzsimmons, Sarrall, H. Lamport, and W. Lamport as they tied
the record of 1:34.2. The other stars were Charley Paddock of Pasadena, who won
both sprints in 10.4 and 22.4, Wayne Weeks of Santa Rosa who set records in the shot
and discus, and Colin "Bogus" Kilby of Coalinga who won the 880 (2:02.8) and
finished 2nd in the lows. Kilby's win in the 880 has survived the passage of time
with the newspaper quotes of his teammate Jennings. Kilby led at the quarter but on
the last lap Loveland of LA Poly started to move. He passed runner after runner,
and as he pulled up alongside Kilby the bleachers let out a roar. Jennings in the
infield asked with an expression of wonderment on his face. "Loveland can't pass
Bogus. Nobody can when he's out ahead."
Jennings was right. Loveland struggled and almost had a fit trying to get by, but
Kilby went into the tape a yard ahead of him. After the race, while Kilby was
lying unconscious on the ground, Jennings leaned over him. "Those guys up there
actually thought Loveland could pass you. Can you beat it?"!!!
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
For the second year in a row, Manual Arts walked off with the team crown, this
time with probably the best or second-best team in all-time State Meet history
(Jefferson of LA in 1950 was the other). Lamport's 3 firsts, a first in the 880
relay, plus 9 other point scorers (including Lamport's brother) show the depth of
this team, and their 37 1/2 points are an all-time high with this scoring system.
Pasadena with Paddock was a distant second with 21 points. Next came Oakland Poly
with 18, followed by Coalinga and Santa Rosa with 10.
Manual Arts, LA 37.5 pts 5-1st in 880 relay
15-H. Lamport, 1st in HH, 1st in LH, 1st in BJ
3-Fitzsimmons, 2nd in 440
3-Beggs, 2nd in HJ
2.5-Childs, tie for 2-3 in PV
2-Sarrall, 3rd in 100
2-W. Lamport, 3rd in 220
2-Blewett, 3rd in SP
1-McKellar, 4th in 440
1-Brockman, 4th in SP
1-Haberlein, 4th in Jav
Pasadena 21 2-3rd in 880 relay
10-Paddock, 1st in 100, 1st in 220
5-Moore, 1st in HJ
3-Fuller, 2nd in HH
1-Cooper, 4th in Mile
Oakland Poly 18 3-2nd in 880 relay
7-Silvas, 1st in Mile, 3rd in 880
6-Hutchson, 2nd in 100, 2nd in 220
2-Caiden, 3rd in BJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1917 - Berkeley Stadium; Saturday, April 28
The 3rd State Meet was held in Northern California for the first time and northern
schools were confident of winning due to their superiority in the number of
participants. However southern schools counted on their quality and were not to be
disappointed. The headlines the day before the meet read "Paddock Sure of Points in
Both Sprints," and "Kilby Slated to be Star of the Whole Affair." Paddock (Pasadena)
and Kilby (Coalinga) were big names from the 1916 Meet. New stars would also
emerge. The 14 events contested were identical to 1916.
STATE MEET RECORDS
A fantastic number of new State Meet records were set, and two events saw the record
first tied and then broken. Jack Melville of Berkeley tied the 100 record in his
heat and then broke it in the final. Earl Johnson of Fullerton did the same thing
in the high hurdles.
100 Jack Melville (Berkeley) 10.0
(old 10.2, Brown, 1915 and
Melville, 1917)
220 Charley Paddock (Pasadena) 22.0
(ties old, Wark, 1915)
High Hurdles Earl Johnston (Fullerton) 16.2
(old 16.4, H Lamport, 1916 and
Johnston, 1917)
Low Hurdles Colin Kilby (Coalinga) 25.6
(old 25.8, H Lamport, 1916)
Shot Put Jim Blewett (Manual Arts, LA) 47-9.25
(old 47-4.25, Weeks, 1916)
Discus Evans (Chaffey) 122-11
(old 117-0, Weeks, 1916)
Javelin McCoy (Coalinga) 154-5
(old 143-11.5, Neilson, 1916)
Broad Jump Gene Davis (LA Poly) 21-10.5
(old 21-5.25, H Lamport, 1916)
HIGHLIGHTS
The sprint duel between Charley Paddock (Pasadena) and Jack Melville (Berkeley)
was remarkable. Melville barely beat Paddock to the tape in the 100, and the time
of 10 flat set a new State record. Paddock had his revenge later when he took the
220 in 22 flat, equalling Les Wark's 1915 record. Melville ran second.
The other outstanding performer in the meet was Lloyd Hill of Coalinga. He won
the high jump with a near-record 5-9.25 and placed second in the broad jump.
Meanwhile Kilby won the lows in record time but only got a 3rd in the highs. If he
ran in the 880, he didn't place. It would be hard to decide between Hill, Melville,
and Paddock as the outstanding athlete of the meet.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Coalinga High School finally broke Manual Arts' lock on the State Championship with
an easy win. Hill had 8 points, Kilby 7 in their 25 point total. The next 5 places
were closely contested. Pasadena with Paddock had 117 points, Sacramento 15,
Redlands 14, LA Poly 12, and Manual Arts for a change got only 11, including 8
points from their shot putters, Blewett and Brockman.
Coalinga 25 pts 2-3rd in 880 relay
8-Hill, 1st in HJ, 2nd in BJ
7-Kilby, 1st in LH, 3rd in HH
5-McCoy, 1st in Jav
3-Robertson, 2nd in 440
Pasadena 17 3-2nd in 880 relay
8-Paddock, 1st in 220, 2nd in 100
5-Reeves, 1st in Mile
1-Mitchell, 4th in Disc
Sacramento 15 5-Wilbur, 1st in PV
3-McMullen, 3rd in 100, 4th in 220
2-Duham, 3rd in 880
2-Pease, 3rd in PV
2-Bennett, 3rd in HJ
1-Lamb, 4th in SP
Redlands 14 6-Frost, 2nd in 880, 2nd in Mile
5-Seitzer, 1st in 440
3-Green, 2nd in PV
LA Poly 12 5-1st in 880 relay
5-Davis, 1st in BJ
2-Perry, 3rd in 440
Manual Arts, LA 11 5-Blewett, 1st in SP
3-Brockman, 2nd in SP
2-Woods, 3rd in 220
1-Fox, 4th in Jav
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1918 - Sacramento Fairgrounds; Saturday, April 27
For the second year in a row, the State Meet was held in Northern California, but
the bulk of the point scoring would probably be done by Southland schools. The
names attracting most attention in pre-Meet excitement were sprinter Charley Paddock
and discus heaver Johnnie Boyle. Paddock, in his senior year at Pasadena, was
confident of winning both sprints, and Boyle (LA High) was expected by many to
shatter the discus record. Scoring competition took place in the same 14 events as
in 1916 and 1917. Forty-six schools, from San Diego on the South to Sutter City on
the North, had entries.
STATE MEET RECORDS
New Meet records were set in 5 of the 14 events, the most notable being the quarter
mile race with 50 seconds being broken for the first time. Schiller from LA Poly
accomplished this tremendous feat and it would be 11 years before anyone would
equal him.
440 George "Spec" Schiller (LA Poly) 49.6
(old 50.0, Conn, 1915)
High Hurdles Larry Rice (Compton) 16.0
(old 16.2, Johnston, 1917)
880 Relay Manual Arts, LA 1:33.6
(old 1:34.2, Manual Arts, 1915 & 1916)
Javelin Dunlap (Bakersfield) 164-3
(old 154-5, McCoy, 1917)
High Jump Harold "Brick" Muller (San Diego) 5-11 3/4
(old 5-9 1/2, Webster, 1915)
HIGHLIGHTS
Charley Paddock (Pasadena) disappointed no one as he won the 100 in 10.2 over
Cook (San Bernardino) and the 220 in 22.4 over Hendrixson (Chino). This was the
3rd year in a row that he won the longer race and his second win in the State Meet
100. Only his loss to Melville in the 1917 100 spoiled a double three-year sweep.
Paddock was to go on to Olympic fame by winning the 100 meters in 1920 timed in
10.8. He also was leadoff man for the victorius US 400 meter relay team which
clocked 42.2, and in addition placed 2nd in the 200 meters in both the 1920 and
1924 Olympics.
Another standout in this State Meet was Jerry Pearce of Berkeley. He tried to match
Blankenship's 1915 double in the 880 and mile and came close to pulling it off. He
won the mile, although in a slow 4:44.4, and came in 3rd in the 880, losing to Ken
Saunders of Pasadena whose winning time was 2:02.8. Young of Bakersfield tried the
same double and came in 2nd in the 880 and 3rd in the mile. John Boyle won the
discus with a mark of 114-2 3/4, but missed the State Meet record by more than
8 feet.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Paddock's double sprint victory, Saunders' half mile win, and 5 other point scorers
gave Pasadena an easy victory. Their 25 points overshadowed San Bernardino's 16,
who were led by low hurdle winner Harry McDonald (26.6). Manual Arts took 3rd place
with 12 points, followed by Bakersfield (11), Fresno (10), and Berkeley and
Ukiah (9). Twenty-six schools scored points.
Pasadena 25 pts 1-4th in 880 relay
10-Paddock, 1st in 100, 1st in 220
5-Saunders, 1st in 880
3-Fouche, 2nd in Disc
3-Lee, 2nd in HJ
3-Slaughterman, 3rd in BJ, 4th in PV
San Bernardino 16 3-2nd in 880 relay
5-McDonald, 1st in LH
4-Cook, 2nd in 100, 4th in 220
4-Draper, 3rd in HH, 3rd in HJ
Manual Arts, LA 12 5-1st in 880 relay
3-Emmons, 2nd in PV
2-Woods, 3rd in 100
2-Newman, 3rd in LH
Bakersfield 11 5-Dunlap, 1st in Jav
5-Young, 2nd in 880, 3rd in Mile
1-Radebaugh, 4th in LH
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1919 - San Bernardino High; Saturday, April 26
After two years in the North, the 5th State Meet switched back to "sunny" Southern
California. Returning to compete after setting a high jump record in last year's
Meet was Brick Muller, although he was now competeing for Oakland Tech. Other
prominent returnees were Jerry Pearce (Berkeley), 1918 mile champion, and John
Boyle (transfer to Manual Arts), 1918 discus winner.
The javelin was dropped as a scoring event after three years of being included, and
would not reappear until 1926. The 13 scoring events were now the 1100, 220, 440,
880, Mile, HH, LH, 880 Relay, SP, Disc, PV, HJ, and BJ.
STATE MEET RECORDS
None.
HIGHLIGHTS
A drizzling rain fell throughout the meet and it kept the crowd small and prevented
any chance at records. In fact, winning marks in all events except the discus were
the poorest marks in the 5 meets to date. Examples showing the terrible conditions
were Jerry Pearce's win in the 880 (2:08.0), Manual Arts' 880 relay win (1:38.2),
Ernst Hartmann's (LA Poly) shot put victory (42-3), and Dick Emmons' (Manual Arts)
pole vault win at 10-6.
Despite the conditions, however, individual stars emerged. In particular Brick
Muller scored in 3 events, winning the high jump at 5-6, winning the broad jump at
20-0, and placing 3rd in the high hurdles. Another standout was Charley Daggs of
Claremont, who won the highs in 16.6 and the lows in 27.4. Elsewhere in the field
events, John Boyle won the discus at 120-6 and placed second in the shot put behind
Hartmann. Pearce did not attempt an 880-mile double as he did in 1918.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Led by John Boyle, athletes from Manual Arts literally slid and swam through the
track and field events to gain the team title with a total of 21 points. This was
their 3rd championship in the 5 State Meets to date. Well behind at 12 points was
Oakland Tech, with all points being scored by Brick Muller. Third went to Los
Angeles High with 11 points, followed by Claremont and Harvard Military (No.
Hollywood) with 10.
Manual Arts, LA 21 pts 5-1st in 880 relay
8-Boyle, 1st in Disc, 2nd in SP
5-Emmons, 1st in PV
3- Leadingham, 2nd in PV
Oaklend Tech 12 12-Muller, 1st in HJ, 1st in BJ, 3rd in HH
Los Angeles 11 5-Sherman, 3rd in LH, 3rd in BJ, 4th in HH
3-Shoaf, 2nd in BJ
2-Clarke, 3rd in 440
1-Sampson, 4th in SP
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1920 - Bakersfield Fairgrounds; Saturday, April 24
Perfect weather greeted the best athletes in the State as they gathered in
Bakersfield for the 6th renewal of the CIF championship. The most prominent
returnees from last year's State Meet included Eddie Sudden (Lick Wilmerding, SF)
who had taken seconds in both sprints, Thurmond Clarke (LA) who had placed 3rd in
the 440, and Otto Anderson (Pomona) who had come in 2nd in the highs. Other
athletes would make their names known also.
