Local duo look to finish strong at state track and field finals

Los Angeles Times

5 days ago

Corona del Mar distance runner Max Douglass and Ocean View thrower Jack Paavola head into the final week of the track and field season with a brand new experience ahead of them.
As they prepare to compete in the CIF State track and field championships at Clovis Buchanan High, each will be doing so for the first time. The state preliminaries take place on Friday, with the finals falling on Saturday.
The expectations were dramatically different for the two. Douglass, a Notre Dame commit, was a Foot Locker Nationals qualifier in cross-country. He then broke the nine-minute barrier in winning the Eric Hulst Invitational 3,200-meter race to open his season at the Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational.
Douglass, who said he dealt with a stress fracture that impacted his fitness during the winter heading into his junior track season, had another health concern this spring.
'It was definitely a rough pathway,' Douglass said. 'There was a lot of uncertainty towards the end of the season. It turns out that I got mono throughout the middle of the season, and that's the sickness that really was pulling me down. I ended up just kind of picking up the pieces again, … started taking some seconds off the mile, and it's a blessing to have made it this far.'
Douglass noted feeling frustrated over how much rest is required to get over the illness, which he called 'the only choice' and resulted in the loss of 'some of the progress you've worked for.'
'I was feeling sick, just extreme muscle fatigue and soreness for a prolonged period of time,' he added.
Douglass had qualified for the Southern Section's Masters Meet, which qualifies athletes into the state championships, in both the 800 and the 1,600. He chose to focus his energy on the 1,600 and booked his trip to the state meet by finishing fifth with a time of 4 minutes 12.15 seconds last Saturday. The top six in each event and those meeting at-large qualifying standards advanced.
Although the state meet events are held in the evening, the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for a portion of central California from Friday through Sunday morning. Temperatures could surpass 100 degrees this weekend.
'I know it's supposed to be very hot,' Douglass said. 'I'm honestly not worried about it because I feel like CIF prelims was pretty hot, and I feel like I could see a lot of the guys around me kind of take a hit from not being used to it, or just mentally, it just affects them more. The tougher the race is, I feel like the better I thrive in it.
'I've just kind of pictured a really tough race, one that's not going to feel good, one that's going to hurt, and I imagine that's where I'll do my best.'
Paavola's progression curve has rocketed upward since the elimination portion of the schedule. After claiming the Empire League titles in both the discus throw and the shot put, he went on to top the Division 3 discus throw competition in the CIF finals.
Once more, the Seahawks standout improved upon his school record in the discus throw, producing a mark of 174 feet, 10 inches in the Masters Meet. The throw was good for third place.
'All season, it was always the question of, could we get to state?' said Paavola, a Harvey Mudd commit. 'Now that I'm here, I'd say I'm pretty proud of it. I feel like it's a huge achievement. Initially, when it happened, I wasn't like crazy excited. I think I was maybe a bit shocked, but now that state's just a couple days away, I'm pretty determined, and I guess locked in. I feel really eager to compete.'
The Paavola traveling party will include family, he said. Twin sisters Kate and Juliet, who are both freshmen at Ocean View, will be along for the ride.
'I'm pretty grateful because they've given up basically every Saturday in the month of May for my track meets, even their birthday, too,' Paavola said. 'They really decided to go, and I'm pretty grateful for that.'
