City Track Semifinals : Watts’ 20.97 in 200 Is Best by a Sophomore

Not touting Quincy Watts as the next great prep sprinter in the United States got a little bit harder Friday night.

Watts, a 15-year-old sophomore from Taft High School, moved from the status of local and statewide standout to national sophomore prep record-holder, running a 20.97-second time in the 200 meters at the City semifinals on the all-weather track at Birmingham High in Van Nuys. He broke the age-group mark of Clinton Davis and the all-time class best of Roy Martin.

To put into perspective how good Watts already is, Martin, now competing for Southern Methodist, finished fourth in the Olympic trials in the event just one year after he ran his 21-flat for Dallas Roosevelt. Watts still has two more years of high school left.

In addition to the 20.97, the second-fastest time in the country this year, Watts also had a 10.56 in the 100, the No. 2 time in the state, and ran the anchor leg for the winning 1,600 and 400 relay teams. He had an unofficial leg of 46.4 in the 1,600, and the Toreadores’ 41.31 in the 400 is the best time in the City.

“He constantly surprises me,” Taft Coach Tom Stevenson said. “He is continually getting better and he is only 15. You worry that he has reached his peak, but I don’t think he will reach his peak until the state meet, until he meets the kid McCree.”

Ron McCree of Madera is the California leader in the 100, making him Example A in Watts’ motivation for the City finals next Saturday at Birmingham and the state championships June 6-7 at Cerritos College.

“I won’t know how fast I can go if no one pushes me,” Watts said. “Someone has to be there to push me, like McCree, so I can go way faster.”

In that sense, the future may be just a couple weeks away.

CITY TRACK SUMMARIES

Semifinals At Birmingham HS BOYS 100 (Heat 1)--1. Watts (Taft), 10.56 (wind .57 m.p.s. aiding); 2. Barnes (Reseda), 10.85; 3. Johnson (Westchester), 10.94; 4. Hill (Wilmington), 11.01. (Heat 2)--1. Anderson (Washington), 10.82 (wind 0); 2. Smith (Gardena), 11.83; 3. Ford (San Pedro), 10.98; 4. Holmes (Carson), 11.01.

200 (Heat 1)--1. Watts (Taft), 20.97 (wind 0) (national sophomore and age 15 record; old sophomore mark, 21.00, Roy Martin, Dallas Roosevelt, 1983; old age 15 mark, 21.01, Clinton Davis, Munhall Steel Valley, Pa., 1981); 2. Simon (Dorsey), 22.07; 3. Barnes (Reseda), 22.23; 4. Smith (Gardena), 22.36. (Heat 2)--1. Anderson (Washington), 21.90 (wind 0); 2. Sals (San Fernando), 22.13; 3. Holmes (Carson), 22.62; 4. Gurarie (Kennedy), 22.65.

400 (Heat 1)--1. Thompson (Locke), 47.82; 2. Johnson (Westchester), 47.99; 3. Hart (Locke), 49.08; 4. Foster (Dorsey), 49.84. (Heat)--1. Douglas (Fremont), 47.90; 2. Wilson (Crenshaw), 48.69; 3. Armstrong (Reseda), 49.78; 4. Walters (Hamilton), 50.15.

1,600 (Heat 1)--1. Moya (Narbonne), 4:22.2; 2. Gomez (Belmont), 4:22.63; 3. Alsen (Granada Hills), 4:22.98; 4. Sand (University), 4:27.42. (Heat 2)--1. Quintana (Sylmar), 4:22.98; 2. Gebre (Belmont), 4:23.39; 3. Haug (Birmiingham), 4:23.40; 4. Bowen (University), 4:24.11.

110 HIGH HURDLES (Heat 1)--1. Harris (Banning), 14.36w (2.89 m.p.s.); 2. Boykin (San Fernando), 14.49; 3. Preyer (Carson), 14.70; 4. Davis (Fairfax), 14.78. (Heat 2)--1. Bausley (University), 14.55 (wind 1.09 m.p.s. aiding); 2. Dorsett (Fairfax), 14.59; 3. Jackson (Dorsey), 14.60; 4. Lynch (Reseda), 14.75.

300 INTERMEDIATE HURDLES--1. Parker (Hamilton), 38.59; 2. Lockett (Dorsey), 38.62; 3. Johnson (North Hollywood), 40.04; 4. Bausley (University), 40.19. (Hezt 2)--1. Harris (Banning), 39.81; 2. Jackson (Dorsey), 39.14; 3. Leslie (Washsington), 39.42; 4. Gilmore (Poly), 39.81.

800 (Heat 1)--1. Thompson (Locke), 1:55.08; 2. Bailey (Dorsey), 1:57.18; 3. Wolfe (Palisades), 1:57.41; 4. Watson (Fremont), 1:58.35. (Heat 2)--1. Ewell (Palisades), 1:54.59; 2. Stiles (Verdugo Hills), 1:55.57; 3. Howard (University), 1:57.07; 4. Huston (Locke), 1:58.63.

400 RELAY (Heat 1)--1. Taft, 41.31; 2. Fremont, 42.31; 3. Banning, 42.31; 4. Kennedy, 42.63. (Heat 2)--1. Reseda, 42.25; 2. Dorsey, 42.39; 3. Washington, 42.48; 4. Grant, 43.52.