STATE MEET RECORDS
An unbelievable 7 new State Meet records were set and 2 others tied in the excellent
competition. Probably the best of the new records were provided by Bud Houser,
sophomore from Oxnard, as he added two feet to the shot put mark and one foot to the
discus. None of the running marks was badly broken but all of them except the 440,
mile, and low hurdles gave ground to the spirited assault.
100 Eddie Sudden (Lick Wilmerding, SF) 10.0
(ties old, Melville, 1917)
220 Eddie Sudden (Lick Wilmerding, SF) 21.8
(old 22.0, Wark, 1915 and Paddock 1917)
880 Paul Stroud (Perris) 1:59.4
(old 1:59.8, Blankenship, 1915)
High Hurdles Otto Anderson (Pomona) 15.8
(old 16.0, Rice, 1918)
880 Relay Los Angeles 1:33.6
(ties old, Manual Arts, 1918)
Shot Put Clarence "Bud" Houser (Oxnard) 49-9
(old 47-9 1/4, Blewett, 1917)
Discus Clarence "Bud" Houser (Oxnard) 123-8
(old 122-11, Evans, 1917)
Pole Vault Leroy Goodenough (Fillmore) 11-10
(old 11-9, Hall, 1916)
High Jump Oliver Corey (Chaffey) 6-0
(old 5-11 3/4, Muller, 1918)
HIGHLIGHTS
Sudden, with his two sprint wins, and Houser, with his two weight wins were easily
the outstanding athletes of the Meet. However, Jim Fulkerson of Ventura did
himself proud with a win in the low hurdles (26.4) and a 2nd to Anderson in the
highs. A great performance was also turned in by Thurmond Clarke (LA) who won the
440 in 50.2 and placed 3rd in the 100 behind Sudden and Hawkins (Fullerton).
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Led by Clarke and a win in the 880 relay, Los Angeles High came out on top but not
by much. Their 18 points beat by 2 the total gathered by Oxnard. Houser got 10 of
Oxnard's total and Argue the other 6. Lick Wilmerding was 3rd with 10 points from
Sudden, followed by Fullerton, Manual Arts, and Ventura with 8 each.
Los Angeles 18 pts 5-1st in 880 relay
7-Clarke, 1st in 440, 3rd in 100
3-Dennis, 2nd in PV
2-Anderson, 3rd in SP
1-Richards, 4th in SP
Oxnard 16 10-Houser, 1st in SP, 1st in Disc
6-Argue, 2nd in HJ, 2nd in BJ
Lick Wilmerding, SF 10 10-Sudden, 1st in 100, 1st in 220
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1921 - Berkeley Stadium; Saturday, April 30
For the first time, the State Meet returned to a former site, namely Berkeley
Stadium which hosted the 1917 meet. Over 150 high school athletes from all sections
of the State were on hand for this, the 7th State Meet. The majority of the boys
were from the south, and many arrived with big reputations.
There were two notable "Buds" returning from last year's meet. Bud Houser, Oxnard
junior, who had set State records in both the shot and discus, and Bud Nash (Chino),
also a junior and returning broad jump champion. In addition Bob Allen (Redlands)
was the strongest sprinter back. He had placed second to Sudden in the 220 last
year and 4th in the 100, and had won the 220 in 1919. The Meet started at 2 pm.
STATE MEET RECORDS
After 7 records were broken and 2 tied last year, common sense would have said
records would be scarce. It would have been wrong! An astounding 7 new records
were set and one was tied. And this was out of 13 events.
Once again Bud Houser was the superstar. He broke his own shot put record by more
than 2 feet and his discus record by more than 11 feet! Improvements of this
magnitude were unheard of. And the other Bud didn't disappoint either. Bud Nash
bettered the broad jump record by a full 6 inches. Other records improved only
modestly, but improve they did.
880 Elmer Boyden (Vallejo) 1:59.2
(old 1:59.4, Stroud, 1920)
Low Hurdles Jack Houston (Lincoln, LA) 25.4
(old 25.6, Kilby, 1917)
880 Relay Los Angeles 1:33.6
(old Manual Arts, 1918 and
Los Angeles, 1920)
Shot Put Clarence "Bud" Houser (Oxnard) 52-0
(old 49-8, Houser, 1920)
Discus Clarence "Bud" Houser (Oxnard) 135-0 1/2
(old 123-8, Houser, 1920)
Pole Vault Harold Shoebridge (Anaheim) 12-0
(old 11-10, Goodenough, 1920)
High Jump Al Fisher (Lincoln, LA) 6-0 3/8
(old 6-0, Corey, 1920)
Broad Jump Verden "Bud" Nash (Chino) 22-4 1/2
(old 21-10 1/2, Davis, 1917)
HIGHLIGHTS
After all the record setting, there were still other stellar performances. Elmer
Boyden from Vallejo was a one man spectacular. He participated in 3 events and they
were tough ones, the 440, 880, and broad jump. His win in the 880 and 3rd in the
440 is the only instance of an athlete placing in both these events in the same Meet
until 1970. In addition he came in second in the broad jump. And he wasn't alone.
Jack Houston won the highs (16.0) to go along with his record in the lows, and
Vernon Blenkiron of Compton won the 100 in 10.2 and placed second to Bob Allen
(Redlands) in the 220. Houser, however, was the star.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Lincoln, LA was an easy winner with 17 points, 10 of which were due to Houston
with his hurdles wins and 5 from Al Fisher and his high jump record. A distant
second was a tie between Oxnard with 10 points from Houser and Vallejo with 10
points from Boyden. Following were Compton and Redlands with 9 and Palo Alto
with 8, mostly from seconds in both hurdles by Leistner.
Lincoln, LA 17 pts 10-Houston, 1st in HH, 1st in LH
5-Fisher, 1st in HJ
2-Boles, 3rd in HH
Oxnard 10 10-Houser, 1st in SP, 1st in Disc
Vallejo 10 10-Boyden, 1st in 880, 3rd in 440, 2nd in BJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1922 - Stockton Fairgrounds; Saturday, May 6
For the first time, the State Meet was held in May and for the first time in
Stockton. The number of stars and the exceptionally good marks made in the
qualifying competitions indicated that this, the 8th CIF Championship, would be
one of the greatest.
Not only a number of California prep marks were threatened, but Bud Houser (Oxnard)
and Harlie Bickmore (Huntington Beach) were shooting for National interscholastic
records in the shot, discus, and pole vault. Coach Tommy Davis of last year's
champion Lincoln, LA pronounced the Stockton track the fastest he has been on this
year. He guessed that barring adverse winds, either Wickersham of Bakersfield
STATE MEET RECORDS
All that was anticipated did not come to pass. However 3 new State records were set
and one tied. Two were due to the fantastic Bud Houser who, in his senior year,
advanced the 12 pound shot put record another 3 feet and the discus record another
9 feet! Houser had now won both the shot and discus in 3 straight Meets and had set
records every time. Also, in non-scoring competition in the 16-pound shot, Houser
smashed the interscholastic world mark with a heave of 45-9 3/4. The old mark had
been made in 1903 by Ralph Rose (Healdsburg High) at 45-6 1/4. Houser went on to
world fame by winning the shot put in the 1924 Olympics and the discus in both the
1924 and 1928 Olympics. He set Olympic records in the discus both years.
Bud Nash, who had transferred from Chino to Huntingdon Beach High, broke his own
broad jump record by about an inch. This was Nash's third straight broad jump crown!
880 Relay Los Angeles 1:33.6
(ties old, Manual Arts, 1918 and
Los Angeles, 1920, 1921)
Shot Put Clarence "Bud" Houser (Oxnard) 55-4 4/5
(old 52-0, Houser, 1921)
Discus Clarence "Bud" Houser (Oxnard) 144-3 1/5
(old 135-0 1/2, Houser, 1921)
Broad Jump Verden "Bud" Nash (Huntington Beach) 22-5 3/5
(old 22-4 1/2, Nash, 1921)
HIGHLIGHTS
In addition to record setters Houser and Nash, three athletes stood out strongly in
the meet. First was Ed Shaw of Monrovia, who won the 440 in 54.4 (anything but the
expected record!) and also won the high jump at 5-10 4/5. Could the fact that the
440 was run on a straightaway have contributed to this slow time? It would be very
difficult to know where you were in a straight race after running most races on
closed ovals. And this leads to another digression. With the Meet held at the
Fairgrounds, was the mile a one lap race and the 880 half a lap?
The other stars were Les Schwobeda of Petaluma and Morton Kaer of Red Bluff. Each
scored 8 points with Schwobeda upsetting the National interscholastic record holder,
William Kerr (Huntington Beach) in winning the mile (4:40.0), and also placing
second to Irving Thomas of Manual Arts and his 2:04.6 in the 880. Meanwhile Kaer,
only a junior, won the lows (26.4) and placed second to Dick Blewett (Manual Arts)
in the highs. Bickmore tied for second in the pole vault, losing to Harry Smith of
San Diego (11-11 1/2). Also, Nesbit placed 2nd and Wickersham 3rd in the 100,
losing to Herschel Smith (San Fernando) in a slow 10.4. There must have been an
adverse wind.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Huntington Beach, with 5 different scorers, ended with 16 points and the State
Championship. Bud Nash (who had transferred to Huntington Beach only this year) had
5 points and his brother 3 with a second in the 440. Manual Arts, LA came in 2nd
with 12, mainly from Thomas' win in the 880 and Blewett's win in the highs. Past
that things were close. Bakersfield was 3rd with 11 followed by Monrovia and
Oxnard (10), Petaluma and Red Bluff (8).
Huntington Beach 16 pts 5-V Nash, 1st in BJ
3-Kerr, 2nd in Mile
3-M Nash, 2nd in 440
2 1/2-Bickmore, tie for 2-3 in PV
2 1/2-Nichols, tie for 2-3 in PV
Manual Arts, LA 12 5-Thomas, 1st in 880
5-Blewett, 1st in HH
2-Lynch, 3rd in SP
Bakersfield 11 7-Wickersham, 1st in 220, 3rd in 100
2-Lewis, 3rd in 220
1-Frear, 4th in HH
1-Green, 4th in LH
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1923 - Occidental College, LA; Saturday, May 12
The 9th State Meet returned to Southern California and expectations were high for
an excellent competition. Four new State records seemed certain to be hung up.
Both hurdle records and the marks in the high jump and pole vault appeared
vulnerable, as the athletes had been turning in better marks all season.
Ross Nichols, Huntington Beach junior, had bettered the State high hurdle record by
3/10 in the Southern Cal championship and seemed to be in perfect condition.
Morton Kaer of Red Bluff won the lows in the Nor Cal meet in 24.8, although losing
his step on the last hurdle. Harry Smith of San Diego vaulted 12-11 7/8 for a new
Nationals prep record in the Southern meet, and anything over 12 feet here would
better the State Meet mark. Finally Steve Turner of Hollywood looked like a cinch
to better the high jump mark off his performances in his most recent two-big meets.
The Meet started at 1:15 with heats in both sprints, both hurdles, and the relay.
Points were scored in the same 13 events contested since 1919. An added incentive
existed in the meet as a team of California preps was to be chosen to compete in
the National Interscholastic Meet in Chicago later this month.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Predicted records in both hurdles and the pole vault materialized on schedule, but
the high jump record refused to give ground. However an additional three State
records were broken and one tied in what was probably the fastest prep track meet
ever held in California. Morton Kaer, the Red Bluff High star, was responsible for
two of the records. Not only did he run the lows in an excellent 24.9, but he
jumped nearly out of the broad jump pit with a leap of 23 feet, 2 3/4 inches. This
added 9 inches to Nash's record!
Ross Nichols of Huntington Beach tied the National interscholastic record in the
highs, winning in 15.4, and Harry Smith upped the pole vault mark to 12-3 11/16,
but he was tied at that height by Lee Barnes of Hollywood. Earl Lockhart
(Sacramento) lowered the 880 record by 2/10, clocking an excellent 1:59.0. Bob Lee
of Franklin and Eddie Pollock of Pasadena each won his 100 heat in a record-tying
10.0. Pollock won the final in still another 10.0 with Lee 2nd. The Meet ended with
Pasadena's relay team clipping 3/5 of a second off their National interscholastic
record by winning the event in 1:31.4. The team members of Hurlic, Hassler, Whiszar,
and Pollock won by about 8 yards over Manual Arts.