CIF Southern Section Masters MeetAt Moorpark High
State At-Large Standards in parentheses
100 (10.59) — 1. Dezeurn (Bishop Alemany) 10.35; 2. Francis (Santa Margarita) 10.43; 3. Harris (Servite) 10.44; 4. Sermons (Rancho Cucamonga) 10.47; 5. Obimgba (Torrance) 10.51; 6. Fernandez (Notre Dame/SO) 10.57; 7. Conyer III (Murrieta Mesa) 10.58; 8. Gardner (Servite) 10.59
200 (21.44) — 1. Sermons (Rancho Cucamonga) 20.97; 2. Dezeurn (Bishop Alemany) 21.04; 3. Wells (Servite) 21.05; 4. Francis (Santa Margarita) 21.14; 5. Obimgba (Torrance) 21.16; 6. Stadlman (Temecula Valley) 21.24; 7. Griffin (Newbury Park) 21.36; 10. Serrambana (Marina) 21.58
400 (48.35) — 1. Hunter (Servite) 46.91; 2. Stadlman (Temecula Valley) 47.91; 3. Smith (Long Beach Poly) 47.93; 4. Burroughs (Long Beach Wilson) 48.03; 5. Woodley (Bonita) 48.20; 6. Do. Mayrant (Culver City) 48.24; 7. Du. Mayrant (Culver City) 48.31; 8. Smith (JW North) 48.34
800 (1:53.64) — 1. Obando (Long Beach Wilson) 1:51.40; 2. Sullivan (Riverside Poly) 1:52.28; 3. Morales (JSerra) 1:52.38; 4. Hansen (Mira Costa) 1:52.45; 5. Divinity (Redondo Union) 1:52.46; 6. McGough (Loyola) 1:52.95; 7. Dos Santos (San Clemente) 1:53.62
1,600 (4:12.98) — 1. Miller (La Serna) 4:09.86; 2. Zavaleta (King) 4:10.55; 3. McCorvey (Lancaster) 4:10.97; 4. Arrey (JSerra) 4:11.84; 5. Douglass (Corona del Mar) 4:12.15; 6. Jubak (Trabuco Hills) 4:12.39; 7. Reza (Chaffey) 4:12.60; 8. Antonio (Woodbridge) 4:12.90; 9. Sigworth (Palos Verdes) 4:12.93
3,200 (9:03.03) — 1. Noonan (Dana Hills) 8:55.76; 2. Turk (Woodcrest Christian) 8:58.90; 3. Zavaleta (King) 9:04.02; 4. Udelson-Nee (Wildwood) 9:04.34; 5. O'Connor (Viewpoint) 9:04.72; 6. Miller (South Torrance) 9:05.27
110 HH (14.45) — 1. Newton (Long Beach Poly) 13.84; 2. Borquez (Notre Dame/SO) 13.96; 3. Simmons (Temecula Valley) 14.10; 4. Uzan (Notre Dame/SO) 14.10; 5. Vela (Vista Murrieta) 14.12; 6. Andrade (Etiwanda) 14.19; 7. Gammage (Canyon/CC) 14.27; 8. Lamkin (Mira Costa) 14.29; 9. Hoang (Gabrielino) 14.36; 10. Waring (Culver City) 14.45; 11. Burwell (Servite) 14.45
300 IH (38.68) — 1. Waring (Culver City) 36.91; 2. Whaley (Orange Vista) 37.03; 3. Schneider (Thousand Oaks) 37.69; 4. Stanford (Alta Loma) 37.90; 5. Lamkin (Mira Costa) 38.04; 6. Gary (Beckman) 38.09; 7. Penny (Palm Desert) 38.18; 8. Gammage (Canyon/CC) 38.20; 9. Andrade (Etiwanda) 38.31; 10. Brown (Tesoro) 38.37; 11. Carnaghe (Ventura) 38.41; 12. Schmidt (Los Osos) 38.48; 13. Johnson (Summit) 38.67
400 relay (41.69) — 1. Servite 40.40; 2. Notre Dame/SO 40.77; 3. Cathedral 41.43; 4. Murrieta Valley 41.55; 5. Santiago/C 41.57; 6. Culver City 41.77
1,600 relay (3:20.42) — 1. Long Beach Poly 3:10.83; 2. Cathedral 3:12.20; 3. Culver City 3:14.80; 4. Long Beach Wilson 3:14.93; 5. Servite 3:15.24; 6. Loyola 3:16.35; 7. Northwood 3:16.36; 8. Orange Vista 3:16.55; 9. Peninsula 3:17.42; 10. Rancho Cucamonga 3:17.94; 11. Santa Margarita 3:18.41; 12. Mira Costa 3:18.73; 13. Damien 3:19.02
3,200 relay — 1. Mira Costa 7:37.84; 2. Oaks Christian 7:39.31; 3. JSerra 7:42.07; 4. Long Beach Wilson 7:43.41; 5. Great Oak 7:43.42; 6. Redondo Union 7:46.37