HIGH JUMP--Dawson (Carson), Wlker (Narbonne), Hu (Belmont), Maze (Fremont), Dixion (Cleveland), Thompson (Carson), Guenther (Poly), Keith Franklin (Taft), 6-2.

POLE VAULT--LaMonica (Poly), Borick (Taft), Lopez (Roosevelt), 12-6; Gordo (Bell), Bryan (San Pedro), Sedano (Van Nuys), 12-0; Torres (Garfield), 11-6; no eighth.

LONG JUMP--Clark (Crenshaw), 22-2 1/2; Gilmore (Poly), 22-2; Walker (Narbonne), 22-1 3/4; Wilkinson (Reseda), 21-9; Allen (Fremont), 21-9; Inzar (Granada Hills), 21-9; Diggs (Kennedy), 21-6; O’Neal (Grant), 21-3 3/4.

SHOTPUT--Lambert (Palisades), 56-6; Vega (Hamilton), 55-6 1/2; Hughes (Manual Arts), 50-2 1/2; McDaniel (Jordan), 49-4; Morrison (South Gate), 47-8 1/2; Daniels (Granada Hills), 47-0 1/2; Amador (Franklin), 46-11; Lopez (Belmont), 46-8 1/2.

GIRLS 100 (Heat 1)--1. Churck (Granada Hills), 12.22 (wind 0); 2. Jackson (Locke), 12.39; 3. Cannon (Hamilton), 12.40; Peacock (Van Nuys), 14.43. (Heat 2)--1. Tinkshell (Locke), 12.25 (wind .05 m.p.s. aiding); 2. Bongo (Granada Hills), 12.51; 3. Luckey (Washington), 12.73; 4. James (Jordan), 12.80.

200 (Heat 1)--1. Tinkshell (Locke), 25.14 (wind .05 m.p.s. aiding); 2. Bongo (Granada Hills), 26.00; 3. Cannon (Hamilton), 26.18; 4. James (Jordan), 26.24. (Heat 2)--1. Church (Granada Hills), 25.59 (wind 0); 2. Zimmerman (Dorsey), 25.72; 3. Fuller (Cleveland), 26.11; 4. Jackson (Locke), 26.31.

400 (Heat 1)--1 Bullett (Banning), 57.31; 2. Palmer (Washington), 57.59; 3. Safier (Fairfax), 59.01; 4. Luckey (Washington), 59.40. (Heat 2)--1. Smith (Crenshaw), 58.50; 2. Adams (Reseda), 58.93; 3. James (Jordan), 59.64; 4. Miles (Carson), 60.04.

800 (Heat 1)--1. Palmer (Westchester), 2:17.65; 2. Hunter (Jefferson), 2:22.54; 3. Walker (North Hollywood), 2:23.27; 4. King (Granada Hills), 2:23.87. (Heat 2)--1. Hamilton (Locke), 2:21.09; 2. Gray (Hamilton), 2:21.77; 3. Cunningham (Washington), 2:21.87; 4. Rodriguez (LB Wilson), 2:23.53.

1,600 (Heat 1)--1. Crongeyer (Kennedy), 4:14.31; 2. Olsen (San Pedro), 5:16.47; 3. Gabor (Palisades), 5:22.01; 4. Stein (El Camino Real), 5:28.85. (Heat 2)--1. Rodriguez (Wilson), 5:20.14; 2. Guidi (El Camino Real), 5:09.97; 3. McLean (Belmont), 5:23.99; 4. Kaufman (University), 5:27.90.

100 LOW HURDLES (Heat 1)--1. Davenport (Locke), 14.20 (wind 1.98 m.p.s. aiding); 2. Warren (Monroe), 15.32; 3. Cochrane (Van Nuys), 15.39; 4. Masson (Narbonne), 15.42. (Heat 2)--1. Peacock (Van Nuys), 13.90w (3.41 m.p.s.); 2. Ainsworth (Fremont), 14.89; 3. Shanahan (Monroe), 14.90; 4. Weatherford (Locke), 15.30.

300 LOW HURDLES (HEAT 1)--1. Peacock (Van Nuys), 43.59; 2. Shanahan (Monroe), 45.37; 3. Speak (Manual Arts), 46.42; 4. Valenzuela (Narbonne), 46.63. (Heat 2)--1. Ainsworth (Fremont), 45.7; 2. Petway (Canoga Park), 46.9; 3. Davis (North Hollywood), 47.2; 4. Hill (Lincoln), 47.3.

400 RELAY (Heat 1)--1. Dorsey, 48.32; 2. Crenshaw, 49.05; 3. Manual Arts, 50.06; 4. Banning, 50.64. (Heat 2)--1. Locke, 48.35; 2. Carson, 49.42; 3. Granada Hills, 49.46; 4. Kennedy, 50.63.

HIGH JUMP--Malcolm (Birmingham), Valentino (University), Stallworth (Van Nuys), Miller (Crenshaw), Hogstrom (University), Quarles (University), 4-11; Hadaway (Chatsworth), Marshall (Reseda), 4-10.

SHOTPUT--Hagan (Fremont), 40-4; Gurney (El Camino Real), 38-4 1/2; Whitterker (Fremont), 37-8 1/2; Halliwell (Crenshaw), 37-4 1/2; Smith (Grant), 36-8 1/2; Burns (Fremont), 36-7 1/2; Miller (Crenshaw), 36-1; Davis (Sylmar), 34-9 3/4.