880 Relay Pasadena 1:31.4 (Nat'l)
(old 1:33.6, Manual Arts, 1918;
Los Angeles, 1920, 1921, 1922)
High Hurdles Ross Nichols (Huntington Beach) 15.4 (=Nat'l)
(old 15.8, Anderson, 1920)
Note: Nichols won the first heat in 15.6 and Bickmore
(Huntington Beach) won the other heat in 15.8!
100 Eddie Pollock (Pasadena) and 10.0
Bob Lee (Franklin)
(ties old, Melville, 1917 and Sudden, 1920)
880 Earl Lockhart (Sacramento) 1:59.0
(old 1:59.2, Boyden, 1921)
Low Hurdles Morton Kaer (Red Bluff) 24.9
(old 25.4, Houston, 1921)
Pole Vault Lee Barnes (Hollywood) and 12-3 11/16
Harry Smith (San Diego)
(old 12-0, Shoebridge, 1921)
Broad Jump Morton Kear (Red Bluff) 23-2 3/4
(old 22-5 3/5, Nash, 1922)
HIGHLIGHTS
Morton Kaer had the most fantastic day in any State Meet since Harry Lamport's
performance in 1916. Not only did Kaer set two Meet records but he finished a close
second to Nichols in his high hurdle record, with Bickmore (who ran 15.8 in his
heat) relegated to 3rd! Earl Lockhart (Sacramento) came back after his 880 record
to win the mile over a good field, Stevens (Santa Barbara) and Mitchell (LA Poly)
finishing 2nd and 3rd. Lockhart's time of 4:31.6 was 3rd fastest in State Meet
history and he became the second (and last) successful 880-mile doubler, duplicating
Blankenship's 1915 feat.
In the sprints Bob Lee of Frtanklin was outstanding. He won the 220 with a fine
22.2 and finished 2nd to Pollock (Pasadena) in the record-tying 100.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Led by Lee Barnes' tie in the pole vault and a lot of second and third places,
Hollywood won the meet with 17 1/2 points but Sacramento's bad luck made it
possible. Sacramento scored 15 points from Lockhart's double and Hank Coggeshall's
win in the high jump and they also had one of the favorites, another Pollock,
entered in the 440. However Pollock got involved in a shoving-spiking incident on
the final turn and didn't even place.
Third in the meet was Red Bluff, with Kaer scoring all 13 points, followed by
Pasadena (10), Huntington Beach (9 1/2), and Manual Arts and Modesto (9).
Hollywood 17 1/2 pts 2-3rd in 880 Relay
4-Barnes, tie for 1-2 in PV
3-Smith, 2nd in 440
2 1/2-Turner, tie for 2-3 in HJ
2-Burgard, 3rd in LH
2-Coyne, 3rd in SP
2-Meeks, 3rd in BJ
Sacramento 15 10-Lockhart, 1st in 880, 1st in Mile
5-Coggeshall, 1st in HJ
Red Bluff 13 13-Kaer, 1st in LH, 2nd in HH, 1st in BJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1924 - Taft High School; Saturday, May 10
The site for the 10th State Meet was the little town of Taft, located about 25 miles
southwest of Bakersfield. Over 200 of the best high school athletes in the State
were to participate, and most arrived Friday, spending the night to assure they'd
be throughly rested.
Advance thinking indicated four State records were in jeopardy, the pole vault, high
jump, and both hurdle events. Lee Barnes, brilliant Hollywood athlete, was picked
to better the existing pole vault record (held jointly by him and Harry Smith of San
Diego) after he vaulted 12-10 in the A.A.U. meet a week ago. Henry Coggeshall, a
transfer to LA Poly and last year's high jump wimmer, had repeatedly gone higher
than the record during the season. DeWolfe Requa of Manual Arts was the threat to
the low hurdle record. Requa ran 24.7 on two occasions, a fifth of a second better
than Morton Kaer's record set last year. And finally Ross Nichols of Huntington
Beach, who tied the National prep mark of 15.4 in the highs last year, was given a
shot at beating this and setting a new National mark.
Thirteen events were once again contested. Heats in the sprints, hurdles and relay
were to start at 11 o'clock with finals starting at 1. Local merchants donated
trophies for the winners of each event.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Headlines in the L.A. Times told the happy news: "Ross Nichols Breaks National
Hurdle Mark; Wins High Sticks in 15.3 Seconds in Championship Meet at Taft."
Nichols in two years had thus dropped the State record from 15.8 to 15.4 to 15.3, a
fantastic improvement!
Lee Barnes of Hollywood had no trouble setting a new pole vault record of 12-11 1/2,
nearly 8" above the old mark. The first three placers bettered the old State mark.
Ralph Smith of San Diego, brother of Harry Smith, took 2nd at 12-9 and McDermott
(Fullerton) was 3rd at 12-6. Barnes could try for no higher height as that was as
high as the standards could go.
Henry Coggeshall established a new high jump mark, clearing 6-1 1/4 and adding
nearly an inch to the old record.
High Hurdles Ross Nichols (Huntington Beach) 15.3 (=Nat'l)
(old 15.4, Nichols, 1923)
Pole Vault Lee Barnes (Hollywood) 12-11 1/2
(old 12-3 11/16, Barnes & Smith, 1923)
Note: Barnes won the Olympic pole vault crown
later this year, also at 12-11 1/2!
High Jump Henry Coggeshall (LA Poly) 6-1 1/4
(old 6-0 3/8, Fisher, 1921)
HIGHLIGHTS
The two standouts in addition to the record setters were both from Manual Arts, Lee
Hansen, the team captain, and DeWolfe Requa. Hansen won the mile in 4:37.1 over
Carnahan of Riverside and also placed second in a fast 880. Ed Gioege of Covina
won that race in 1:59.1, just missing Lockhart's State mark of 1:59.0. Requa won
the lows in 25.4 although getting a close race from Ross Nichols. His time, though
not a record, was excellent considering the race was run around a turn. Vic Klein
(Hollywood) won the 100 in 10.1 and placed 4th in the 220, which was won by Archie
Woodyard of Jefferson, LA. Cecil White of Modesto won the shot put for the second
year in a row, this time at 49-7 3/4. This was the farthest ever thrown to date in
the State Meet except by Bud Houser. Hollywood's relay team won in 1:31.7, 2nd
fastest in Meet history.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Manual Arts won the team title with 26 points, most of them from Hansen and Requa.
Only two other teams were in contention, Hollywood with Barnes, Klein, and their
relay team was second with 19, with probably the best 2nd-place team in all-time
Meet history. Huntington Beach with 8 points from Ross Nichols was 3rd at 17.
Fourth place was Riverside with only 9. The top Northern California school was
Modesto at 6, all from Cecil White.
Manual Arts, LA 26 pts 3-2nd in 880 Relay
8-Hansen, 1st in Mile, 2nd in 880
7-Requa, 1st in LH, 3rd in HH
5-Hanford, 2nd in 440, 3rd in 100
3-Watson, 2nd in Disc
Hollywood 19 5-1st in 880 Relay
6-Klein, 1st in 100, 4th in 220
5-Barnes, 1st in PV
2-Eades, 3rd in HJ
1-Smith, 4th in 440
Huntington Beach 17 2-3rd in 880 Relay
8-Nichols, 1st in HH, 2nd in LH
6-Elliott, 1st in BJ, 4th in 100
1-Gilchrist, 4th in HJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1925 - STANFORD STADIUM, PALO ALTO; SATURDAY, MAY 9
More than 100 athletes from the Southern and Central sections arrived Thursday night
and Friday, and nearly 100 more from the two other sections (Northern and North
Coast) were expected to take part in the 11th State Meet. A larger number of
quality performers were returning from previous meets than anyone could ever
remember. One was Junior Hanford of Manual Arts, who had already scored 10 points
in State Meets. Hanford won the 440 in 1923 and had placed 2nd in the 440 and 3rd
in the 100 last year. He was again trying a 100/400 double. In the 880 virtually
all the placers from 1924 returned, Ed Gloege (Covina) who had won the race, Chesley
Unruh (El Monte) who was 3rd, and Alex McKinnon (LA Poly) who was 4th. In addition
Unruh was going to run the mile and there he would be meeting Carnahan of Riverside
who was 2nd last year. The field events had strong returners also. Jack Williams
of Inglewood, 4th at 12-3 in last year's pole vault was back. And so was Al Bowen
of Santa Monica, who had finished 2nd to Coggeshall in the record high jump.
The scoring events were the same 13 contested since 1919 (100, 220, 440, 880,
Mile, HH, LH, 880 Relay, SP, Dis, PV, HJ, BJ). Exhibitions were also held in the
16-pound shot put and javelin. No heats were held this year and the Meet
started at 2 p.m.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Only two State records were set, although a couple others were nearly
equalled. Al Bowen of Santa Monica raised the high jump mark another 1/4"
with his clearance of 6-1 1/2. The other record went to Manual Arts' relay team
of Borgfeldt, Mauer, Mason, and Hanford, who blazed 1:30.5 for a State and
National record. More will be said about their performance later.
880 Relay Manual Arts, LA 1:30.5 (Nat'l)
(old 1:31.4, Pasadena, 1923)
High Jump Al Bowen (Santa Monica) 6-1 1/2
(old 6-1 1/4, Coggeshall, 1924)
HIGHLIGHTS
A light rain fell during the meet but had little effect on the track which was in
splendid condition. Three athletes ended with a first and a second place in
their specialties to share top scoring honors with 8 points. Junior Hanford
(Manual Arts) won the 100-yard dash in 10.1 in an event where he had been
considered an outsider. Later in the 440 he placed 2nd to Walter Hanson
(Concord) who ran 51 flat. Walter Floyd (Lincoln, LA) got his first place in the
220 with 22.6, and ended 2nd to Hanford in the 100. Les Eades, the Hollywood
flash, had things pretty much his own way in the highs and won by 2 yards in
a fine 15.4. In the lows, however, he lost to Clarence Norris of Santa Maria by
about the same margin. Norris was clocked in 25.1.
The 880 was almost a duplicate of last year but the order of finish was different.
This time Alex McKinnon (LA Poly) was the winner at 1:59.8, followed by Ed
Gloege of Covina and Chesley Unruh of El Monte. However Unruh was not
to be denied in the mile where he won in 4:35.2. Carnahan of Riverside was
runnerup for the second year.
Although Jack Williams of Inglewood failed to reach the height he had made a
week ago to set a new prep pole vault record, he proved how capable he was
by clearing 12-9 5/8. Hulsman of San Jose stayed with him up to the 12 feet 6
inch mark, but could not go higher. Herbert Fleishhacker, Menlo weight man,
did all that was expected of him. He won the 12 pound shot with a heave of
49-2 and took first in he 16-pound shot exhibition event with a mark of 41-1/2.
Fleishhacker threw left-handed.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
With the relay remaining as the only event to be run off, San Diego led the meet
with 11 1/2 points. Manual Arts was a close second with 11. The San Diegans
(Kemp, Powell, Penrose, and Holloway) having smashed the National
interscholastic mark last Saturday, made things look bleak for Manual Arts.
However Mason, running the 3rd leg for Manual, came through with a clutch
performance and Junior Hanford did the rest, Manual Arts winning with a new
National record 1:30.5 and the Meet with 16 points. San Diego was 2nd in both
the relay and the team title. Third was Hollywood with 12 led by 8 points from
Eades. Inglewood and Lincoln, LA, with all points from Floyd, tied for 4th at 8.
Manual Arts, LA 16 pts. 5-1st in 880 relay
8-Hanford, 1st in 100, 2nd in 440
3-Enisman, 2nd in SP
San Diego 14 3-2nd in 880 relay
5-Moeller, 1st in Dis
2 1/2-Ramser, tie for 2-3 in HJ
2-Chase, 3rd in BJ
1-Ritchie, 4th in HH
1-Hubbard, 3-way tie for 3rd in PV
Hollywood 12 2-3rd in 880 relay
8-Eades, 1st in HH, 2nd in LH
2-Meeks, 3rd in LH
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1926 - LOS ANGELES COLISEUM; SATURDAY, MAY 8
After the sensational marks established by Southern California athletes in the past
month, many people were predicting a flock of record-breaking performances in the
12th State Meet. Competition was expected to be tougher than ever with scores of
outstanding athletes from Northern California also entered. The dope sheet,
however, figured LA Poly and Hollywood to battle it out for the team championship.
