Track And Field

A year ago, the Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational was brought back to life. On Saturday, the fabled track and field competition will resume bigger than ever. About 1,000 athletes from 20 schools will be at Guyer Field on the Laguna Beach High campus Saturday for the event, which is being run for the 43rd time. Competition will be held for both boys' and girls' varsity and frosh/soph teams. Last year, Servite won the boys' division and Trabuco Hills took the girls' crown and Laguna Beach had eight athletes medal, Breakers Coach Scott Wittkop said.

Tryouts for the 2009 Laguna Beach High boys? and girls? track and field programs start Monday on campus. Students who currently are participating in other winter sports will be able to report for tryouts Feb. 16. Laguna?s boys? team has won consecutive Orange Coast League championships. Sophomore Matt Neev is the lone returning athlete who qualified for CIF finals last year (1,600, 3,200). The girls? squad was runner-up to the league title last year. Both Breakers teams begin their season March 12 against El Dorado and La Quinta in a tri-match.

With the 2009 prep track and field season just around the corner, the Laguna Beach High track and field boys? and girls? programs have set two important dates for interested athletes. On Jan. 28, a parent meeting will begin promptly at 6 p.m. at the North Gym on campus. Tryouts for both teams will start Feb. 2. Students currently participating in other winter sports will be able to report for tryouts Feb. 16. Laguna?s boys? team has won consecutive Orange Coast League championships.

Five Laguna Beach High track and field athletes will compete Saturday at the CIF Southern Section Track and Field Championships. The Division IV competition begins at 11 a.m. with field events, with running events to start at 1 p.m. The finals are at Cerritos College in Norwalk. Girls Sophomore Natasha Strickland was a double-qualifier for the girls? Division IV final, but will compete only in the 3,200 meters. Strickland won her heat in the 3,200 (11 minutes 16 seconds)

It had been etched in the books for 48 years, but within a span of three days last week, the seconds had been wiped away - twice. School annals show that back during the 1965 track and field season at Laguna Beach High, the boys' 400-meter relay team of Buddy Abrams, Jim Murray, David Collen and Chris Paulsrud made their way into the school's record book. The foursome did so by racing to a record time of 45 seconds in the event. The group's near-half century run in the top, has come to an end. In its season opener March 6, a tri-meet against Riverside La Sierra and El Dorado, the Laguna 4x100 team of Reece Barton, Robert Clemons, Nate Lancaster and Drake Martinez erased that '65 record time, by setting the new school record with a time of 44.67 seconds.

The Pacific Coast League boys' and girls' track and field championships at Irvine High on May 5 had a distinct Laguna Beach flavor. In the boys' competition, Laguna dominated the running events, winning all but two. But it was Northwood, which gained big points in the field events, that ended up winning the boys' title. Northwood edged Laguna, 172-162, to capture its third straight league title. Corona del Mar finished a distant third with 88 points. In the girls' competition, Corona del Mar won its fourth consecutive league crown.

TRACK AND FIELD Thurston Middle School held its first Sixth Grade Track and Field Day on May 9 at Guyer Field. Students were divided into six teams ? by color ? and competed in tug-of-war, individual and relay races, softball throw, frisbee toss, long jump and standing broad jump. Each student was required to participate in two events, with at least one running event. Athletic Director Steve Lalim ? who also coaches girls? track and field at Laguna Beach High ?

Races in four spring sports came to a conclusion this week with the completion of the Orange Coast League swimming, track and field, boys' tennis and boys' golf prelims and finals. The final results for each of the finals weren't available at press time. The CIF-Southern Section postseason begins next week for all four sports. In swimming Laguna's girls finished in a three-way tie for the top spot in the league standings by defeating visiting Costa Mesa, 90-78, handing the Mustangs their initial league setback in the final meet of the regular season.

The Laguna Beach High track and field season begins Saturday when the Breakers will compete at the Irvine Invitational. Coach Earl Towner calls the girls' team "as deep as I've seen the team in 15 years." Among the key performers on a veteran squad are senior Brittany Clark who was all-league and All-CIF in the sprints, and senior Alex Crawley who was All-CIF in the 3200-meters and will attend Columbia University in the fall. Other key performers for Towner include Stephanie Pearson (200,400)

A little more than four years ago, Brittany Clark signed a contract that, unbeknownst to her, would end up shaping her athletic career at Laguna Beach High. The contract, drawn up by track and field hurdles coach Fred Pichay, wasn't legally binding but, when the then-14-year-old Clark signed it, she had made a promise to live up to that contract. She kept her word. She kept on training. And as she is just a few weeks away from graduating, she'll be running away with two school records in track and field.