HJ (6-6) — 1. Browner (Chaminade) 6-10; 2. Harel (Notre Dame/SO) 6-10J; 3. Gorski (Mater Dei) 6-6; 4. Guzman (Moorpark) 6-6J; 5. Baca (Ayala) 6-6J; 6T. Benson (Moorpark) 6-6J; 6T. Malinowski (Peninsula) 6-6J
LJ (22-11¼) — 1. Alexis (Elsinore) 24-3½; 2 Shorter IV (Riverside Poly) 23-½; 3. Gorski (Mater Dei) 22-10½; 4. Haggerty (Viewpoint) 22-9; 5. Browner (Chaminade) 22-9; 6. Francis (Santa Margarita) 22-9
TJ (45-10½) — 1. Cotlage (Cajon) 48-10; 2. Smith (Quartz Hill) 48-3½; 3. Alexis (Elsinore) 48-1; 4. Ellis (Cathedral) 47-7; 5. Andrews (Downey) 47-6; 6. Green (Great Oak) 46-9½
PV (15-2) — 1. Furr (Santa Margarita) 16-2; 2. Cullen (Redlands) 15-8; 3. Epstein (de Toledo) 15-8J; 4. Lucsik (Burbank) 15-8J; 5. Higgins (Trabuco Hills) 15-2; 6. Brittain (Oaks Christian) 15-2J; 7. Gorzkowski (Mira Costa) 15-2J; 8. O'Brien (Roosevelt) 15-2J; 14. Le (Fountain Valley) 14-2J
SP (55-4½) — 1. Lingenfelter (Yucaipa) 61-2; 2. Harisay (Etiwanda) 58-5; 3. Soufi (South Pasadena) 56-7½; 4. Grace (Westlake) 55-7½; 5. Buchanan (Murrieta Mesa) 53-7; 6. Legaspi (Canyon) 52-10½
DT (175-5) — 1. Lingenfelter (Yucaipa) 200-10; 2. Komrosky (Ayala) 178-4; 3. Paavola (Ocean View) 174-10; 4. Amu (Downey) 172-1; 5. Harisay (Etiwanda) 170-10; 6. Grace (Westlake) 168-0
CIF Southern Section Masters MeetAt Moorpark High
State At-Large Standards in parentheses
100 (11.84) — 1. Cole (Redondo Union) 11.36; 2. Wright (Chaparral) 11.41; 3. Rainey (Calabasas) 11.57; 4. Scoggins (Calabasas) 11.60; 5. Kirk (Calabasas) 11.63; 6. Anyansi (Murrieta Valley) 11.63; 7. Holland (Long Beach Poly) 11.66; 8. Rice (Lakewood) 11.72; 9. Sproles (Oaks Christian) 11.76; 10. Collins (Rosary) 11.77; 11. Murray (Mater Dei) 11.78; 12. Terry (Oaks Christian) 11.82; 13. Nelson (St. Pius X-St. Matthias) 11.82; 14. Lee (Long Beach Poly) 11.84
200 (24.48) — 1. Wright (Chaparral) 23.21; 2. Wilson (Rosary) 23.38; 3. Scoggins (Calabasas) 23.59; 4. Kirk (Calabasas) 23.80; 5. Mosby (St. Mary's) 23.88; 6. Collins (Rosary) 23.89; 7. Whitehead (Summit) 24.03; 8. Crear (West Ranch) 24.03; 9T. Beatty (Long Beach Poly) 24.08; 9T. Rice (Lakewood) 24.08; 11. Rainey (Calabasas) 24.24; 12. Nelson (St. Pius X-St. Matthias) 24.43
400 (55.95) — 1. Mosby (St. Mary's) 53.53; 2. Beatty (Long Beach Poly) 54.77; 3. Wilson (Rosary) 54.79; 4. Whitehead (Summit) 54.91; 5. Rodriguez (Oaks Christian) 54.92; 6. Gant (Canyon/CC) 55.22; 7. Blue (Long Beach Wilson) 55.69; 8. Graves-Hogains (Canyon/CC) 55.79; 9. Cablayan (Murrieta Mesa) 55.82; 10. Scott (Canyon/CC) 55.84
800 (2:12.54) — 1. Packard (JSerra) 2:09.55; 2. Lewis-Williams (Long Beach Wilson) 2:10.28; 3. Smith (Claremont) 2:10.58; 4. Elbaz (JSerra) 2:10.87; 5. Wroblewski (Yorba Linda) 2:11.19; 6. Terrill (Monrovia) 2:12.63; 11. Robar (Newport Harbor) 2:14.40
1,600 (4:52.17) — 1. Combe (Santiago/C) 4:44.36; 2. Ivarsson (Dana Hills) 4:47.17; 3. Williams (Trabuco Hills) 4:47.22; 4. Lieberman (Murrieta Valley) 4:48.17; 5. Holley (JSerra) 4:49.32; 6. De Brouwer (La Cañada) 4:51.06; 7. Dye (San Juan Hills) 4:51.50; 8. Bulmer (Claremont) 4:52.08