Hollywood was led by hurdler Jimmy Meeks, who had placed 3rd in the lows last year.
He was expected to get his biggest challenge from Jimmy Payne of San Bernardino who
ran 4th in that race, but set a National low hurdle record of 23.8 last Saturday.
Other prominent returnees from last year's State Meet were Doug Knowles of
Bakersfield (4th in the 880), Jack Ferguson of Inglewood (3rd in the mile), and
Eddie Moeller of San Diego, who had won the discus.
The javelin was reinstated as a scoring event after an absence of 7 years, bringing
to 14 the events contested. Roughly 70 schools were entered in the first State
Meet to be held at the Coliseum. Competition began at 2 o'clock.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Headlines told the story: "World Hurdle, Relay Records Go By Boards; Meeks Runs
High Sticks in 15.1; Wehner Steps Hundred in 9.8." A tremendous record-breaking
performance! Ross Nichols' high hurdle record, expected by many to last for years,
was broken decisively by Jimmy Meeks (Hollywood). And not only did he break
Nichols' State Meet mark with his 15.1, he also broke the National mark of 15.2!
The low hurdle mark got demolished also, and by a full second. Jimmy Payne of San
Bernardino took no pity on the old mark when he winged to a 23.9 clocking. Many
years would pass before this was equalled.
The 100 yard mark gave significant ground too. Never before in State Meet history
had 10 flat been broken, but Cliff Gantt of LA Poly ran 9.9 to win his heat and
Dick Wehner of Brawley broke that mark in the final. Wehner blazed to a 9.8 in
beating Cecil Howard of Compton and Frank Wykoff of Glendale. Gantt finished 5th
in the final. A new javelin mark was set by Lauterwasser of SF Poly and the 880
relay record fell for the 2nd year in a row. The Hollywood team of Ritchie,
Talbot, Bryan, and Johnson nearly flew as they set a new National mark of 1:29.9.
100 Cliff Gantt (LA Poly) 9.9
(old 10.0, Melville, 1917; Sudden,
1920; Lee, 1923; Pollock, 1923)
100 Dick Wehner (Brawley) 9.8 (=Nat'l)
(old 9.9, Gantt, 1926)
880 Relay Hollywood 1:29.9 (Nat'l)
(old 1:30.5, Manual Arts, 1925)
High Hurdles Jimmy Meeks (Hollywood) 15.1 (Nat'l)
(old 15.3, Nichols, 1924)
Low Hurdles Jimmy Payne (San Bernardino) 23.9
(old 24.9, Kaer, 1923)
Javelin Lauterwasser (SF Poly) 172-0
(old 164-3, Dunlap, 1918)
HIGHLIGHTS
A crowd of some 10,000 fans raised the roof at one of the greatest State Meets ever.
Jimmy Meeks came in 2nd to Payne in the lows which, with his record win in the
highs, tied him for high scoring honors with 8 points. The other athlete with 8
was Eddie Moeller of San Diego. He won the discus for the second year in a row at
a near record 142-5 3/4 and placed 2nd in the shot to Maury Lauterman (LA Poly) who
won at 49-1/4. Doug Knowles (Bakersfield) won the 880 in a slow 2:01.2 over Bill
McGeagh (LA Poly), and Jack Ferguson (Inglewood) won the mile in 4:35.7 over
Breeding of Santa Ana. Except for the javelin, the field event performances were
nowhere close to records.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
The team title boiled down to two teams, LA Poly and Hollywood, and LA Poly
prevailed by scoring 17 points. They were led by first places from Lauterman in
the shot and Cliff Gantt in the 440 (50.0). Hollywood scored 15 points, mostly
from the 8 points of Meeks and the record relay team. Next were San Diego with
11 3/4, Lincoln, LA with 11 1/2, and Compton with 10.
LA Poly 17 pts. 5-Gantt, 1st in 440
5-Lauterman, 1st in SP
3-McGeagh, 2nd in 880
2-Powers, 3rd in HH
2-Patterson, 3rd in Mile
Hollywood 15 5-1st in 880 relay
8-Meeks, 1st in HH, 2nd in LH
1-Johnson, 4th in 220
1-Chapman, 4th in 440
San Diego 11 3/4 8-Moeller, 1st in Dis, 2nd in SP
2 3/4-Hubbard, 4-way tie for 1st in PV
1-Brown, 4th in Mile
Lincoln, LA 11 1/2 2-3rd in 880 relay
5-Rehwald, 1st in BJ
3-Harrison, 2nd in 220
1 1/2-Williams, tie for 3-4 in HJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1927 - MODESTO HIGH SCHOOL; SATURDAY, MAY 7
The 13th State Meet moved back to Northern California but the power was still with
the southern schools. There were a number of athletes returning who had scored
points in last year's meet. First were Dick Wehner of Brawley, 100 record holder,
and Frank Wykoff of Glendale who had placed 3rd as a sophomore in Wehner's record
100. Shore of Pasadena who had placed 3rd in the 440 was back, as was Bill
McGeagh, LA Poly star who was runnerup in the 880. Add to these Breeding
(Santa Ana), 2nd in last year's mile, and Pasadena's Jeddy Welch, 3rd to Payne and
Meeks in the record lows, and the quality of competition becomes evident.
The same 14 events as last year scored points, but a new points system would be
tried in the relay for the first time. It was decided to score the relay double
(10-6-4-2), keeping the individual events at 5-3-2-1. It was to be a short-lived
experiment.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Frank Wykoff tied Wehner's record not once but twice. He won both his heat and the
final in 9.8. He also won the 220 in an amazing 21.0, but this record was
disallowed. One other record went on the books and it was a big surprise. The
high hurdle mark fell again, and not by a little bit. Jimmy Meeks' mark was broken
by an unbelievable 3/10 by Jeddy Welch of Pasadena. His new mark was 14.8.
Remember that the State Meet record was 15.8 going into the 1923 meet!
High Hurdles Jeddy Welch (Pasadena) 14.8
(old 15.1, Meeks, 1926)
100 Frank Wykoff (Glendale) 9.8
(ties old, Wehner)
HIGHLIGHTS
The Meet was run on a sandy track across which a stiff breeze blew most of the
time. Lowering skies threatened rain throughout, but the first drops did not fall
until 5 minutes after the final event. The Meet could well have been called "Frank
Wykoff and Friends." Wykoff of Glendale duplicated Harry Hamport's 1916 feat of
winning 3 events in leading his team to victory. First he tied Wehner's record in
the 100 at 9.8, nosing out his teammate, Russell Slocum. Following this he
strolled over to the broad jump pit and won that with a leap of 22-2. His 3rd
victory of the day was in the 220, which he won by two yards over Hables of King
City, who in turn finished a yard ahead of Slocum. Wehner was entered in the Meet
but did not place in either sprint.
Jeddy Welch of Pasadena had a great day although being overshadowed by Wykoff. He
won the lows in 24.0 to go along with his record in the highs. Steiner of Chaffey
was the third highest point scorer at 8. He won the discus at 135-9 and came 2nd
to Harold Falter of Glendale in the shot.
Shore (Pasadena) placed second to Percy McArthur (Huntington Beach) in the quarter,
the winning time being 51.0. Bill McGeagh (LA Poly) won the 880 in 2:02.8 and
Cliff Halstead (Sacramento) won the mile over the favorite Breeding (Santa Ana) in
4:33.6.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1 except relay scored 10-6-4-2)
Glendale won the team title by a lopsided score tallying 35 points, more than twice
the points of runnerup Pasadena. The relay team of Glendale (Wykoff, Maitland,
Zain, and Slocum) got a win at 1:31.8, finishing about 20 yards ahead of Santa Ana,
which when added to Wykoff's 15 points easily sewed up the victory. But they got
more than that. Falter won the shot at 49-9 5/8 and Slocum scored 5 points in the
sprints. It was a great team and it would be 1950 before another team could score
5 firsts! Pasadena, behind Welch, was a distant second at 17, followed by Santa
Ana (11), San Diego (9), and Chaffey with Steiner (8).
Glendale 35 pts. 10-1st in 880 relay
15-Wykoff, 1st in 100, 1st in 220, 1st in BJ
5-Flater, 1st in SP
5-Slocum, 2nd in 100, 3rd in 220
Pasadena 17 4-3rd in 880 relay
10-Welch, 1st in HH, 1st in LH
3-Shore, 2nd in 440
Santa Ana 11 6-2nd in 880 relay
3-Breeding, 2nd in Mile
1-Baer, 4th in 220
1-Velarde, 4th in BJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1928 - SELMA HIGH SCHOOL; SATURDAY, MAY 5
One of the greatest collections of high school track and field athletes California
had ever produced was on hand to vie for individual and team honors in the 14th
State Meet at Selma, a little town 20 miles SE of Fresno. Two hundred athletes
representing 76 schools would compete both in qualifying heats and finals on the
afternoon program. Glendale, with Frank Wykoff, crack dash man, heading its squad
was given a chance of scoring 20 points but to score that many Wykoff would have to
reverse a decision Lombardi of Los Angeles High won over him in the 220 last week.
Another runner back from last year was Herb Welch of Visalia who had taken 3rd
place in the 880 as a sophomore.
In the field events Dudley Stephens of Woodland returned after placing 2nd in the
discus, also as a soph. William Miller of San Diego, last year's pole vault
winner, was back too and last Saturday he had vaulted 13-2 5/8. A repeat of this
mark would erase Lee Barnes' State Meet record.
Fourteen scoring events were again contested (100, 220, 440, Mile, HH, LH, 880
Relay, SP, Dis, Jav, PV, HJ, BJ). Last year's experiment of scoring double points
in the relay was dropped and would not be tried again.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Records came crashing down from every direction in a prep competition marked by
brilliant performances. Frank Lombardi, 19-year-old from Los Angeles High, ran 101
yards in 9.6 seconds to dramatically break the Meet 100 mark and equal the World
record. The extra was a penalty for jumping the gun and his time, clocked by seven
officials, was considered astounding. Frank Wykoff (Glendale) was second.
Coming back in the 220, both Lombardi and Wykoff shattered the State meet record
set in 1920 when they broke the tape abreast in 21.4 seconds. They were given a
tie for the race, the first time this had been done. Lombardi ended the Meet by
anchoring his relay team to a new State Meet record, being timed in 1:29.6. In all
three events, Lombardi came from behind with a tremendous spurt just before the
tape.
The pole vault record remained untouched but new records were rung up in the
javelin, high jmp, and broad jump. The most notable of these was probably Dick
Barber's (Long Beach) 23-5 1/4 jump to better Morton Kaer's record which had lasted
since 1923.
100 Frank Lombardi (Los Angeles) 9.6 (= World)
(old 9.8, Wehner, 1926 and Wykoff, 1927)
220 Frank Lombardi (Los Angeles) and 21.4
Frank Wykoff (Glendale)
(old 21.8, Sudden, 1920)
880 Relay Los Angeles 1:29.6
(old 1:29.9, Hollywood, 1926)
Javelin Ken McKenzie (Oxnard) 174-4 7/8
(old 172-0, Lauterwasser, 1926)
High Jump Henry Lassalette (Puente) and 6-2 3/16
Bob Van Osdel (Compton)
(old 6-1 1/2, Bowen, 1925)
Note: In an exhibition leap afterwards,
Lassalette cleared 6-4 1/2.
Broad Jump Dick Barber (Long Beach) 23-5 1/4
(old 23-2 3/4, Kaer, 1923)
HIGHLIGHTS
Despite Lombardi's fantastic performance, the high scorer of the Meet was Joe Bills
of Long Beach. Bills won the highs in 15.6 over Berry (Fairfax, LA) and won the
lows in 24.8 over Velarde (Santa Ana). Carl Childreth, also of Long Beach, won the
440 in 50.2. Herb Welch (Visalia) took the 880 in 2:01.2, Moran of Piedmont
finishing second. Welch also got a 4th in the mile. Dudley Stephens won the
discus with a mark of 135-1 3/8, fourth best mark in Meet history. Bill Miller of
San Diego won the pole vault at 12-9 1/2 but 13 feet remained untouched in the
State Meet.
One disqualification was written into the books. Minch of Inglewood won the mile
in 4:39.0 but was disqualified because inspectors charged him with cutting in. The
win reverted to the second-place man, Dick Brooks of Redlands.