Laguna Beach High was the site Monday of the Orange Coast League track and field preliminaries, and several Breakers gave strong performances on their home track to advance to league finals. The league finals were held Thursday at Guyer Field. Finals results weren't available at press time. The top eight finishers in sprint events, and the top 12 finishers in distance events, advanced to Thursday's finals. Seniors Drake Martinez (100-, 200-meter dash), who Laguna boys' coach Scott Wittkop said "ran great," and Spencer Anderson (110, 300 hurdles)

It had been etched in the books for 48 years, but within a span of three days last week, the seconds had been wiped away - twice. School annals show that back during the 1965 track and field season at Laguna Beach High, the boys' 400-meter relay team of Buddy Abrams, Jim Murray, David Collen and Chris Paulsrud made their way into the school's record book. The foursome did so by racing to a record time of 45 seconds in the event. The group's near-half century run in the top, has come to an end. In its season opener March 6, a tri-meet against Riverside La Sierra and El Dorado, the Laguna 4x100 team of Reece Barton, Robert Clemons, Nate Lancaster and Drake Martinez erased that '65 record time, by setting the new school record with a time of 44.67 seconds.

In a school year where numerous Laguna Beach High athletes shined, Marina Paul and Derek Reigel have been named Most Valuable Female and Male Athletes of the Year, respectively, for the Breakers. The news came as a surprise, each said, when it was announced June 6 at the school's year-end sports award banquet at Tivoli Terrace "Marina Paul and Derek Reigel are perfect examples of Laguna Beach athletes," Laguna Beach Athletic Director Mike Churchill said. "They are not only outstanding athletes in the multiple sports that they have chosen, but they excel in the classroom.

The Laguna Beach High boys' and girls' track and field teams earned Orange Coast League victories on Tuesday by defeating Saddleback. The Laguna girls defeated the Roadrunners, 109-19, and the boys' team took a 91-36 victory. Event winners for the Laguna girls were: Tessa Hopper (100 and 200 meters); Marisa Merchant (400 meters); Marina Paul (800 meters); Darby Winson (100 and 300 hurdles); Natasha Strickland (1,600 meters); Kay Baskevitch (3,200 meters); Marlee Grosher (long jump)

A year ago, the Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational was brought back to life. On Saturday, the fabled track and field competition will resume bigger than ever. About 1,000 athletes from 20 schools will be at Guyer Field on the Laguna Beach High campus Saturday for the event, which is being run for the 43rd time. Competition will be held for both boys' and girls' varsity and frosh/soph teams. Last year, Servite won the boys' division and Trabuco Hills took the girls' crown and Laguna Beach had eight athletes medal, Breakers Coach Scott Wittkop said.

Five Laguna Beach High track and field athletes will compete Saturday at the CIF Southern Section Track and Field Championships. The Division IV competition begins at 11 a.m. with field events, with running events to start at 1 p.m. The finals are at Cerritos College in Norwalk. Girls Sophomore Natasha Strickland was a double-qualifier for the girls? Division IV final, but will compete only in the 3,200 meters. Strickland won her heat in the 3,200 (11 minutes 16 seconds)

It’s been a long time coming for the Laguna Beach High girls’ track and field program. For the Breaker boys, such things are becoming second nature. May 7 on their home track, site of the Orange Coast League championships, the Laguna girls captured their first outright league championship. The last time the program won a title was in 1981, the year they shared the South Coast League crown with Capistrano Valley. The 29-year drought is over. “The girls were very impressive,” girls’ Coach Steve Lalim said.

LAGUNA BEACH ? This wasn?t the way the home league opener was supposed to go, with Calvary Chapel treating Skipper Carrillo Field like the site of a home run derby. The visiting Eagles hit five home runs Tuesday, then survived a late Breakers rally as Laguna fell, 15-10, in the Orange Coast League game. The Breakers, who have the league bye today, saw their league record evened at 1-1. They?re 5-4 overall. Sophomore catcher J.T. McLuckey was four for five with two home runs and four runs batted in for Calvary Chapel (6-2, 1-0)

Laguna polo ladies win gold The Laguna Beach Water Polo 12 and under girls? team went undefeated and won the San Diego County Cup this past weekend. The San Diego Cup is the second most prestigious tournament of the year, second only to the national Junior Olympics, which will be held the first week of August at Stanford. Sixteen teams from both Northern and Southern California participated in this girls? 12-and-under age division. Laguna held the top seed and didn?t disappoint.

Tryouts for the 2009 Laguna Beach High boys? and girls? track and field programs start Monday on campus. Students who currently are participating in other winter sports will be able to report for tryouts Feb. 16. Laguna?s boys? team has won consecutive Orange Coast League championships. Sophomore Matt Neev is the lone returning athlete who qualified for CIF finals last year (1,600, 3,200). The girls? squad was runner-up to the league title last year. Both Breakers teams begin their season March 12 against El Dorado and La Quinta in a tri-match.