3,200 (10:30.96) — 1. Blade (Santiago/C) 10:11.38; 2. Barker (Trabuco Hills) 10:18.10; 3. Wilson (Irvine) 10:21.90; 4. Hopkins (Arcadia) 10:23.22; 5. Errington (South Pasadena) 10:23.58; 6. Crum (Temescal Canyon) 10:29.46; 7. De Brouwer (La Cañada) 10:30.01; 10. McCullough (Newport Harbor) 10:36.88
100 HH (14.37) — 1. Edwards (Long Beach Wilson) 13.87; 2. Hervey (St. Bernard) 14.01; 3. Griffin (Da Vinci) 14.18; 4. Bain (Long Beach Poly) 14.21; 5. Gaines (Riverside Poly) 14.21; 6. Newsome (Bishop Alemany) 14.26; 7. Washington (Long Beach Wilson) 14.33
300 IH (43.78) — 1. Edwards (Long Beach Wilson) 41.48; 2. Griffin (Da Vinci) 41.89; 3. Varnado (Long Beach Wilson) 42.71; 4. Faulknor (Windward) 42.83; 5. Bain (Long Beach Poly) 43.18; 6. Gaines (Riverside Poly) 42.29; 7. Anderson (Long Beach Poly) 43.62
400 relay (47.56) — 1. Long Beach Poly 45.94; 2. Oaks Christian 46.12; 3. Redondo Union 46.96; 4. Canyon/CC 47.30; 5. Thousand Oaks 47.77; 6. Mater Dei 47.86
1,600 relay (3:53.73) — 1. Long Beach Wilson 3:43.71; 2. St. Mary's 3:45.61; 3. Canyon/CC 3:45.91; 4. Long Beach Poly 3:46.13; 5. JSerra 3:46.30; 6. Rosary 3:48.85; 7. Trabuco Hills 3:49.27; 8. Claremont 3:50.10; 9. King 3:51.80; 10. Santa Margarita 3:52.35; 11. Oaks Christian 3:52.43; 12. Mira Costa 3:52.55; 16. Newport Harbor 4:00.14
3,200 relay — 1. Claremont 8:59.39; 2. Santiago/C 9:02.98; 3. JSerra 9:03.87; 4. Long Beach Wilson 9:05.57; 5. King 9:25.42; 6. Trabuco Hills 9:28.64
HJ (5-6) — 1. Teven (Brea Olinda) 5-6; 2. Wetteland (Long Beach Poly) 5-6J; 3. Anderson (Long Beach Poly) 5-6J; 4T. Hernandez (Jurupa Valley) 5-4; 4T. Hogan (Crean Lutheran) 5-4; 6. Jones (Roosevelt) 5-4J
LJ (18-3½) — 1. Hernandez (Jurupa Valley) 19-3½; 2. Best (Norco) 19-¾; 3. Webster (Long Beach Wilson) 18-11½; 4. Guannu (Claremont) 18-9½; 5. Fields (Golden Valley) 18-6½; 6. Faison (Rosary) 18-6¼; 7. Musalborn (El Segundo) 18-6; 8. McGuinness (La Cañada) 18-5½; 9. Key (Walnut) 18-3½; 11. Pasternak (Huntington Beach) 17-11½
TJ (37-6) — 1. Hernandez (Jurupa Valley) 40-4¾; 2. Best (Norco) 39-6; 3. Cazale (Calvary Chapel) 39-¾; 4. Spencer (Long Beach Wilson) 38-8; 5. Pleasant (Serra) 37-5½; 6. Strange (Xavier) 37-5¼
PV (12-3) — 1. Bettinger (Los Alamitos) 12-9; 2T. Harden (Dana Hills) 12-9J; 2T. Di Silvestri (Ventura) 12-9J; 4T. Turner (Westlake) 12-3; 4T. Suemnick (Chaparral) 12-3; 6. Reuter (JSerra) 12-3J; 7. Rakfeldt (Harvard-Westlake) 12-3J; 8. Frodis (Thousand Oaks) 12-3J; 16T. Mondino (Fountain Valley) 10-9J
SP (40-5½) — 1. Massey (Aliso Niguel) 49-7½; 2. Johnson (Notre Dame/SO) 45-8; 3. Wilson (Paraclete) 44-9; 4. Middleton (Chino) 43-1; 5. Greer (Torrance) 42-8½; 6. Tipton (Camarillo) 41-1; 7. Batchelor (St. Mary's) 40-8½; 12. Karasawa (Marina) 36-8½
DT (135-7) — 1. Massey (Aliso Niguel) 165-6; 2. Johnson (Notre Dame/SO) 158-8; 3. Smith (Desert Christian) 154-0; 4. Gallacher (Canyon) 144-9; 5. Tipton (Camarillo) 142-10; 6. Williams (Redlands) 140-11; 7. Wilson (Paraclete) 140-9; 8. Reichard (Portola) 136-8; 9. Donovan (Golden Valley) 136-5; 10. Estelle (Simi Valley) 136-3