The extremely warm weather handicapped some of the athletes from the northern part
of the State, and several collapsed on the track. Only a slight wind was
noticeable and it favored no one as it blew across the field. About 2,000 persons
were on hand for the Meet.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1)
Long Beach High School, with Joe Bills leading the way, won the team title with 21
points. Los Angeles, due mainly to the fantastic day had by Lombardi, placed 2nd
with 16 points. Third place went to Glendale with 10, followed by Redlands with 8.
Wykoff, who accounted for 7 of Glendale's points, made the US Olympic team later
this year and ran leadoff leg for the 400 meter relay team which won in 41 flat.
In succeeding years he was to set the World's 100 yard record and also compete in
two more Olympics. He anchored the US sprint team relay in 1932, which was a 40.0
winner, and also anchored the great 1936 team (Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Foy
Draper, Frank Wykoff) to its Olympic record 39.8 (Italy 2nd in 41.1!), a mark which
would stand until 1956.
Long Beach 21 pts. 1-4th in 880 relay
10-Bills, 1st in HH, 1st in LH
5-Childreth, 1st in 440
5-Barber, 1st in BJ
Los Angeles 16 5-1st in 880 relay
9-Lombardi, 1st in 100, tie for 1st in 220
2-Houck, 3rd in 440
Glendale 10 3-2nd in 880 relay
7-Wykoff, 2nd in 100, tie for 1st in 220
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1929 - LOS ANGELES COLISEUM; SATURDAY, MAY 11
The 15th State Meet was held in the Coliseum for the second time and San Diego
looked like a slight favorite for team honors. Individual talent was present in
abundance. An amazing four winners from last year's Meet were back to try to
repeat in their specialties. William Miller of San Diego was one of the returners,
having won the pole vault in both 1927 and 1928. Miller cleared 13-3 earlier this
year, which is higher than the State Meet mark. The other winners back were 880
champ Herb Welch (Visalia), Dudley Stephens (Woodland), discus ace, and Ken
McKenzie (Oxnard), State Meet record holder in the javelin.
Two novel ideas were being tried in this Meet. First the system of scoring the
Meet was changed, allowing 5th placers in each of the 14 events to score points.
The new scoring system was 5-3-2-1-1/2. The second inovation was to interrupt the
Meet for a few minutes to let Ray Conger, America's premiere miler representing the
Illinois Athletic Club, take a crack at setting a U.S. record in the 1000 yard run.
Conger would be paced by a quartet of U.S.C. athletes (McGeagh, Gloege, Schurr, and
Hammatt) in his attempt to fracture Lawrence Brown's record of 2:12.4.
This is the earliest Meet where a complete time schedule of events is available
and is given below.
TRACK FIELD
1:30 100 heats 1:30 Pole Vault
1:45 HH heats 1:30 Shot Put
2:00 100 finals 1:30 Broad Jump
2:15 HH finals 2:35 16-lb Shot Put exhibition
2:30 880 3:00 Javelin
2:45 220 heats 3:35 Discus
3:00 LH heats 4:05 High Jump
3:15 440
3:25 220 finals
3:50 880 Relay heats
4:05 Mile
4:30 880 Relay finals
There was an extremely short time between heats and finals!
STATE MEET RECORDS
Three State Meet records were set and two more tied in a day of exciting
competition. The biggest surprise was San Diego's Irving Warburton in his quarter
mile record-equalling race. Warburton placed fourth in the southern meet two weeks
ago, but today he got out in front early, piled up a lead of five yards, and held
it with a fighting finish right up to the tape. This tied Schiller's 49.6 set way
back in 1918. Herb Welch (Visalia) brought the 880 record down to 1:58.4, winning
by five yards, and Jimmy Wilson (San Diego) equalled the 220 record set last year
by Lombardi and Wykoff. The field events produced the other two records, Yancey of
Compton upping the javelin record to 182.35 and Marty of Fresno clearing the high
jump bar at 6-4 1/4.
880 Herb Welch (Visalia) 1:58.4
(old 1:59.0, Lockhart, 1923)
Javelin Yancey (Compton) 192.35
(old 174-4 7/8, McKenzie, 1928)
High Jump Walter Marty (Fresno) 6-4 1/4
(old 6-2 3/16, Lassalette and Van Osdel, 1928)
220 Jimmy Wilson (San Diego) 21.4
(ties old, Lombardi 1928 and Wykoff, 1928)
440 Irving Warburton (San Diego) 49.6
(ties old, Schiller, 1918)
HIGHLIGHTS
Pee-wee sprinter Jimmy Wilson from San Diego was the high individual scorer in the
meet, winning the 100 in 9.8 over Mass of Fresno and the 220 in the record-tying
21.4 over Jordan of Jefferson, LA. Norman Paul from Santa Ana scored 8 points in
winning the lows in 24 flat over his teammate Reboin and taking a second in the
broad jump to Rudy of Hollywood. William Miller of San Diego won the pole vault
for the 3rd year in a row, the winning height being 12-6. He was to set an Olympic
record in 1932 by winning at 14-1 7/8.
Dudley Stephans (Woodland) won the discus for the second time with a toss of 134.71
feet. Ken McKenzie (Oxnard) finished 2nd to Yancey in the record javelin
competition. Nelson Gray of Chaffey threw the shot the second farthest in State
history, winning with a heave of 53-5 1/2. Only Houser's 1922 record was better.
Conger missed badly in his assault on the 1000 yard record, finishing the
exhibition event in 2:16.2, almost 4 seconds too slow.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1-1/2)
The team title was all San Diego, with Wilson's two first places and one each from
Warburton and Miller. They ended with 22 3/4 points. In second place was
Hollywood at 16 1/2, led by first places from Bernie Miller in the highs (15.4) and
Wells Ruby in the broad jump (22-7 1/4). Santa Ana was next with 11, followed by
Jefferson, LA at 10 1/2 and Los Angeles and Fresno tied at 9.
San Diego 22 3/4 pts. 2-3rd in 880 relay
10-Wilson, 1st in 100, 1st in 220
5-Warburton, 1st in 440
5-Miller, 1st in PV
3/4-Reed, tie for 4-5 in HJ
Hollywood 16 1/2 3-2nd in 880 relay
5-Miller, 1st in HH
5-Ruby, 1st in BJ
3-Rogers, 2nd in 440
1/2-Obersfall, 5h in 880
Santa Ana 11 8-Paul, 1st in LH, 2nd in BJ
3-Reboin, 2nd in LH
from DyeStatCal (05/31/04)
A one-day, male only (no ladies until 1974 at the 56th annual of these affairs), state meet had the
athletes running heats in the High Hurdles, Low Hurdles (220 yard distance in those days) 100y,
200y, and 880 yard relay (the only baton even back at that time), then coming back for finals,
sometimes within a half an hour. This was quite a test for one's speed/endurance, with Jimmy
Wilson (San Diego) pulling off the 100 yard-220 yard double at 9.8 and a record-tying 21.4 for the
half lap event. He led his team to the title with 22 3/4 points (scoring at that time 5-3-2-1-1/2), with
teammate William Miller (the eventual 1932 Olympic Champ in the LA Coliseum Games in a record
for that competition at 14-01 7/8) taking the Pole Vault for the winning team at 12-06.
There were a number of records set in the 1929 competition. Irving Warburton of the winning San
Diego HS team raced to a 49.6 tie of the State meet record, coming back from a 4th in the Southern
Section meet two weeks previous (San Diego Schools were a part of the Southern Section back in
those days when there were not a ton of high schools anywhere!). Herb Welch (Visalia) won the 880
for the second year in a row, taking down the 1:59.0 record to 1:58.4. Yancey of Compton upped
the meet record in the Javelin (yes the javelin was thrown in those days!) with a 182-0 3/5 effort, with
Walter Marty (Fresno) taking the HJ up to 6-04.25 (from 6-02 3/16). Jim Wilson's 200 of
21.4 tied the old record set by Frank Lombari (Los Angeles HS) and Frank Wykoff (Glendale HS,
who went on to the Olympics in 1928 as a prep and won a gold medal in the relay!).
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1930 - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY; SATURDAY, MAY 10
Athletes from 77 California high schools were entered in the 16th Annual Track Meet
of the California Interscholastic Federation. More than 175 athletes would compete
in the Meet scheduled for 1:30. However heats in the relay would be run at 10:30.
Northern California fans were hoping for a northern high school to finally break
the jinx and win a State championship. Southern teams had won 15 straight. But
returning athletes from last year's Meet seemed to indicate a southern team again.
The best sprinter back seemed to be Al Koenig of Huntington Beach. He had placed
4th in the 100 and 3rd in the 220 last year behind Jimmy Willson's great
performances. Warburton of San Diego, who tied the 440 record, was back as was
Phil Morentin (Visalia), 3rd place finisher in the mile. Norman Paul from Santa
Ana returned to defend his low hurdle crown, but he was threatened by George
Shehtanian (Tulare) who ended 3rd last year. The best returnee in the field events
were probably Crawford of Los Angeles in the broad jump, following a 3rd place
finish last year.
Fourteen scoring events were on the agenda, and last year's scoring system of
5-3-2-1-1/2 was still in effect. A more balanced Meet will probably never be
contested.
STATE MEET RECORDS
None.
HIGHLIGHTS
George Shehtanian (Tulare) was the individual star of the Meet, scoring 9 points in
three events. He won the broad jump at 23-2 5/8, close to the State record, and
also finished 2nd in the lows and 4th in the highs. Norman Paul (Santa Ana) won
the lows for the second straight year, this time in 24.2.
Al Koenig (Huntington Beach) won the 100 in 10.1 and finished 3rd in the 220 behind
Ashley Burch (Jordan, LA) who ran 21.8. Irving Warburton of San Diego came in 2nd
in his attempt to repeat in the quarter, beaten by Carl Satterfield of Manual Arts.
Satterfield clocked 50.3. In the mile Phil Morentin (Visalia) was the winner in
4:31.0, 3rd fastest in Meet history. Crawford of LA High moved up one place in the
broad jump but had to settle for 2nd to Shehtanian. Despite Shehtanian this was
one of the most lacklustre State Meets to date.
On this same afternoon, however, Frank Wykoff, star of the 1927 State Meet, set the
World's 100 record of 9.4 while competing for U.S.C. in the AAU meet in Los Angeles.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-3-2-1-1/2)
For the first time, a tie for the championship existed, and it was a 3-way, not a
2-way, tie. Sacramento, Santa Ana, and San Diego all scored 11 points, Redwood
City had 10, and Tulare, with all points by Shehtanian, had 9. If the last event
on the program, the 880 relay, had ended almost any other way, no tie would have
existed. And you could play games with the scoring system also. If the old system
of 5-3-2-1 had been in effect, it would have been a two-way tie between Santa Ana
and San Diego. But if the scoring system of next year and later years (either
5-4-3-2-1 or 6-4-3-2-1) had been used, Sacramento would have had first place all to
itself, winning by either 2 or 3 points. Northerners were happy, however, to
finally get at least a tie.
Sacramento 11 pts 2-3rd in 880 relay
4-Theodoratus, 3rd in SP, 3rd in Dis
3-Johnson, 2nd in HH
1-Barnett, 4th in Mile
1/2-Wells, 5th in 100
1/2-Cochran, 5th in 220
Santa Ana 11 3-2nd in 880 relay
6-Paul, 1st in LH, 4th in BJ
2-Reboin, 3rd in HH
San Diego 11 5-1st in 880 relay
3-Ortiz, 2nd in 100
3-Warburton, 2nd in 440
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1931 - RECREATION PARK, VISALIA; SATURDAY, MAY 23
The date for the 17th State Meet was moved 2 weeks closer to summer and the site
was Visalia, about halfway between Bakersfield and Fresno. At least three records
were expected to be broken, the 440, 880 relay, and broad jump. John McCarthy
(Fairfax, LA) had run under 49 flat twice this season and had a great shot at the
49.6 State Meet mark. The LA Poly relay team had bettered the National
interscholastic record three different times, winning the Southern meet in 1:28.2,
and looked like a cinch. In the broad jump either Floyd Wilson of Riverdale or
Melo Almada of Los Angeles High should do the job. Wilson's best effort this
season was 23-10 1/2, a new National prep mark, while Almada was improving steadily,
leaping more than 23 feet in his last three meets.
There were still other great athletes back from last year's Meet. Ashley Burch
(Jordan, LA) returned to try to keep his 220 crown. Carl Satterfield (Manual
Arts), last year's 440 king, was back but would switch to the 880. Phil Morentin
from host Visalia would try to keep his mile title on his home track. In the field
events Don Carter (Franklin, LA) returned to try to repeat in the shot and George
Theodoratus (Sacramento) would attempt to make his presence felt after placing 3rd
in both the shot and discus last year.
The same 14 scoring events contested since 1926 were again on the schedule, but the
scoring system was changed to 5-4-3-2-1 for the first time. This took a lot of the
sting out of first place points and in retrospect was probably a step backward.
Three 2nd places now would easily beat two 1st places, where in the old system the
reverse was true. This scoring system would last until 1966. The Meet was to
start at 1:30 with trial heats in sprints, hurdles, and relay. Visalia had worked
hard in preparing for the Meet and the track appeared to be in great shape. The
440 would be run around one curve.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Two new State Meet records were set and one was tied, the new half mile record
being the only surprise. John McCarthy (Fairfax, LA) demolished the old 440
record, running a great 48.7. He won by only a foot, however, over LA Poly's Jimmy
LuValle. LA Poly, everyone's choice to win the relay in a new record, was forced
to use a substitute runner and ended 2nd to Huntington Park's record-equalling
1:29.6. Carl Satterfield (Manual Arts), last year's 440 champ, moved up to the 880
and, surprising many, brought the State Meet record down to 1:57.6.
440 John McCarthy (Fairfax, LA) 48.7
(old 49.6, Schiller, 1918 and Warburton, 1929)
880 Carl Satterfield (Manual Arts, LA) 1:57.6
(old 1:58.4, Welch, 1929)
880 Relay Huntington Park 1:29.6
(ties old, Los Angeles, 1928)
HIGHLIGHTS
The top scorer of the Meet turned out to be George Theodoratus, Sacramento's
240-pound weight tosser, with 9 points. He won the discus at 132-1 1/2 and placed
2nd in the shot put to Don Carter (Franklin, LA) who won his 2nd crown, this time
at 52-10. Little Foy Draper of Huntington Park took the 100 in 9.9 over the
favorite, Al Fitch of Pasadena, and Ashley Burch of Jordan, LA repeated in the 220
with a 21.5, only 1/10 over the State record. Phil Morentin (Visalia) won his 2nd
mile title at 4:32.8. Blankenship's 1915 record of 4:30.0 still remained untouched
after all these years.
Floyd Wilson of Riverside won the broad jump at 23-2 5/8, missing the State Meet
record by about 3 inches. Almada of LA was second. About 4000 fans turned out to
watch the Meet.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
The team title was back on a positive note after last year's tie, LA Poly winning
with 19 1/2 points. Their points came from many sources, including Stankovich's
tie for first in the pole vault (12-8 1/4) and the 2nd in the 880 relay.
Sacramento, behind Theodoratus's 9 points, finished 2nd at 13. Huntington Park had
11, followed by Manual Arts of LA and Fairfax at 9 and Los Angeles with 8.
LA Poly 19 1/2 pts. 4-2nd in 880 relay
7-Hopson, 2nd in 220, 3rd in 100
4 1/2-Stankovich, tie for 1st in PV
4-LuValle, 2nd in 440
Sacramento 13 1-5th in 880 relay
9-Theodoratus, 1st in Dis, 2nd in SP
2-Swanston, 4th in 440
1-Leman, 5th in Mile
Huntington Park 11 5-1st in 880 relay
5-Draper, 1st in 100
1-Heigold, 5th in HJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1932 - MODESTO JUNIOR COLLEGE; SATURDAY, MAY 21
Nearly 300 athletes representing 92 high schools were entered in the 18th State
Track Meet held in Modesto. Four schools were given a chance of winning the team
title, Long Beach, Los Angeles Poly (winner last year), San Diego, and Hoover of
Glendale. And four individuals back from last year's meet in Visalia were looked
upon to provide great marks. First was Foy Draper (Huntington Park) who won the
1931 100 and was entered in both dashes. He was expected to get plenty of
competition from Holt of Hoover, Glendale, last year's 4th placer in the 100.
Virgil Hooper of Antelope Valley returned in the mile after tieing for 3rd place.
He finished 2nd last year.
The same 14 scoring events (100, 220, 440, 880, Mile, HH, LH, 880 Relay, SP, Dis,
Jav, PV, HJ, BJ) were contested again this year and the scoring system of 5-4-3-2-1
remained in effect. The schedule for the Meet was very similar to 1929, but an
exhibition in the football throw was added.
TRACK FIELD
1:30 100 heats 1:00 Pole Vault
1:45 HH heats 1:30 Shot Put
2:00 100 finals 1:30 High Jump
2:15 HH finals 1:30 Football Throw exhibition
2:30 880 3:00 Broad Jump
2:45 220 heats 3:00 Javelin
3:00 LH heats 3:00 Discus
3:15 440 3:00 16-lb Shot Put exhibition
3:25 220 finals
3:35 LH finals
3:50 Mile
4:05 880 Relay heats
4:30 880 Relay finals
STATE MEET RECORDS
No new track records were set, probably due to the weather, but two field events
yielded new records. Buster Churchill of San Benito, Hollister threw the javelin
195-6 3/4 to destroy the old record by more than 13 feet. And this would remain
the State Meet record, probably forever, as the javelin would be dropped from the
State Meet next year. The other record was in the pole vault. Bill Sefton of LA
Poly and Tom White of Long Beach High both cleared 13-0 to remove Lee Barnes' 1924
record from the books.
Javelin Buster Churchill (San Benito, Hollister) 195-6 3/4
(old 182.25, Yancey, 1929)
Pole Vault Bill Sefton (LA Poly) and 13-0
Tom White (Long Beach)
(old 12-11 1/2, Barnes, 1924)
Note: Finishing unnoticed in a four-way
tie for 3rd place was Cornelius
Warmerdan (Hanford) who would in a
few years become the World's
greatest vaulter.
HIGHLIGHTS
Showers which fell last night and this morning held down the track marks, while
entrants in field events competed in the face of a cold north wind. Tom White,
Long Beach star, won high-point honors for the meet with 9 1/2 points. In addition
to his tie in the record-breaking pole vault, he won the broad jump at 22-10 1/2.
Foy Draper (Huntington Park) gave his all in the sprints but ended with two
seconds. Milton "Dubby" Holt (Hoover, Glendale) beat him in the 100, winning in
9.8, and George Anderson (Muir, Pasadena) clipped him in the 220 in 21.8. Virgil
Hooper (Antelope Valley, Lancaster) won the mile in 4:32.3 over Voorhees of Santa
Cruz. Jack Ward of Selma was the star in the hurdles, winning the highs in 15.0
and coming in 3rd in the all-time shot put record book with his win at 53-6.
Houser's 1922 record still stood intact. Corney Johnson (LA) won the high jump at
6-3, 1 1/4" below the State record.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
Long Beach High ran away with the team title, scoring 22 1/2 points. They were led
by 9 1/2 points from White, but also had a first in the discus by Munch
(130-11 1/2) and two 2nd places. LA Poly was a distant 2nd at 14 1/2, despite
their winning relay team (1:31.3), and Hoover, Glendale was 3rd at 10. Five
schools followed at 8, Huntington Park, Los Angeles, Muir, Selma, and San Diego.
Long Beach 22 1/2 pts. 9 1/2-White, 1st in BJ, tie for 1st in PV
5-Munch, 1st in Dis
4-Rathbun, 2nd in 880
4-Holland, 2nd in Dis
LA Poly 14 1/2 5-1st in 880 relay
5-Siegel, 1st in LH
4 1/2-Sefton, tie for 1st in PV
Hoover, Glendale 10 3-3rd in 880 relay
5-Holt, 1st in 100
2-Houston, 4th in SP
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1933 - LOS ANGELES COLISEUM; SATURDAY MAY 20
The 19th State Meet returned to the Coliseum for the 3rd time and Southern schools
were favored although being outnumbered. The CIF was currently divided into four
sections (North Coast, San Joaquin Valley, Central, and Southern) and each section
sent four men in each event.
There wee four athletes being watched closely who looked like the cream of the
crop. George Anderson, Muir Tech's sensation in both sprints, returned after
winning the 220 last year. Myrel Gillett, El Centro's great quarter miler who
finished 2nd in 1932, seemed a cinch to shatter the State record of 48.7. He ran
48.3 two weeks ago in San Diego. Virgil Hooper (Antelope Valley) won the mile last
year and placed the year before. He was considered the best prep miler developed
since Chesley Unruh (who won in 1925). And in the field events, Corney Johnson,
Los Angeles High's 1932 Olympic games high jumper (4th place), was a hands-down
favorite to win his specialty.
Several changes were made since last year. The javelin was dropped for good, the
discus was dropped for a long time (until 1949), and the football throw was added
as a scoring event. This left 13 scoring events (100, 220, 440, 880, Mile, HH, LH,
880 Relay, SP, FB throw, PV, HJ, BJ).
STATE MEET RECORDS
Five State Meet records fell and another one was established in the football throw
in its first year of scoring competition. The 440 was a walk for Myrel Gillett, El
Centro flyer, who took the lead at about the 200-yard mark and added to his edge
from then on. He won by a good ten yards and brought the record down to 48.4.
George Anderson (Muir Tec) withdrew from the 100 to concentrate on the 220 and
cracked the record there with an easy 21.2.
Virgil Hooper erased Gerald Blankenship's 18-year-old record (set in the 1st State
Meet), winning the mile in 4:29.2. Hooper ran an interesting pace, his laps being
62, 72, 72, and 63.2. Corney Johnson was responsible for two records. He
shattered the high jump mark with his clearance of 6-5 3/4 and ran anchor leg on
the relay team (Adrian Udell, Jerry Isett, George Boone, Johnson) that cracked the
Meet record with a sensational 1:28.3. Johnson was to win the high jump in the
1936 Olympics at 6-7 7/8, a new record. The football throw was won by Wilson of
Compton at 202 feet.
220 George Anderson (Muir Tech, Pasadena) 21.2
(old 21.4, Lombardi, 1928; Wykoff, 1928;
Wilson, 1929)
440 Myrel Gillett (El Centro) 48.4
(old 48.7, McCarthy, 1931)
Mile Virgil Hooper (Antelope Valley, Lancaster) 4:29.2
(old 1:29.6, Los Angeles, 1928 and
Huntington Park, 1931)
880 Relay Los Angeles 1:28.3
(old 6-4 1/4, Marty, 1929)
Football Throw Buster Johnson (Los Angeles) 202-0
(new event)
HIGHLIGHTS
High scoring for the Meet went to two individuals not involved in the record
setting. Dave Siegel of LA Poly won the 100 over Adrian Talley (South Gate) timed
in 10.0 and ended up second to Anderson in the 220. Tieing Siegel at 9 points was
hurdler Roy Kirkpatrick of El Centro, who won the lows in 24.0 and came 2nd in the
highs behind Santa Monica's Roy Staley and his 15.2.
Jim Donaldson, Hollywood's well-built shot putter, proved he is the best weight
tosser in the State by winning the 12-pound event with a heave of 54-3 and then
annexing the 16-pound exhibition at 44-6 1/4.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
El Centro's four-man team used only three of them in winning the crown with 18
points. They had the title won before the relay and withdrew from that event, not
giving Elbert Berry a chance to participate in the State Meet. Gillett had a sore
leg or they probably would have run anyway. Los Angeles placed 2nd at 17 points
behind Corney Johnson. Following next were Jefferson, LA (13), LA Poly (12), Santa
Monica (10), and Hollywood and Manual Arts, LA (9). Strode of Jefferson attempted
an odd double in the low hurdles and shot put.
El Centro 18 pts. 9-Kirkpatrick, 1st in LH, 2nd in HH
5-Gillett, 1st in 440
4-Madlem, 2nd in BJ
Los Angeles 17 5-1st in 880 Relay
5-Johnson, 1st in HJ
4-Gilmore, 2nd in 880
3-Waldthauser, 3rd in Mile
Jefferson, LA 13 7-Strode, 2nd in SP, 3rd in LH
3-O'Neal, 3rd in 100
3-Ramos, 3rd in BJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1934 - EDWARDS STADIUM, BERKELEY; SATURDAY, MAY 26
The 20th State Meet returned to Berkeley and money became a problem for the first
time in Meet history. The Los Angeles Board of Education refused permission for LA
City athletes to compete because of a shortage of funds, but changed their mind
Thursday following protests from parents and officials. It stipulated, however,
that $600 had to be raised for transportation, and the preps got around that by
foraging for rides to Berkeley in private autos. The depression finally affected
the State Meet!
The outstanding athlete in the Meet was predicted to be lanky Roy Kirkpatrick of El
Centro, who established National marks this year of 14.5 in the highs and 23.5 in
the lows. Louis Zamperini, the "Torrance Tempest," was favored in the mile after
he established a National mark last week of 4:21.3, faster than any college time on
the Coast this year.
In the dashes the favorite was Morgan of Huntington Park who had bests of 9.9 and
21.6. And in the broad jump, Don Skinner of Manual Arts looked like the best bet.
He won the event last year and had gone more than 23-10 this year, but Mack
Robinson of Muir Tech was a threat.
The same 13 events as last year were on the agenda. The Meet was scheduled for 1:30.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Six State Meet records were set and a 7th tied and all were made by Southern
Californians, several who had made the trip on last minute notice after being
declared out by the LA Board of Education. Roy Kirkpatrick of El Centro, lone
entrant from his school, was a two-record man. He flashed over the highs for his
first record in 14.7, then came back in the lows to thunder home in a record-tieing
23.9. Another record setter was Raymond Young of Riis, LA whose father was one of
those who started the ruckus to allow LA athletes to compete. Young broke two of
Bud Houser's 1922 records, first hurling the 12-pound shot 55-10 and then winning a
16-pound exhibition event with a National mark of 46-10.
Louis Zamperini (Torrance) wasn't in his best form as he "only" ran a 4:27.8 with
Mercer of Hoover, Glendale just a yard behind, but it lowered Hooper's mile mark.
Don Skinner of Manual Arts extended the broad jump mark to 23-8 1/2 and Delos
Thurber (Glendale) upped the high jump mark by 1/8" to 6-5 7/8. Gudmundsen
(Inglewood) upped the football throw by nearly 2 feet.
Mile Louis Zamperini (Torrance) 4:27.8
(old 4:29.2, Hooper, 1933)
High Hurdles Roy Kirkpatrick (El Centro) 14.7
(old 14.8, Welch, 1927)
Low Hurdles Roy Kirkpatrick (El Centro) 23.9
(ties old, Payne, 1926)
Shot Put Raymond Young (Riis, LA) 55-10
(old 55-4 4/5, Houser, 1922)
Football Throw Gudmundsen (Inglewood) 203-7 1/2
(old 202-0, Wilson, 1933)
High Jump Delos Thurber (Glendale) 6-5 7/8
(old 6-5 3/4, Johnson, 1933)
Broad Jump Don Skinner (Manual Arts, LA) 23-8 1/2
(old 23-5 1/4, Barber, 1928)
HIGHLIGHTS
There were other representative efforts, plenty good in any kind of track company
but hardly in keeping with the brilliance of the record smashers. Little Mel
Nickerson (LA Poly) and Isom (Fremont, LA) put on a pretty 880, with Nickerson
getting to the tape a foot to the good. His time of 1:58.4 would have been
marvelous in any high school meet but this one.
The 100 went to Mack Robinson of Muir Teck in an even 10 seconds, while Brainard
Worrill of Muir had a 21.8 for his winning 220. Steadman of Fullerton was second
in both. Morgan didn't qualify for either sprint final.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
Muir Tech, Pasadena got a 4th place in the relay to preserve their win with 15 1/2
points. Close behind was Manual Arts with 13 1/2. El Centro (or Kirkpatrick)
finished 3rd with 10, followed by Hoover of Glendale with 9 1/2 and Fullerton,
Glendale, and LA Poly each with 9.
Muir Tech, Pasadena 15 1/2 pts 2-4th in 880 relay
7-Robinson, 1st in 100, 4th in BJ
5-Worrill, 1st in 220
1 1/2-Cunningham, tie for 4-5 in HJ
Manual Arts, LA 13 1/2 5-1st in 880 relay
5-Skinner, 1st in BJ
3 1/2-McDaniel, tie for 2-3 in HJ
El Centro 10 10-Kirkpatrick, 1st in HH, 1st in LH
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1935 - RATCLIFFE STADIUM, FRESNO; SATURDAY, MAY 25
After a long absence, the 21st State Meet finally returned to Fresno, which had
hosted the 1st State Meet in 1915. There was only one problem to detract from a
great Meet. The LA Board of Education would not allow LA City schools to send any
entrants to out-of-town meets, so teams like Manual Arts, Jefferson, and LA Poly
were not entered. The problem was money. LA City schools had won nearly half of
the State Meets to date.
For the first time the Meet was to be held at night under the lights, and it was
not known how this would affect record-breaking performances. Muir Tech of
Pasadena was a top-heavy favorite to retain their 1934 crown. Muir entered a
four-man team headed by Brainard Worrill, last year's 220 champion. However
Worrill did not qualify for the 220 this time but was expected to get points in the
100. There were very few others back who had scored points in 1934. One was
Howard Upton, Turlock quarter-miler. Upton, who took 3rd in the 440 last year, ran
48.7 a week ago in winning his qualifying meet by 25 yards.
Dick Clarke (Hoover, Glendale) returned in the pole vault after ending in a 3-way
tie for first last time. In the hurdles the only point scorer back was Hawkins of
Santa Ana who was 3rd in the highs in '34.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Records were tougher to come by this year than they had been in a long time. The
lone new record was in the football throw, which had only been contested since
1933. John Raitt (Fullerton) upped the record by more than 16 feet to 220-0.
Two other records were tied. In the 100 Bob Frick from San Ramon won in 9.6 over
Nelson of Pasadena, equalling Lombardi's 1928 standard. And in the 880, Ralph Wood
from Carpinteria equalled Satterfield's record, with Sinclair of Torrance running
second.
Burt Price (Excelsior, Norwald) won the 220 in a record-equalling 21.2, but the
mark was subsequently disallowed for record purposes.
Football Throw John Raitt (Fullerton) 220-0
(old 203-7 1/2, Gudmundsen, 1934)
100 Bob Frick (San Ramon) 9.6
(ties old, Lombardi, 1928)
880 Ralph Wood (Carpinteria) 1:57.6
(ties old, Satterfield, 1931)
HIGHLIGHTS
Howard Upton (Turlock) came through as expected in the quarter, winning over Miller
of Fullerton in a fine 48.9. Bud Bayer from Paso Robles won the mile in 4:30.4,
and Hawkins (Santa Ana) placed in both hurdles, second in the highs behind
Monrovia's Johnny Lindell (15.0) and fourth in the lows behind Joe Davis
(Inglewood) and his 24.2.
John Raitt (Fullerton) got his first place in the shot at a great 55-5 1/4 to go
with his football throw record, and was high individual scorer with 10 points.
Dick Clarke (Hoover, Glendale) won the pole vault at 12-10 1/2, only an inch and a
half below the State Meet mark but half an inch higher than he cleared last year in
tieing for first place.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
For the first time the football throw influenced the outcome of the State Meet, and
for the first time only two athletes were needed to capture the title. Fullerton,
behind Raitt's 10 points, won the Meet with 14. Barely behind at 13 3/4 points was
Hoover, Glendale, getting 8 3/4 points from their 3 pole vaulters. Tied for third
were Inglewood and Santa Monica with 12, followed by Pasadena and Muir Tech with
11. Worrill's failure to score any points for Muir led to their defeat.
In the Los Angeles All-City meet held in the Coliseum on June 15th, Jefferson took
the crown. Whether they would have been a factor in this State Meet will never be
known.
Fullerton 14 pts. 10-Raitt, 1st in SP, 1st in FB throw
4-Miller, 2nd in 440
Hoover, Glendale 13 3/4 5-Clarke, 1st in PV
3 1/2-Wonscott, tie for 2-3 in PV
3-Guildner, 3-way tie for 2nd in HJ
2-Thompson, 4th in 220
1/4-Hoffman, 4-way tie for 5th in PV
Inglewood 12 2-4th in 880 relay
6-Davis, 1st in LH, 5th in HH
4-Coles, 2nd in SP
Santa Monica 12 5-1st in 880 relay
4-Friedman, 2nd in FB throw
3-Sims, 3rd in 220
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1936 - GRIDLEY HIGH SCHOOL; SATURDAY, MAY 23
The small town of Gridley, about 60 miles north of Sacramento, acted as host for
the 22nd State Meet and once again no LA City schools would be entered. There
would be plenty of Southern California schools in the competition, however, and the
favorite was Wilson of Long Beach. They had won the Southern Section title last
Saturday. The "dark horse" in the field appeared to be Muir Tech, mainly because
of the addition to its team of one of their JV stars. Eddie Arnold set a new
Southern California JV record of 23-2 1/2 in the broad jump title last week and he
was given permission to compete in the State Meet for the Muir varsity. Jack
Robinson, another Muir competitor, had won the varsity broad jump at 23-0 3/4,
almost two inches less than Arnold! Since Arnold and Robinson were the only prep
broad jumpers in the State to better 23 feet in the sectionals, tney were favored
to finish one-two.
There were essentially no point scorers back from the 1935 meet with one exception.
Les Steers, Palo Alto's fine high jumper, returned after winning last year at
Fresno as a sophomore at 6-2. The only record thought to be seriously threatened
was the pole vault, where Bodkin of Inglewood or Ono of Analy (Sebastopol) might
beat the present standard of 13-0.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Only one new record was established which was probably due in large part to the
weather. Jerry Lopes of Placer, Auburn ran the 880 in 1:57.1, beating the old
record by half a second. Runnerup in the record run was Delapp of Montebello.
880 Jerry Lopes (Placer, Auburn) 1:57.1
(old 1:57.6, Satterfield, 1931
and Woods, 1935)
HIGHLIGHTS
There was no breeze during the meet and the temperature reached 90 in the shade.
The 2,000 spectators seemed nearly as much affected by the heat as the 125
participants. Two sprinters shared high point honors at 9. Farmer Brady of host
Gridley blazed the 220 in 21.6 to win over Mickey Anderson (Muir Tech). In the 100
the tables were turned, Anderson winning in 9.7 with Brady second. Brady scored
all of Gridley's points.
Simon Scott of Tamalpais won the mile in 4:31.2, not bad considering the heat.
Jack Russell (Fillmore) ran a good 24.2 to take the lows. Dave Bodkin (Inglewood)
won the pole vault in 12-11 with Ono of Analy in a 3-way tie for second. Les
Steers (Palo Alto) repeated in the high jump, the winning height only 6-0 3/4.
Santa Monica won the relay in 1:29.3, second-fastest winning time in Meet history.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
Eddie Arnold's elevation from the JV team to the varsity proved to be the deciding
factor in Muir's winning the State Meet with 18 points. Arnold won the broad jump
with a great 23-1 3/4, Mickey Anderson got 9 points in the sprints, and Muir came
in 2nd in the relay. For some reason, Jack Robinson did not score in the broad
jump. Second in the Meet went to Wilson of Long Beach with 13 points, followed
closely by Sacramento with 12. Doug Busby got 8 of Sacramento's points with a win
in the highs (15.7) and a 3rd place in the lows. Finishing in a tie for 4th were
Berkeley and Gridley at 9.
Los Angeles High won the All-City meet this year, but were banned from the State
Meet along with all other LA City schools.
Muir Tech, Pasadena 18 pts. 4-2nd in 880 relay
9-Anderson, 1st in 100, 2nd in 220
5-Arnold, 1st in BJ
Wilson, Long Beach 13 3-3rd in 880 relay
5-Gray, 1st in 440
4-Putnam, 3rd in 100, 5th in 220
1-Loughhead, 5th in HJ
Sacramento 12 8-Busby, 1st in HH, 3rd in LH
4-Wolff, 2nd in HJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1937 - WILSON HIGH, LONG BEACH; SATURDAY, MAY 22
The press was adamant. The Jefferson, LA Democrats, coached by Harry Edelson,
would win the 23rd State Meet hands down. They couldn't miss! The best thing,
though, was that LA City schools were back in the Meet for the first time since
1934. This was again a STATE Meet.
Returners from last year were scarce. In the running events essentially no one was
back. In the field events there were a few. Ono from Analy, who tied for 2nd in
last year's pole vault was back. And so were Les Steers (Palo Alto), two-time
winner of the State high jump, and Sims from Berkeley, last year's runnerup to
Eddie Arnold of Muir in the broad jump. New stars would make their presence felt.
STATE MEET RECORDS
State Meet records were tough to get, but still two were set and one was tied. The
best of the new records was probably in the pole vault, where Baylor Maynard
(Belmont, LA) raised the State Meet mark to 13-1 1/4 after it had been stuck at 13
feet since 1932. Six athletes cleared 12-6 before the bar was moved to the record
height. Ono (Analy) was in the 5-way tie for second. The other new record was in
the low hurdles. George Sangster knocked a tenth off the old record, with Laret of
Alahambra coming in second. Finally Bryant Allen, husky Jefferson sprinter,
roared to a great 21.2, tieing the record in the 220 in beating Bess of Corona.
Low Hurldes George Sangster (Muir Tec, Pasadena) 23.8
(old 23.9, Payne, 1926 and
Kirkpatrick, 1934)
Pole Vault Baylor Maynard (Belmont, LA) 13-1 1/4
(old 13-0, Sefton and White, 1932)
220 Bryant Allen (Jefferson, LA) 21.2
(ties old, Anderson, 1933)
HIGHLIGHTS
Bryant Allen (Jefferson) did more than tie the 220 record. He also won the 100 in
9.8 by three yards over his teammate Wilbur Miller to tie for meet scoring honors.
Wilbur "Moose" Thomson of Modesto also won two events. He took the shot at a near-
State record 55-8 3/4 over Grey of Hoover, Glendale and won the football throw at
195 feet. Wilbur Miller (Jefferson) didn't stop with his 2nd to Allen in the 100.
He also won the quarter in 49.7 over White of Edison, Fresno.
The highs were won by Ray Seares of Wilson, Long Beach in a relatively slow 15.5.
Les Steers (Palo Alto) captured his third high jump title with his 6-4 clearance.
Steers had cleared 6-6 earlier this year. In the broad jump, Bill Bugbee
(Montebello) won with a leap of 23-1, Sims of Berkeley again finishing second.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
Those who picked Jefferson for the team title were certainly correct. Allen and
Miller combined for 19 points and the Democrats ended up with 23 1/2. Even
Jefferson's disqualification in the relay, where they finished 2nd, didn't hurt.
The judges ruled they passed the baton outside the legal zone. Wilson of Long
Beach ended a distant second with 13 1/2 points, 8 from Ray Seares in the hurdles.
Alahambra and Muir Tech were tied at 12, followed by Modesto (Thompson) with 10
and Glendale with 8 1/2.
Jefferson, LA 23 1/2 pts. 10-Allen, 1st in 100, 1st in 220
9-Miller, 1st in 440, 2nd in 100
2-Direaux, 4th in SP
1 1/2-King, tie for 4-5 in HJ
1-Lankford, 5th in 100
Wilson, Long Beach 13 1/2 8-Seares, 1st in HH, 3rd in LH
3-Tandy, 3rd in 100
1 1/2-Miles, tie for 4-5 in HJ
1-Long, 5th in FB throw
Alahambra 12 4-2nd in 880 relay
4-Laret, 2nd in LH
3-Bowers, 3rd in 880
1-Norman, 5th in SP
Muir Tech, Pasadena 12 5-1st in 880 relay
5-Sangster, 1st in LH
2-Kindel, 4th in 220
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1938 - SAN BENITO HIGH, HOLLISTER; SATURDAY, MAY 28
Another small town got into the act, with Hollister acting as host for the 24th
State Meet. Hollister is about 40 miles SE of San Jose. LA City schools were
again not allowed to compete, because travel money was too precious. The rest of
the State had entries.
Few point scorers from the 1937 Meet were back. The best returner was probably
Bill Bugbee from Montebello, who won the broad jump last year. Also returning was
Becker from San Diego who was 3rd in the shot last time.
The saddest ommission was Baylor Maynard (Belmont, LA) who set the State Meet
record in the vault last year at 13-1 1/4. Maynard was to clear 13-9 1/4 in LA
city competiton this year and was named LA athlete of the year, but was denied a
chance to defend his State crown.
The same 13 scoring events contested since 1933 were on the agenda.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Two records came crashing down in otherwise mediocre competition. Gil LaCava, a
6-2 athlete from Beverly Hills High, bettered the National prep high jump record
when he cleared the bar at 6-7 1/8. He bettered the former mark of 6-6 set by
Willis Ward, Northwestern High, Illinois, in 1931. Cornelius Johnson of LA High
had once leaped 6-7 but the mark was never recognized.
The other new State Meet mark was set in the mile by Jack Moore of Stockton. His
time of 4:26.9 beat the mark of 4:27.8 made by Louis Zamerini of Torrance in 1934.
High Jump Gil LaCava (Beverly Hills) 6-7 1/8 (Nat'l)
(old 6-5 7/8, Thurber, 1934)
Mile Jack Moore (Stockton) 4:26.9
(old 4:27.8, Zamperini, 1934)
HIGHLIGHTS
Sophomore Eddie Morris of Huntington Beach won the 220 in 21.6 over Burk of Sanger
and Jack Trout of Bakersfield. Morris was to own this event for the rest of his
high school career. Bill Van Leuven (Wilson, Long Beach) won the 100 in 9.8, Trout
finishing second.
John Biewener (San Diego) was the high scorer of the Meet with 7 points. He won
the highs over Barron of Santa Ana in 15.3 and took a fourth in the lows to Tom
Whitney of Roseville and his 24.6. This was the first State Meet when someone
hadn't scored at least 8 points!
Floyd Doty (Lodi) and Lawrence "Tip" McLanahan (Sacramento) tied in the pole vault
at 12-10 3/8. Baylor Maynard was sorely missed. Bill Bugbee (Montebello) won his
2nd broad jump crown at 23-7 1/8, but missed the State mark by 1 3/8". Overhouse
of Sacramento won the football throw at 193-6. This was its final year as a State
Meet event. Mario Russo (Pittsburg) won the shot at 55-5 3/4, Becker (San Diego)
finishing second.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
San Diego, led by Biewener and Logan, won the State championship with 18 1/2 points
in the 88-school Meet. Sacramento and Santa Ana tied for second with 11 1/2.
(Oddly, these were the same three teams that tied for the State title in 1930.)
Next were Compton with 11, Stockton with 10, and Montebello behind Bugbee with 8.
Jefferson was again LA City champion and might have repeated as State champion if
they were allowed to enter.
San Diego 18 1/2 pts. 7-Biewener, 1st in HH, 4th in LH
6 1/2-Logan, 2nd in BJ, 4-way tie for 2nd in HJ
4-Becker, 2nd in SP
1-Roth, 5th in 880
Sacramento 11 1/2 2-4th in 880 relay
5-Overhouse, 1st in FB throw
4 1/2-McLanahan, tie for 1st in PV
Santa Ana 11 1/2 5-1st in 880 relay
4-Barron, 2nd in HH
2 1/2-Tedro, 4-way tie for 2nd in HJ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1939 - LOS ANGELES COLISEUM; SATURDAY, MAY 27
The 25th State Meet was scheduled for the Coliseum, the fourth time the Meet was
held there. LA City schools had the OK to be in the competition again after last
year's absence.
Returners from last year were few but three tough ones were on hand. Eddie Morris
(Huntington Beach), last year's 220 king, was back, along with a strong challenger.
Jack Trout (Bakersfield), second in last year's 100 and 3rd in the 220 returned to
make things tough for Morris. The only other returner of note was Jim Jurkovich
of Fresno, 4th in the 1938 broad jump.
Several changes had been made in the State Meet. The football throw was dropped
after being contested for 6 years. Replacing it as a scoring event was the Hop,
Step, and Jump (later to be called triple jump). This still left 13 events to be
contested (100, 220, 440, 880, Mile, HH, LH, 880 Relay, SP, PV, HJ, BJ, Hop-Step-
Jump). There was a difference, though, in the high hurdles. Since the first State
Meet their height had been 42". Starting this year the height of the hurdles was
lowered to 39". This should lead to a lowering of Kirkpatrick's State record
(14.7).
The dope sheet gave an edge to the Bakersfield Drillers. They had an 8-man team
entered and boasted the fastest 880 relay team in the State.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Three State Meet records were set and two others established in their first year of
being contested. Jim Jurkovich, highly touted all-around athlete from Fresno, was
the first to set a new standard when he broad jumped 24-0 1/2 to break Skinner's
record. Frank Freeman of Sonoma was 2nd at 23-10, also breaking the old record.
Then Frank Ferguson of Inglewood and Bud Humberger of Glendale tied for first at
13-3 3/4 in the pole vault, easily erasing the record of 13-1 1/4. Finally
diminutive John Hall from Torrance played like Louie Zamperini in taking the mile
in 4:26.8, knocking 1/10 off the old record.
The other two records were due to new events. In the first year of 39" high
hurdles, Phil Diez (Lincoln, LA) and Neal Collins (Los Angeles) each won his heat
in 14.9. Then in the final, Diez and Sam Johnson (Fillmore) tied for first, once
again in 14.9. This was not as fast as Roy Kirkpatrick's 14.7 over the 42"
barriers. The first scoring hop-step-jump competition was won by Jack Laughner of
Wilson, Long Beach at 44-8 1/2. Scoring competition in this event would not be
held again until 1973.
Mile John Hall (Torrance) 4:26.8
(old 4:26.9, Moore, 1938)
High Hurdles Phil Diez (Lincoln, LA), Sam Johnson 14.9
(Fillmore), and Neal Collins
(Los Angeles)
(new event; 39" hurdles vs. 42")
Pole Vault Frank Ferguson (Inglewood) and 13-3 3/4
Bud Humberger (Glendale)
(old 13-1 1/4, Maynard, 1937)
Broad Jump Jim Jurkovich (Fresno) 24-0 1/2
(old 23-8 1/2, Skinner, 1934)
Hop, Step, & Jump Jack Laughner (Wilson, Long Beach) 44-8 1/2
(new event)
HIGHLIGHTS
Without a doubt, the mile was the best race of the day. Herman Stanfill of
Montebello led the first two laps, then was passed by Wesley Miller of Corning.
These two indulged in a terrific duel for the lead from that point. Al Heredia of
San Diego, the favorite, rode along in third place with John Hall of Torrance at
his heels. In the final stretch drive, Heredia and Hall opened up together and
passed the leaders as if they were standing still. They battled neck and neck to
the tape, Hall winning by a whisker. Heredia collapsed in a heap at the finish
line. Stanfill was 3rd and Miller 4th.
Eddie Morris (Huntington Beach) won his second 220 title with a 21.4, Jack Trout
taking second. The 100 was another story. Broken starting blocks proved costly to
Morris as he was left behind at the gun while Trout took a big lead. Morris moved
up swiftly, however, to pass the field and almost caught the chunky Bakersfield ace
at the finish. Trout won by about a yard in 9.9. The top scorers in the meet at 9
were Morris and Trout.
Compton ran the 2nd fastest winning time in State Meet history in the 880 relay.
Their 1:29.0 was only beaten by LA's record 1:28.3 in 1933.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Meet scored 5-4-3-2-1)
It was mostly a meet of sprinters with a tiny bit of outside help. Bakersfield won
the team title with 16 points, 9 of them from Trout. And in second place was
Huntington Beach with 11 points, 9 from Eddie Morris. Third went to Glendale with
10 1/2, followed by Torrance with 10, Compton 9, San Diego 8, and Los Angeles 7.
The LA schools were a disappointment.
Bakersfield 16 pts. 4-2nd in 880 relay
9-Trout, 1st in 100, 2nd in 220
3-Tinsley, 3rd in BJ
Huntington Beach 11 9-Morris, 1st in 220, 2nd in 100
2-Stanglen, 3-way tie for 3rd in PV
Glendale 10 1/2 4 1/2-Humberger, tie for 1st in PV
4-Speiss, 2nd in hop-step-jump
2-Antunez, 4th in 440
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1940 - VISALIA HIGH SCHOOL; SATURDAY, MAY 25
The 26th State Meet returned to Visalia, where it had been contested in 1931. LA
City schools were once again absent. A total of 63 high schools had entries in the
Meet, which would be held at night for the second time.
Topping the impressive entry list were the names of Eddie Morris of Huntington
Beach and "Bullet Bob" Waters, Bakersfield High sprint ace. Morris had run 9.5
this year and had also beaten Jesse Owens' National 220 mark of 20.7 by one-tenth
of a second. Morris also had two State Meet 220 titles to his credit. He and
Waters both had unblemished records this year going into the State Meet.
Several other point scorers from last year's Meet returned. Thelmo Knowles of
Santa Monica had placed 3rd in the 880 as a soph. Fran